Our Mutual Friend
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4.7 • 15 Ratings
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Publisher Description
Our Mutual Friend (written in the years 1864–65) is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life", but is also about human values. In the opening chapters a body is found in the Thames and identified as that of John Harmon, a young man recently returned to London to receive his inheritance. Were he alive, his father's will would require him to marry Bella Wilfer, a beautiful, mercenary girl whom he had never met. Instead, the money passes to the working-class Boffins, and the effects spread into various corners of London society.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
David Timson reads Dickens's last complete novel with a sense of fun. As always, Dickens creates a fabulous array of characters: the nouveau riche Veneerings, the dwarf who makes doll clothes, the bizarre schoolmaster, and the abysmally poor who trawl the Thames for bodies or daily sift the dust and dirt of Victorian England for a skimpy living. Timson's dramatic talents add dimension to each personality just the sort of acting that makes an audio experience so satisfying. Naxos has done a fine job of abridging the book (Timson also reads the unabridged version on 28 CDs). Not much is lost in terms of plot and characterization, and Dickens's great satiric and social themes come through clearly: the plight and misery of the poor and the greed and heartless stupidity of the rich. If the abridgment seems a bit disjointed, it simply follows the novel's narrative style. This is a wonderful listen for Dickens fans and novices alike.
Customer Reviews
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Dickens’s final completed novel was published in serial form 1864-1865 and in full in 1865. I had never read it before.
A man fakes his death to avoid an inheritance that comes with a bride attached, as you would. She is disappointed to say the least, and goes looking for another man of means. (Looking for a man in finance, with a trust fund, 6' 5", blue eyes, perhaps?) Meanwhile, a fortune seeker and a grifter of sorts marry only to discover they have deceived each other. In the absence of a better option, they pursue a not particularly successful money making venture. The man who faked his death (remember him?) reappears. There’s also a corrupt Christian involved who works for a Jewish money lender and makes out he’s the boss.
Themes include the usual social commentary on class, religion etc, plus the intertwined love stories. I thought the prose was richer, the plotting more mature than some of his earlier work. (Listen to me, trying to sound like I know what I’m talking about.) I found it easier to read too.
Bottom line
Bleak House is still number one on my Dickensian top ten, but OMF has now edged Little Dorritt out of second place .