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A review by forever_day
The Old Curiosity Shop: A Tale by Charles Dickens
3.0
Review for the Purnell abridged version:
This book was simulantaneously one I didn't particularly enjoy, while also being one I think is well written. The characters and observations about human nature make it worthwhile reading, but not gripping.
It was my first Dickens, and I liked his prose but not the plot. It generally landed on the depressing side of life, with limited moments of lightheartedness or even the characters having an acceptable time. I left it alone many months before forcing myself to finish it. I didn't not enjoy the experience of reading it while I was reading, but I was never so engrossed as to want to rush back to it. I only found out that I read the abridged version (~215 pages) when looking for the edition, so I don't know what aspects I might be missing, but I did not enjoy it enough to go hunting for the ~600 page version. The bulk of the book being a pair meandering with no destination and falling into various depressing situations was not to my taste.
Also, possibly because I left so many months between coming back to it, I found it hard to keep track of who everyone was. I did however, like that every loose end was tied up at the end. However, I didn't have any emotional connection to anyone.
There was one singular event that truly struck me while reading, which was Nell hearing someone coming in at night to steal something, only to turn and find out the thief is her own grandfather. That scene hit perfectly- the initial horror of something scary in the night and which then morphs into the horror of human weakness, being taken advantage of by someone who should love you and is simulataneously something to be feared and pitied. The scene hit truly in a way the rest of the book didn't.
This book was simulantaneously one I didn't particularly enjoy, while also being one I think is well written. The characters and observations about human nature make it worthwhile reading, but not gripping.
It was my first Dickens, and I liked his prose but not the plot. It generally landed on the depressing side of life, with limited moments of lightheartedness or even the characters having an acceptable time. I left it alone many months before forcing myself to finish it. I didn't not enjoy the experience of reading it while I was reading, but I was never so engrossed as to want to rush back to it. I only found out that I read the abridged version (~215 pages) when looking for the edition, so I don't know what aspects I might be missing, but I did not enjoy it enough to go hunting for the ~600 page version. The bulk of the book being a pair meandering with no destination and falling into various depressing situations was not to my taste.
Also, possibly because I left so many months between coming back to it, I found it hard to keep track of who everyone was. I did however, like that every loose end was tied up at the end. However,
Spoiler
one character dies at the end, and I was mildly disappointed but not truly sad becauseThere was one singular event that truly struck me while reading, which was Nell hearing someone coming in at night to steal something, only to turn and find out the thief is her own grandfather. That scene hit perfectly- the initial horror of something scary in the night and which then morphs into the horror of human weakness, being taken advantage of by someone who should love you and is simulataneously something to be feared and pitied. The scene hit truly in a way the rest of the book didn't.