It all started back in high school with the mandatory Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol. I won't talk about A Christmas Carol but leave it at this: I don't think that you should require someone to read a play. I love plays, and I love reading, but plays are meant to be expererienced. Great Expectations, though, I loved. The quirky characters, the twisting plot, everything.
Then post-college I decided to delve into Dickens again. I read A Tale of Two Cities. A great read, but once again, it's one of those books that I forgot what it's about. I do remember liking it and spending a lot of time reading it since it is long.
I've only read one other book by Dickens, but I love, love, loved it. This book is what made me want to write like him. The book: Oliver Twist. Plently of people know the story and think of it as some kids' story, but it is absolutely not. It absolutely cracks me up to read, primarily because of the way Dickens writes is as if he was a famous storyteller relating a story to his friends. He's wordy, but in a funny way. I can't really describe it.
Here's a snippet of the beginning of this great book that gives you a picture of what I mean:
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I agree about the reading of plays. Bleh.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Charles Dickens is David Copperfield.