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rjleamon11 's review for:
Little Dorrit
by Charles Dickens
It's Dickens. It's huge. I read it all during this pandemic and a case of shingles. I couldn't possibly give it less than four stars. It's got Pancks, and Mr. Meagles, and Mrs. Merdle, whom Dickens refers to as "the Bosom" as she leads Society into various ballrooms (and Lord Peter Wimsey named his car after her, too). And Young John Chivery, devoted swain, Fanny the grumpy but ultimately solid sister, and her sweet husband, Edward Sparkle, topped off by some sharp and funny critique of society and capitalism.
But. . . it also ends with a disappointing lack of energy and oomph. There are so many interconnecting pieces that I expected a spectacular coming-together-of-all-the-details-mysteries-and-people in a satisfying blur of energy and coincidence--but it didn't happen. People I expected to play key roles died early (and quietly) in the book, while others faded out of the plot altogether, without a real reason for their presence in the first place. Why was Gowan in the book? Why, really, was Minnie? Why did Fanny and co. disappear from the story?
So, Mr. Dickens, I still admire you as a writer because you root for the right people, and you create characters like Daniel Doyce and Plornish and such, and you hate humbug and people who take advantage of working citizens--but this story should have been 200 pages shorter (so, 679 pages) and had a zippier plot. But: I read it all, and I'm glad I did. I'm still a fan.
But. . . it also ends with a disappointing lack of energy and oomph. There are so many interconnecting pieces that I expected a spectacular coming-together-of-all-the-details-mysteries-and-people in a satisfying blur of energy and coincidence--but it didn't happen. People I expected to play key roles died early (and quietly) in the book, while others faded out of the plot altogether, without a real reason for their presence in the first place. Why was Gowan in the book? Why, really, was Minnie? Why did Fanny and co. disappear from the story?
So, Mr. Dickens, I still admire you as a writer because you root for the right people, and you create characters like Daniel Doyce and Plornish and such, and you hate humbug and people who take advantage of working citizens--but this story should have been 200 pages shorter (so, 679 pages) and had a zippier plot. But: I read it all, and I'm glad I did. I'm still a fan.