Rereading Review: "The Pickwick Papers" by Charles Dickens

When I reread books it is more of a spur-of-the-moment thing than I would like to admit. So far, I have reread Martin Chuzzlewit, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, A Tale of Two Cities and I guess there are some others if you go looking. I won't tag them all below because I know there's a few and I don't want to annoy you. Anyways, I have been rereading The Pickwick Papers recently because I just wanted to reread that hilarious section when the club has to use that horse and cart to go to their destination and it all ends in shambles because none of them know anything about guiding horses and thus, the horse starts going sideways. I was reading the introduction to this copy I had and Neil Gaiman states that as a child he didn't understand why the book was funny and to this day, I wonder how that guy ever became famous for his writing. How can you be a child and not find The Pickwick Papers funny? I know children who barely know English who find that book funny. One of the characters is literally called Snodgrass - which is funny whichever way you look at it.

It may not be my favourite Dickens and may not even be in my top five Dickens novels, but it sure was a blast to revisit!

Mr Samuel Pickwick forms a gentleman's club that reports of life in London and beyond its limits alongside his companions, Tupman, Snodgrass and Winkle. There are a ton of farcical situations including one where they are trying to get from one place to another by horse and cart and well, as none of them know how to drive properly, the horse begins to go sideways and everyone starts to scream and panic. It is quite hilarious and proves that perhaps Dickens can be funny to those who maybe don't think he is. In fact, Dickens has always been funny - even symbolically so. The Pickwick Papers is, I believe, his first novel, and thus it would make sense that he would want to put this skill at the forefront of his work.

There's a situation with a duel as well where one man is mistaken for another man because of a jacket. When I read the book for the first time, I noticed that perhaps that part of the book was equally tense, terrifying and hilarious. Even reading it a second time, I felt myself tense up at this part though I knew full well what was going to happen. That is definitely the influence of Dickens for you. Alongside this, there is a believed marriage proposal which isn't actually a marriage proposal, then it leads to people being sued and this is perhaps one of the most famous parts of the whole book. I'm going to leave it hanging in the air because if you haven't read it, I would like to know what you think about Dickens' ability to see the funny side in these dubious law men. It is very clearly a social commentary in the same way that say, Martin Chuzzlewit is when it comes to inheritance and money. But the fact that The Pickwick Papers is absolutely laugh-out-loud funny is something I could never hold against it. It makes this book ever so slightly better than Martin Chuzzlewit. I am sorry to all fans of the money-minded satirical novel.

There are a lot of things that happen concerning the court case, including that eventually someone has to go to debtors' prison. I find that prisons are really well described in Dickens novels. For example, we not only have The Pickwick Papers, but we also have Great Expectations where Pip goes to check out Newgate Prison in all of its horrifying terror. Prison seems to wake characters up to a reality, presenting a darker side to perhaps a lighter book. Even Great Expectations can be considered lighter than the chapter concerning the prisons. In The Pickwick Papers though, the contrast is definitely more striking because of the hilarity of the rest of the book compared to the seeping reality of jail.

There's something very fun and whimsical about rereading this book and honestly, I think that if you haven't read it or if you don't think Dickens is for you then I would recommend starting here. It is a fantastic read every single time.