•
Rating: Expectation. Great excitement in the air. Newsstands besieged. Curiosity, now driven to the point of exasperation, kicks to be fed with a new thrilling episode. Families begin exchanging information on the latest events, while courtyards fill with onlookers, drawn by the faint hope of hearing the long-awaited news, perhaps from some lucky person who found a copy in their hands and can't wait to recount its contents in public. I don't know what idea you've formed, but what you've just read is essentially the description of the tension that used to arise at the arrival of each new chapter of the monthly "The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club," a whole one hundred and seventy-two years ago.
In 1836, England, in full industrial revolution, found itself looking lovingly and nostalgically at the past years, preservers of ancient traditions now on the verge of disappearing, symbolized by endless and picturesque landscapes, the adventurous stagecoach rides, the peaceful provincial life, and the jovial and extravagant gentlemen who used to inhabit it. In that epochal year, from the astonishing pen of the then twenty-four-year-old Charles Dickens, was born "The Pickwick Papers," a work that cannot simply be confined within the definition of a "novel," but should be seen as a vividly colorful narrative with a picaresque flavor, woven with overwhelming humor and without direct precedent, where the theatrical element, at the base of the writing style, continuously intensifies the sensitivity of the conveyed message, constantly keeping an emotional window open that attempts to strike our soul with every means possible, gifting us moments of pure hilarity as well as others of deep sadness; hysterical crises and stomach cramps caused by the intensity of the laughter, but also bitter tears, soaked in pain and misery. Utilizing every possible stratagem, Charles, in the guise of an accomplished puppeteer brimming with resources, has no qualms about pulling even the most delicate strings to keep us in his grip with his astonishing narrative character.
"Il Circolo Pickwick" (this is the Italian title) recounts the adventures of an eccentric gentleman, Mr. Samuel Pickwick, owner, as you'd expect, of a club, where, together with the keenest and most enlightened minds of the era (all clearly seen through a satirical lens), he habitually discusses important, if not vital, scientific, philosophical, and cultural issues (like the astonishing "Theory of Tadpoles" illustrated at the story's start). The narrative opens by showing us the decision of the aforementioned gentleman, to undertake a long journey through the English countryside, in search of the customs and habits in vogue in the provinces, convinced that this may somehow lead to amazing discoveries about human nature and its infinite facets. Assisting him in this heroic endeavor are three of his ardent admirers: Mr. Nathaniel Winkle, a hunting and all-sports enthusiast (it's incredible how his "impeccable theoretical knowledge" always translates into untold disasters in practice), Mr. August Snodgrass, a refined and extremely sensitive poet with a gentle and calm spirit, and Mr. Tracy Tupman, rather portly, possibly a bit aged, but always alert and agile when it comes to entertaining relationships (invariably catastrophic) with the opposite sex.
In the vast ocean of characters created specifically for this work by Dickens's genius, two other figures stand out with primary importance in the story: the mischievous and reckless counterpart to the kind and philosophical protagonist, embodied by Mr. Samuel Weller, young, daring, equipped with a razor-sharp tongue, always ready to indulge in the most daring tavern brawls, and the slippery and cunning Mr. Jingle, an unparalleled comedian, master of deceit, and true thorn in the side of the ragtag group of likable gentlemen we've illustrated thus far.
What emerged as a monthly publication, with an initial print run of just 400 copies, quickly became a resounding success, which established Charles Dickens as one of the most followed and beloved writers of his time and opened the doors to a bright literary career studded with unique and immortal works.
Reading this book, in particular, is like traveling by carriage, exploring and learning to internalize the countless nuances of the human soul, through a warm whirlwind of emotions and smiles, transforming the green paths of Kent where it is set, into familiar gray and pink landscapes that we feel, deep down, we've always known.
Loading comments slowly
