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 Absolutely wonderful December 18, 2007
C.Slater (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've just finished reading this classical masterpiece, and though while long, it has passed on those dark nights of winter fantastically! What can I say? It is funny, gripping and moving. I found Fielding grasped the human condition perfectly. How the most honourable and understanding of us can sometimes be prone to selfishness and deceit, while the vagabond in society, can, occasionally do someone a good turn. Poor Tom is one of the most cheerful, and warm people you'd ever want to meet, yet trouble seems to follow him everywhere. One of the most hideous of characters -Mr Western- should be the sort of man you'd be forgiven to holding nothing but contempt for, and yet his manner just made me laugh more than anybody - poor Sophie!
While it is a long book, the short chapters and satirical scenarios make the pages fly by. Just read it!
A masterpiece October 18, 2007
Didier (Ghent, Belgium)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Tom Jones" is deservedly a classic in English literature. The book is sheer fun, bursting with hilarious scenes, and Tom himself is such an extremely likeable character you cannot help but sympathize with him. It's a feast from beginning to end, not least because of the beautiful language, and the incredible story-telling talent Fielding displays here for all of us to enjoy.
"Surely a man may speak truth with a smiling countenance!" July 23, 2006
M. Witcombe (Glasgow, Scotland)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
'Tom Jones' is one of those lucky few- a book whose length is comparable in extent to its reader's enjoyment. 'Tom Jones' is a wonderfully dark, elaborately comic and utterly compelling account of the experiences of a young man as he pursues love, honour and fortune across 18th-Century England. Unlike many other novels and plays regarded as 'comic classics', Tom Jones is also genuinely funny. Seriously.
'Tom Jones' is enjoyable in and of itself- the characters and adventures are accessible, entertaining and varied. Despite this, one of the most interesting aspects of the novel is the introductory chapters to the novel's 18 'books'- short, usually amusing essays concerning theoretical aspects involved in the book. If you're pushed for time, you can skip them- but, much like the comic acts in certain Shakespeare plays, some of the best moments in the novel are contained in what can appear unneccessary literary 'padding'.
So don't be put off by its length, its age, its love for diversions and its complicated web of human relationships; Tom Jones is simply a fantastic read. Particularly for anyone acquainted with the historical environment the novel was written in, Tom Jones can be read as a satire on the hypocrisy of notions of honour; the scathing attack on those who marry for fortune rather than love has a peculiarly appealing modern resonance.
In the end, what's most revealing about Tom Jones is not how far the novel as a form has developed, but how little societal trends change over time. Fielding's world is one in which treachery and deceit are frequently the motives for acts of apparent benevolence, a world as hilarious as it is dangerous. If you've got a couple of weeks to spare, and a patient disposition, you could do a lot worse than to give 'Tom Jones' a try- for this price, you'd have to have a pretty good excuse not to!
What a story! May 9, 2003
Ms. P. Mongia (London, UK)
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
Great characters, incredible plots, so much fun to read!If you're finding it a bit heavy going, just skip through Fielding's essays at the beginning of each Book, which although good, aren't necessary to follow the plot. One to treasure!
its enormously and magnificently intricate plot... November 16, 2000
Peter Marcus
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
....its enormously and magnificently intricate plot is one of the greatest ever, seeming so dense that the characters cannot escape, yet so loose as to allow them to have a good time. The introductory essays are excellent too. This is a very funny book, brilliantly attacking hypocrisy and immorality. Only its length could be cast against it for the modern reader - but believe me, getting through it is definitely worth it. The plot keeps cranking up right till the end.
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