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hadeanstars 's review for:
The Old Curiosity Shop: A Tale
by Charles Dickens
My Dickens-athon continues apace and I am enjoying it so much that I have had to take the weighty decision to read something other than another Dickens next. Let me say that I have yet to read a Dickens that is bad or even remotely hateful, and this novel continues to enchant because his gift is so consistent and generous. I really think that once you get 'into the groove' of Dickens and how he writes, it is impossible to dislike.
People have said to me, oh I really hate Dickens. Fair enough, but if you hate it then you would not keep reading it, so it stands to reason that you can only say that you hate Dickens if you have read only one or perhaps at most two of his novels. It was only on my third Dickens that it really clicked for me. At that stage I was so familiar with his ways that it became effortless to read.
The Old Curiosity Shop is no exception, vintage Dickens, with many unforgettable "characters". And this is both Dickens' strenght and his weakness, because critics will say that there is an extremity to the characteristics of characters that makes them into caricature. It is a valid concern, but only if you believe that all literature must be deadly serious. There is immense, often laugh out loud humour in his writing, and most of that derives from his often outlandish characterisation. In "The Shop" this is a feature as ever with some truly outstanding examples of humanity, both good and bad. Most memorable is Quilp, the evil dwarf, a creature so vile and self-serving he probably outpaces all other Dickensian villains for sheer malice (of my current acquaintance) by a country mile! At the other end of the humanity spectrum lies Nell, almost too good for the world, and much of the drama focuses on the varying fortunes of these two, with rewarding forays into a cast of supporting Samaritans and Philistines along the way.
I do have a couple of issues with this work though. First of all, I felt it was somewhat over-long. The later exposition of the fortunes of the humorously named Dick Swiveller and the Brass siblings was, for me, far too leisurely and drawn out at such a critical juncture in the tale.
It is said that in its day, this was Dickens most popular novel, although it was written and published in monthly instalments, and this is perhaps the motive behind its occasional lack of narrative urgency. Perhaps, as has been suggested, feedback from readers directed some of the novels characters' longevity.
Another curiosity (npi) of the text is the convention here adopted for characters, some of the quite significant, to remain unnamed throughout the text. We have the single gentleman, the Marchioness, the Bachelor; even Nell's grandfather is hardly identified. This though is a smaller issue to my mind.
All in all, another Dickens Delight that you won't regret reading, but at nearly 600 pages you'll need to be dedicated.
People have said to me, oh I really hate Dickens. Fair enough, but if you hate it then you would not keep reading it, so it stands to reason that you can only say that you hate Dickens if you have read only one or perhaps at most two of his novels. It was only on my third Dickens that it really clicked for me. At that stage I was so familiar with his ways that it became effortless to read.
The Old Curiosity Shop is no exception, vintage Dickens, with many unforgettable "characters". And this is both Dickens' strenght and his weakness, because critics will say that there is an extremity to the characteristics of characters that makes them into caricature. It is a valid concern, but only if you believe that all literature must be deadly serious. There is immense, often laugh out loud humour in his writing, and most of that derives from his often outlandish characterisation. In "The Shop" this is a feature as ever with some truly outstanding examples of humanity, both good and bad. Most memorable is Quilp, the evil dwarf, a creature so vile and self-serving he probably outpaces all other Dickensian villains for sheer malice (of my current acquaintance) by a country mile! At the other end of the humanity spectrum lies Nell, almost too good for the world, and much of the drama focuses on the varying fortunes of these two, with rewarding forays into a cast of supporting Samaritans and Philistines along the way.
I do have a couple of issues with this work though. First of all, I felt it was somewhat over-long. The later exposition of the fortunes of the humorously named Dick Swiveller and the Brass siblings was, for me, far too leisurely and drawn out at such a critical juncture in the tale.
It is said that in its day, this was Dickens most popular novel, although it was written and published in monthly instalments, and this is perhaps the motive behind its occasional lack of narrative urgency. Perhaps, as has been suggested, feedback from readers directed some of the novels characters' longevity.
Another curiosity (npi) of the text is the convention here adopted for characters, some of the quite significant, to remain unnamed throughout the text. We have the single gentleman, the Marchioness, the Bachelor; even Nell's grandfather is hardly identified. This though is a smaller issue to my mind.
All in all, another Dickens Delight that you won't regret reading, but at nearly 600 pages you'll need to be dedicated.