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danilanglie 's review for:
The Old Curiosity Shop
by Charles Dickens
Oh, man. This was an experience. I'm familiar with Dickens from [b:Oliver Twist|18254|Oliver Twist|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327868529s/18254.jpg|3057979], mainly, although I've read [b:A Tale of Two Cities|1953|A Tale of Two Cities|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344922523s/1953.jpg|2956372] as well. I guess the latter should have warned me that things don't always turn out so great for the protagonist, but still. This was a little bit of a shock for me, in all honesty.
I liked this book. You'll see it took me a while to get through it, but that's almost always true with Dickens. It makes sense to me that this novel, and several of his others, were released serially, because I often felt like taking a break and reading something else every time I got to the end of a chapter. Not because I wasn't enjoying myself, but because... well... paid by the word, you know?
But let's get in to my favorite thing about this book: it tricks you. Kit starts the novel as a secondary character, and ends up being the hero upon whom we spend the final pages learning about. That was a delightful surprise, as watching the character grow over the course of the novel continually made me love him more and more.
Nell and her grandfather are one-note characters, but Dickens wrings every last bit of sympathy out of the reader in telling their story. This goes for a lot of the characters, like Kit's family, the Schoolmaster, and the Garlands. He's always had a knack for doing that.
I'm feeling a tad conflicted about the ending. I didn't think that he'd have the guts to kill Nell off at the end. I was thinking of this more like [b:Oliver Twist|18254|Oliver Twist|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327868529s/18254.jpg|3057979], where the protagonist is put through so much hell but then gets rewarded with comfort and love at the end. But nope. Nell gets to a place where she can be comfortable and safe, and then dies shortly after. Now that I'm thinking about it, we also have Nancy meeting a grisly end in [b:Oliver Twist|18254|Oliver Twist|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327868529s/18254.jpg|3057979]. Hey, why do all the ladies get axed off, Dickens? What's with that?
But in all seriousness, Nell's death didn't quite work for me on a literary level. I know that people die sometimes, and that just because somebody deserves a happy and long life doesn't mean they'll get it. But I'm not entirely sure what this sad ending is supposed to accomplish. It shocked me so much that I couldn't really feel the full power of it, you know? What would have been the problem with giving the grandfather and Nell a quiet out-of-the-way contended life? I think one of the cool things about this novel is how Kit goes from being singularly enamored with Nell, to growing and achieving a whole network of friends and loved ones and a profession he excels at. The moment when he runs off to find Nell is almost like a reversion of his character, as he drops everything to run to her side. It would have been interesting if Kit had found Nell alive, and the two young people could have had one final conversation where Kit realizes that his life has grown beyond this singular purpose. Nell has her life, Kit has his. There's something dissatisfying about Kit's choice to move on being taken from him by the fact of Nell's death. I don't know... am I making sense?
I gave this book four stars, though, because... well, obviously it's beautiful. It's an insightful look at urban vs. rural living, at class warfare, at greed and avarice and how these things may be overcome (looking at you, Richard Swiveller, surprise MVP of the novel). It's a work of genius just like everything else by Dickens that I've ever read. This guy is remembered for a reason.
I liked this book. You'll see it took me a while to get through it, but that's almost always true with Dickens. It makes sense to me that this novel, and several of his others, were released serially, because I often felt like taking a break and reading something else every time I got to the end of a chapter. Not because I wasn't enjoying myself, but because... well... paid by the word, you know?
But let's get in to my favorite thing about this book: it tricks you. Kit starts the novel as a secondary character, and ends up being the hero upon whom we spend the final pages learning about. That was a delightful surprise, as watching the character grow over the course of the novel continually made me love him more and more.
Nell and her grandfather are one-note characters, but Dickens wrings every last bit of sympathy out of the reader in telling their story. This goes for a lot of the characters, like Kit's family, the Schoolmaster, and the Garlands. He's always had a knack for doing that.
I'm feeling a tad conflicted about the ending. I didn't think that he'd have the guts to kill Nell off at the end. I was thinking of this more like [b:Oliver Twist|18254|Oliver Twist|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327868529s/18254.jpg|3057979], where the protagonist is put through so much hell but then gets rewarded with comfort and love at the end. But nope. Nell gets to a place where she can be comfortable and safe, and then dies shortly after. Now that I'm thinking about it, we also have Nancy meeting a grisly end in [b:Oliver Twist|18254|Oliver Twist|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327868529s/18254.jpg|3057979]. Hey, why do all the ladies get axed off, Dickens? What's with that?
But in all seriousness, Nell's death didn't quite work for me on a literary level. I know that people die sometimes, and that just because somebody deserves a happy and long life doesn't mean they'll get it. But I'm not entirely sure what this sad ending is supposed to accomplish. It shocked me so much that I couldn't really feel the full power of it, you know? What would have been the problem with giving the grandfather and Nell a quiet out-of-the-way contended life? I think one of the cool things about this novel is how Kit goes from being singularly enamored with Nell, to growing and achieving a whole network of friends and loved ones and a profession he excels at. The moment when he runs off to find Nell is almost like a reversion of his character, as he drops everything to run to her side. It would have been interesting if Kit had found Nell alive, and the two young people could have had one final conversation where Kit realizes that his life has grown beyond this singular purpose. Nell has her life, Kit has his. There's something dissatisfying about Kit's choice to move on being taken from him by the fact of Nell's death. I don't know... am I making sense?
I gave this book four stars, though, because... well, obviously it's beautiful. It's an insightful look at urban vs. rural living, at class warfare, at greed and avarice and how these things may be overcome (looking at you, Richard Swiveller, surprise MVP of the novel). It's a work of genius just like everything else by Dickens that I've ever read. This guy is remembered for a reason.