Dombey and Son
“Dickens willed into existence the most capacious and elastic and versatile kind of novel that could be, one big enough for his vast sentimental yearnings and for every impulse and fear and hesitation in him that countervailed those yearnings too. Never parsimonious and frequently contradictory, he always gives us everything he can, everything he’s planned to give, and then more.”
Jonathan Lethem
Dombey and Son is vintage Dickens and explores the classic themes of betrayal, cruelty, and deceit, with dysfunctional relationships painted against a backdrop of social unrest in industrialized London. Paul Dombey, a shipping magnate, yearns for a son to carry on the family name and business. But when his sickly boy dies at a young age, Dombey grows ever more resentful of his healthy daughter, further driving them apart and leading to the callous man’s downfall.
Praise