Started: March 31, 2023 | Finished: June 2, 2024
Martin Chuzzlewit
Martin Chuzzlewit is about one way to make money - by inheriting it from a rich relative. The rich relative being one Martin Chuzzlewit. We are treated to a small army of would-be inheritors who - this being a Dickens novel - come in very colorful, strange and fascinating forms, and who are all after Martin Chuzzlewit's money, him being of an advanced age.
This book is also about another Martin Chuzzlewit, the nephew of the aforesaid Martin Chuzzlewit. This Martin Chuzzlewit undergoes a bit of an Odyssey in the pages of this book. Part of this adventure takes him to the United States.
I read the American pages of this book with a bit of a shock. Unlike the usual Dickens fare, the American chapters were painful to read. Surprising. Charles Dickens is the kind of writer who can describe scenes of poverty and misery with a veneer of whimsy and artistry. Not so these American pages. I considered the American adventure to be a weak point of the book initially; reading it against the backdrop of Dickens gorgeous prose description of England. But then I had a revelation and I understood: The reason why the American chapters are so difficult and trying is because they were meant to be that way. The younger Chuzzlewit's sojourn to the United States was meant to be a crucible for him. An experience of such stress that it forces a change upon him - a change for the better. I got it.
What I love about Dickens, his ability to paint pictures with words when he describes landscapes, domiciles or action scenes is in the pages of Martin Chuzzlewit in full force. A particular favorite of mine is Todger's Lodging House, its inhabitants and environs, situated in London.
There is a villain here who is the most astonishing Dickens villain I've ever come across. His name is Seth Pecksniff and Dickens draws him to perfection - absolutely villainous in the most clever yet realistic way. Pecksniff makes the other villain, Jonas Chuzzlewit, seem like a garden variety bad guy by comparison.
And then we have the absolutely wonderful Tigg Montague or Montague Tigg. A nefarious scoundrel though he is, I find him a loveable character along the lines of Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield
Chances are, if you are a Dickens fan, you are going to love Martin Chuzzlewit, only do remember that the American passages are meant to be an uncomfortable read when compared to the rest of the book for the reason already mentioned and you'll find that they form a well crafted story that ends in that wonderful way: happily for the good guys and the bad guys getting their just desserts.