Classical Obsessions discussion

Hey, everybody--so, what do you all think of Charles Dickens? I'm curious :-)

I'll go first: The only two Dickens novels I've ever read all the way through are "A Christmas Carol" and "The Pickwick Papers," and they both have a very special place in my heart :-) But I've never really been able to get into any of his other stories . . . I've tried "David Copperfield," "Great Expectations," and "Little Dorrit," but they were all so sad I ended up putting them down.

I firmly maintain, however, that Sam Weller is one of the greatest fictional characters of all time and space. The end. :-)

Jessica wrote: "Hey, everybody--so, what do you all think of Charles Dickens? I'm curious :-)

I'll go first: The only two Dickens novels I've ever read all the way through are "A Christmas Carol" and "The Pickwi..."

Yes, SAM WELLER SAM WELLER!! (I probablllly had a crush on him when I read the book :D)
I'm reading Little Dorrit and I'm really hoping it'll START soon! Dickens has this peculiar writing style, that he first describes every character separately for about 100-200 (or more) pages and then he brings them together to a even story. This happened in David Copperfield, Great Expectations and partly in The Pickwick Papers. And of course in Little Dorrit and I'm almost going crazy because many of the characters aren't even introduced yet!
But I must say that I really love his books :-)

Oh so do I! I've only read two of them as well, A Christmas Carol, (which I reread every Christmas), and Great Expectations-read it to the end Jessica, it ends happy! It was quite thrilling and exciting.:)
Now I want to read the Pickwick Papers instead of David Copperfield next!

I like him alright. I've read Little Dorrit, which I liked a lot, and my mum recommend Martin Chuzzlewit, so that's on my list.
The thing is, he's a little bit hard to get through. Nowhere near as hard as Victor Hugo, but still, you can't curl up and read a Dickens the same way you can with an Austen. He's not very concise.

Elsabet wrote: "I like him alright. I've read Little Dorrit, which I liked a lot, and my mum recommend Martin Chuzzlewit, so that's on my list.
The thing is, he's a little bit hard to get through. Nowhere near as..."

I know exactly what you mean. Dickens is not a cozy read! But still very enjoyable ;-)

Felicity--I definitely agree about Sam Weller :-)

Bookworm--Now that I think about it, I actually think the one I tried reading was "Bleak House," not "Great Expectations." Don't know why I got them confused . . .
Oh, and you should definitely read "The Pickwick Papers"! The first section of the book is verrrrrrrrrrrrrry slow and kind of silly, but it gets SO much better.

Elsabet--you're right, Jane Austen makes a much easier read in a lot of ways . . .

Jessica wrote: "Felicity--I definitely agree about Sam Weller :-)

Bookworm--Now that I think about it, I actually think the one I tried reading was "Bleak House," not "Great Expectations." Don't know why I got t..."

I just discovered why he was so long-winded...he got paid by the word!

Elsabet wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Felicity--I definitely agree about Sam Weller :-)

Bookworm--Now that I think about it, I actually think the one I tried reading was "Bleak House," not "Great Expectations." Don't ..."

HahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHA.

Jessica wrote: "Elsabet wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Felicity--I definitely agree about Sam Weller :-)

Bookworm--Now that I think about it, I actually think the one I tried reading was "Bleak House," not "Great Expec..."

Actually, I just looked it up and he was not paid per word. He was paid by installment. Thats why the structure of his books is so wierd. Loads of short, sometimes irrelevant little chapters. He wrote his books in serial form. Not as interesting, perhaps, but still revealing.

Elsabet wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Elsabet wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Felicity--I definitely agree about Sam Weller :-)

Bookworm--Now that I think about it, I actually think the one I tried reading was "Bleak House," ..."

Ah, gotcha . . . Have you ever read "The Pickwick Papers"--his first novel? That one is really, REALLY jumbled. But still good.

Jessica wrote: "Elsabet wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Elsabet wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Felicity--I definitely agree about Sam Weller :-)

Bookworm--Now that I think about it, I actually think the one I tried reading was..."

No, I'm working through several books at the moment, but that's on the list for later.