Re: Charles Dickens
People are grotesque, sentiment is human. What's the problem?
I've been re-reading Dickens' books for a while now. Sketches By Boz is often fun, but more interesting as a glimpse at Dickens honing his craft. The Pickwick Papers is marvellous - you can see Dickens finding his voice, turning a fairly mundane piece of job-work into the prototype for his big, crowded, compassionate novels. As such, it falters along the way and is somewhat patchy in construction, but a glorious, endearing mess results. I can't think of many writers who can express humour and the macabre equally well and Dickens shows off both sides of his talent here. I think all of life's in there, somewhere. Nicholas Nickelby is very much a young man's novel- but again, what a wonderfully crowded book. Ralph Nickelby and Wackford Squeers show him beginning to create real villains, and while the tragicomic characters are effective if melodramatic, and melodrama a bit much at times, it's all good, well-intentioned fun with its heart in the right place.
I'll probably take up The Old Curiosity Shop next.
I'd suggest that Dickens is best savoured in editions that reproduce the illustrations by Phiz, where possible.
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