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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Early this year I set a goal for myself to read all of Dickens' novels in the order in which they were published. This is the fourth, after Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. I've also read Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities and a personal favorite - Great Expectations.
First, Dickens is just an amazing writer and reading his novels in order I can really see the progression of his style. This is the first (chronologically) of his novels that I've really just stopped and been taken in by the language. It was there in the earlier works but I think this novel is where he really starts to click as a writer. The various threads of the plot, the way he skips about from place to place then comes back to loop in some new event, his humor, his eye for detail, it all really shines and made this an enjoyable and quick read.
Having read many of his books now, there are certain Dickensian tropes that will either annoy you or they won't - the angelic waif, the dastardly and greedy man who has designs on the waif, the unknown distant (and wealthy) relative, the chance meeting, etc. It does get to be a bit much at times. There's always some mysterious benefactor who will endow some unexpected fortune, there's always a random stranger who turns out to be a long-lost relation, there's always an unexpected twist to deliver the villain's come-uppance, etc. That said, it's very entertaining and very well written. I look forward to reading more of the author's works.
As to the plot, it concerns little Nell and her grandfather, the proprietor of the titular shop. Grandfather cares only for Nell and to make her fortune he becomes indebted to the dastardly Quilp, an evil dwarf who delights in causing misery for others. Nell and grandfather are forced to flee and they encounter various characters on the road, some good, some not. There are sub-plots and related threads concerning Quilp's attorney Sampson Brass and his sister Sally, Richard Swiveller, a compatriot of Nell's wayward brother Fred, Christopher 'Kit' Nubbles, devoted friend and servant of Nell and grand-dad, and various others encountered along the way.
All-in-all it was an entertaining read. I actually enjoyed the bits with Quilp, the Brasses and Swiveller more than the bits with Nell and her grandfather. If you enjoy Dickens you will like this one. If you haven't read him before, it is a good place to start.
First, Dickens is just an amazing writer and reading his novels in order I can really see the progression of his style. This is the first (chronologically) of his novels that I've really just stopped and been taken in by the language. It was there in the earlier works but I think this novel is where he really starts to click as a writer. The various threads of the plot, the way he skips about from place to place then comes back to loop in some new event, his humor, his eye for detail, it all really shines and made this an enjoyable and quick read.
Having read many of his books now, there are certain Dickensian tropes that will either annoy you or they won't - the angelic waif, the dastardly and greedy man who has designs on the waif, the unknown distant (and wealthy) relative, the chance meeting, etc. It does get to be a bit much at times. There's always some mysterious benefactor who will endow some unexpected fortune, there's always a random stranger who turns out to be a long-lost relation, there's always an unexpected twist to deliver the villain's come-uppance, etc. That said, it's very entertaining and very well written. I look forward to reading more of the author's works.
As to the plot, it concerns little Nell and her grandfather, the proprietor of the titular shop. Grandfather cares only for Nell and to make her fortune he becomes indebted to the dastardly Quilp, an evil dwarf who delights in causing misery for others. Nell and grandfather are forced to flee and they encounter various characters on the road, some good, some not. There are sub-plots and related threads concerning Quilp's attorney Sampson Brass and his sister Sally, Richard Swiveller, a compatriot of Nell's wayward brother Fred, Christopher 'Kit' Nubbles, devoted friend and servant of Nell and grand-dad, and various others encountered along the way.
All-in-all it was an entertaining read. I actually enjoyed the bits with Quilp, the Brasses and Swiveller more than the bits with Nell and her grandfather. If you enjoy Dickens you will like this one. If you haven't read him before, it is a good place to start.
Definitely my least favorite Dickens so far. While some of the characters were very well done, overall the book was entirely too sentimental.
Not such an enthusiastic read as I expected, but Dickens is good.
Is Mr. Quilp the inspiration for Gollum's conversational style?
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oscar Wilde allegedly said, "You would need to have a heart of stone not to laugh at the death of little Nell."
Well, I didn't laugh, but I didn't cry either. I don't love Dickens' "angel" characters. Someone who is too good is boring. Also, how in the heck did they get that way? Agnes and Esther and Nell all have horrible childhoods and are surrounded by despicable people. (At least Agnes and Nell have someone that loves them, but is it enough? How in the world do they grow up never thinking an unkind thought or speaking an unkind word? No one I know turns out like that, even in the best of circumstances.
Nell was sweet, and I didn't wish death on her, but she was kind of boring. The other characters in the book, however, were not boring. The evil Quilp was pretty scary and even kept me up a couple of nights. I really liked Dick Swiveller a lot, and rooted for him from the beginning. You don't see many characters like that from Dickens--someone who isn't all bad, but not really very good either, but then has a few life experiences that change him and make him want to be better. And when that change doesn't turn him into a goody-goody who never makes a bad decision in his life, well, even better.
Overall I liked it, but not my favorite from Dickens. As always, I loved the tidy wrap-up at the end, where everyone gets what's coming to them.
Well, I didn't laugh, but I didn't cry either. I don't love Dickens' "angel" characters. Someone who is too good is boring. Also, how in the heck did they get that way? Agnes and Esther and Nell all have horrible childhoods and are surrounded by despicable people. (At least Agnes and Nell have someone that loves them, but is it enough? How in the world do they grow up never thinking an unkind thought or speaking an unkind word? No one I know turns out like that, even in the best of circumstances.
Nell was sweet, and I didn't wish death on her, but she was kind of boring. The other characters in the book, however, were not boring. The evil Quilp was pretty scary and even kept me up a couple of nights. I really liked Dick Swiveller a lot, and rooted for him from the beginning. You don't see many characters like that from Dickens--someone who isn't all bad, but not really very good either, but then has a few life experiences that change him and make him want to be better. And when that change doesn't turn him into a goody-goody who never makes a bad decision in his life, well, even better.
Overall I liked it, but not my favorite from Dickens. As always, I loved the tidy wrap-up at the end, where everyone gets what's coming to them.
https://clavie.co/2020/01/29/book-review-the-old-curiosity-shop/
Curiosity Shop weaves between the travels of Little Nell and her grandfather and the doings of characters like Kit Nubbles and Dick Swiveler in London. I find that the novel reads more like a literary experiment. I love thinking of it as a “modern” fairytale for the age in which it was written. Certainly, angelic, innocent, ethereal Nell has many strange experiences on her journey through the novel, meeting both the benevolent, the malevolent, the grotesque, and the unusual.
3/5 Stars
Curiosity Shop weaves between the travels of Little Nell and her grandfather and the doings of characters like Kit Nubbles and Dick Swiveler in London. I find that the novel reads more like a literary experiment. I love thinking of it as a “modern” fairytale for the age in which it was written. Certainly, angelic, innocent, ethereal Nell has many strange experiences on her journey through the novel, meeting both the benevolent, the malevolent, the grotesque, and the unusual.
3/5 Stars
My very random thoughts include:
Why is this called The Old Curiosity Shop when said shop is abandoned so early in the story?
Can a pony legitimately be my favorite character? I laughed out loud every time Whiskers and his antics were mentioned. No? Ok. Kip, then. Certainly not grandfather...or even angelic Nell.
Anton Lesser's narration is magnificent. I can't imagine the time he must have spent getting the various characters down and just how to deliver each piece of dialogue. He particularly conveyed Samson Brass well.
Why is this called The Old Curiosity Shop when said shop is abandoned so early in the story?
Can a pony legitimately be my favorite character? I laughed out loud every time Whiskers and his antics were mentioned. No? Ok. Kip, then. Certainly not grandfather...or even angelic Nell.
Anton Lesser's narration is magnificent. I can't imagine the time he must have spent getting the various characters down and just how to deliver each piece of dialogue. He particularly conveyed Samson Brass well.
Oh, Dickens is really good, but this is really bad. I read it to find out why people stormed the dock to find out what happened to Little Nell. Answer: because the kind of people who storm docks have no taste in literature.