In David Copperfield we get to see Dickens' sense of humor shine - of course the story has heartache and death, but I found myself laughing out loud at times. I listened to Version 2, and the narrator, Tadhg, was excellent, so excellent that if I met him in person, I might fall in love with him just for his accent and voice. Okay, I may be a little bit in love with him now.. :)
This novel tells what life was like in Dickens' day. Life could be very hard if you didn't have money. Snobbery, even in our main character was real and different classes of people didn't mix well. Again as in Bleak House, Dickens is not didactic in this telling, he trusts his reader's intelligence and allows them to figure it out for themselves.
Dickens' characters are well rounded and come off the page. I love David's Aunt Betsy. Everyone needs an aunt like her - one who calls it like she see it - and isn't afraid to throw your sister's behavior in your face - even though said sister doesn't exist. I laughed almost every time she was in a scene.
Tommy Traddles is David's friend and from Dickens' description of him, I can see him with his hair sticking up and him sitting drawing skeletons.
Copperfield has a tender heart, which at times gets him into trouble. The villains are vile and the noble characters, while flawed, are likeable.
Read to a child today or allow LibriVox to read to the child in you.
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