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Wednesday, 21 May 2008

Charles Dickens - The Old Curiosity Shop

A good story with great characters. Quilp, the malicious and evil minded dwarf is a masterpiece. I don't think I've been so disturbed by a 'baddie' for a long time (except for Silas in the first series of Heroes perhaps). Nell on the other hand is nauseatingly long suffering and sweet. She's often described as an 'angel' but I just found her an annoying goodie two shoes.

I did struggle with the prose sometimes, Dickens isn't as concise as say Wilkie Collins (are they contemporaries? must find out) but that didn't put me off. On the whole, a right good read.

1 comment:

goodfaery said...

"are they contemporaries?"

Not just contemporaries but according to my copy of The Woman in White, collaborators and lifelong friends.

I haven't read much Dickens but have the hulking brute that is Dombey and Son waiting (balefully) on my bookshelf as part of my OU reading.