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dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Apparently considered a lesser Dickens but it has everything. Villains, secrets, waxworks, fog and dogs dressed as humans. Genuinely brought tears to my eyes at times and made me laugh at others. I have been imagining the Netflix shows that Dickens would have been churning out if he’d been alive today.
emotional
sad
slow-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
I was made to study Dickens for A level and vowed never to return. However, some forty years later I picked up The Old Curiosity Shop and really enjoyed it. I am told that this isn’t his best novel so I am looking forward to reading some more.
I guess I expect more from Dickens. This is an example of "telling". We are constantly told whether characters are ugly or beautiful, which aligns unerringly with whether they are good or bad.
I know he wrote prolifically and published the chapters each week. This story has an episodic feel as a result and I wonder if he knew where it was going when he started.
The title is also confusing as the story has little to do with the shop.
I know he wrote prolifically and published the chapters each week. This story has an episodic feel as a result and I wonder if he knew where it was going when he started.
The title is also confusing as the story has little to do with the shop.
"He happens to be one of those 'great authors' who are ladled down everyone's throat in childhood. At the time this causes rebellion and vomiting, but it may have different after-effects in later life", so said George Orwell.
True sentiments. It isn't quite A Tale of Two Cities or Oliver Twist, but it's no bad read.
True sentiments. It isn't quite A Tale of Two Cities or Oliver Twist, but it's no bad read.
3.5, rounded up to 4, I guess. Certainly not my favourite Dickens (that'd be [b:Bleak House|18172068|Bleak House|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1373379910l/18172068._SX50_.jpg|2960365]), but still a fine read, if you're into ginormous casts of characters and dastardly villains and Victorian melodrama, WHICH I AM.
I loved The Old Curiosity Shop! I have to admit that I hadn't even heard about this book before I started poking around for another Dickens novel to read. It really has everything in it that Dickens is known for -- quirky characters, villains and heroes, harsh justice and redemption, and plenty of humorous moments too. I found myself captivated by the story, furious at the grandfather, and full of pity for poor Little Nell. A great read.
I liked it but I think I might have ODed on Dickens, so I found this a little predictable and sentimental. What didn't help was the reader - I was listening to the audiobook - used some extremely irritating even grating voices for some of the characters which made parts of the book like listening to fingernails down a blackboard.
3 stars-
I’ll be the first to say that Dickens is one of my absolute favorite authors. Over the last few years, I’ve been making my way through all of his novels. This is the 7th that I have read, and is maybe my least favorite so far. That’s not to say that it’s bad, but I think it is one of the most disjointed.
There are glimpses of Dickens brilliance in this novel, and I think that the setup is quite promising. I think he kind of loses track of his own plot throughout the middle. The last quarter of the book had some really engaging plot threads back in London, and that bumped the book back up to three stars for me. There are passages and chunks where I remember how much I love Dickens’ writing, but the middle of this book is just not completely redeemable.
Reading his earlier works is really insightful when comparing them to his masterworks like David Copperfield and Bleak House. There’s a certain difference in tone, but it is magical to see into his mind, and a kind of raw creativity in these early novels.
I’ll be the first to say that Dickens is one of my absolute favorite authors. Over the last few years, I’ve been making my way through all of his novels. This is the 7th that I have read, and is maybe my least favorite so far. That’s not to say that it’s bad, but I think it is one of the most disjointed.
There are glimpses of Dickens brilliance in this novel, and I think that the setup is quite promising. I think he kind of loses track of his own plot throughout the middle. The last quarter of the book had some really engaging plot threads back in London, and that bumped the book back up to three stars for me. There are passages and chunks where I remember how much I love Dickens’ writing, but the middle of this book is just not completely redeemable.
Reading his earlier works is really insightful when comparing them to his masterworks like David Copperfield and Bleak House. There’s a certain difference in tone, but it is magical to see into his mind, and a kind of raw creativity in these early novels.
If ever you wanted to love to hate a character or three, Charles Dickens delivers. Devious, malicious and nefarious are just a few kind words I can use to describe those who prey on the have nots. Dickens writes of poverty and the struggles of friends and family in the harsh world. Along the way we meet kindly people who help our heroine and heroes. A grandfather and his granddaughter. A young boy who is befriended, but also falls prey to the nefarious.
The ending is philosophical and sad, but in the end is buoyed up by happenstance. To quote the author: "And so do things pass away, like a tale that is told."
I have struggled with Dickens in the past. Not this time.
The ending is philosophical and sad, but in the end is buoyed up by happenstance. To quote the author: "And so do things pass away, like a tale that is told."
I have struggled with Dickens in the past. Not this time.