adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
dark sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging emotional sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A beautiful performance of an incredible piece of classic literature.

Long-winded but witty.

Exposes the costs and pains of addiction which cannot be undone, balanced with the hope that good people can bring to a hard life.

Not my very top Dickens, but damn, that man was good at what he did!
Spoiler The tragic story of Little Nell feels so human and real, like it came out of real experience; it's moving even though I knew it was coming (the only thing I did know about this book, really).
Plus, Quilp is a terrifying villain and the other characters are great as well.
emotional funny informative sad medium-paced

Very, very sentimental - even for Dickens.

A really enjoyable reread - it's been so long since I last read this one. I love it a lot, though I'm still gathering my thoughts.
adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

All I knew of this book was Oscar Wilde's derision, which is an overstatement at best. The story is certainly not without some sentimentality, but Nell's iconic
Spoilerdeath
gets only one scene (not counting the lugubrious foreshadowing) and she is one of the least entertaining characters in the book. I suppose that goes for all of the nice characters here, or perhaps it's just that the malevolent and morally bankrupt ones are drawn with such glee that they steal the show. Quilp is a classic villain, but he is only the chief grotesque. The lesser devils here are equally delightful. But the primary reason to read Dickens in any case is his finely jeweled prose, and it's in fine form here.
emotional sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No