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A review by duffypratt
Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
2.0
As Dicken's goes, this was about the worst that I've read. I ended up caring about none of the "heroes,' and found myself rooting for a couple of the villains towards the end, because they were the only ones who were even remotely interesting. Lots of the main action, especially at the end, occurred offstage. We then heard about it in a second hand fashion and not in much detail.
Lots of people say that even the worst Dickens is great. I feel pretty much the opposite. Except for Great Expectations, I tend to think that even the very best in Dickens has terrible, and overwrought, moments. Here the balance tipped fairly strongly in that direction. There were things in this book that I thought were really great, and I'm not sorry that I read it. But if it were the only thing he wrote, I don't think anyone would even know who he was.
Lots of people say that even the worst Dickens is great. I feel pretty much the opposite. Except for Great Expectations, I tend to think that even the very best in Dickens has terrible, and overwrought, moments. Here the balance tipped fairly strongly in that direction. There were things in this book that I thought were really great, and I'm not sorry that I read it. But if it were the only thing he wrote, I don't think anyone would even know who he was.