Dickens! Mwah! discussion
my fav book of dickens
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Sophia
(last edited Aug 25, 2016 11:34AM)
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Jul 14, 2007 02:46PM
my favorite book of charles dicken's is Great Expections
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I love Great Expectations as well, but my two faves are his later novels Bleak House and Little Dorrit. I think Little Dorrit in particular is under-rated: Dickens at his most despairing and compassionate.
Mod
Also, in Dombey and Son, the storyline is a little weaker, but the writing and the descriptions are just masterful!
I haven't read Little Dorrit...... Old Curiousity Shop is next on my list, maybe Dorrit will be next. :)
Bleak House was also F. Scott Fitzgeralds' favorite Dickens novel. Stephen King has described Dickens as the Shakespeare of the novel. An interesting observation, perhaps not so much regarding shared themes or subject matter but with respect to sheer imaginative power and talent.For what it's worth, I recommend reading Dickens in chronological order as there is a clear growth in artistic focus as well as a deepening sadness about life and societal injustice. But hey, he never wrote a dud!
I've liked Little Dorritt, The Old Curiosity Shop and Oliver Twist the best so far. David Copperfield, would be a notch below those, and Hard Times a few below that. I read Great Expectations so long ago, I'm not sure where it falls, though I remember liking it quite a bit.I think next I'll read Pickwick Papers or Our Mutual Friend. I'm looking forward to Bleak House, though, after reading the comments here.
cheers,
Matt
I liked Pickwick Papers a lot, but it is really different from his other novels--it is very episodic and doesn't read much like a novel until about part way through. It was such a huge success when it came out, though, that you could buy all kinds of merchandise based on the book--Pickwick hats, cigars, song books, etc. It is also cool to see how events in the Pickwick Papers turned into later stories (in particular the story about the goblin in the graveyard).
My favorite of Dickens' books is Our Mutual Friend; I think that it is a shame that so few people have read it. My next favorites are Bleak House, Little Dorrit, and Dombey and Son. I tend to like his later, or at least weightier, novels best, but the first book of his that I ever read was Nickolas Nickleby, and my family has it to blame for my nine-year love affaire with all things Dickens.
Mutual Friend is a wonderful novel, full of light and darkness. I agree that his later novels are more satisfying, but all are worth reading.The 1998 BBC mini-series of Our Mutual Friend is a must see if you appreciate the book.
I haven't read them all yet -- I am working on it. I LOVED A Tale of Two Cities... it was the first Dickens I read. He captivated me with his use of language and mastery of story-weaving. I followed it up with Oliver Twist, which I enjoyed. Now I am reading Great Expectations and I absolutely love it! In fact, I love it more than a Tale of Two Cities. It is amazing!
Both the Oliver Twist and Great Expectations movies are pale skeletons of their printed counterparts -- neither does its story justice.
Mod
If you like Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, you simply must read Bleak House and David Copperfield next. In Bleak House, he weaves an unbelievably intricate plot with his characteristically phenomenal character development. David Copperfield just makes you feel warm and happy. :)
The last Dickens book I read was "Barnaby Rudge". Not his best, but entertaining at the least.
Thank you! I plan to read David Copperfield. Everyone keeps telling me that it is his most autobiographical novel. I will add Bleak House to the list too!
My favourites are Little Dorrit and Great Expectations. I never really 'got into' Bleak House although it was my first Dickens besides Great Expectations - my first serious full-on lengthy classic Dickens. Not to say that I didn't enjoy it, I just didn't appreciate it as much as I might have. My least favourite is Hard Times, I must admit.
A Tale of Two Cities. I have watched the movie version of Great Expectations before I actually found a copy of the book lying around the house. I can picture how excited the writer could have been while writing the tragedy in between research on the historical background. I am such a sucker for historical fiction. And he must have been in love when he worked on the latter one.
For me it's a tie between Our Mutual Friend and Bleak House.
Just joined the group and see that this particular thread is an incredibly slowwwww discussion--lol!!I was excited to see that others enjoy Bleak House as well. I truly believe that was Dickens best novel ever. I can see how a new reader would not enjoy the book as it is extremely convoluted; however, it might help to watch the BBC (? or is it PBS??)version. Of course, much was lost in trying to get it into film version, but if one is having trouble tracking who is who and how they all tie together--the visual may help.
I have heard that Stephen King's "Black House" was loosely based on Bleak House. I'm not sure how--other than the title, but perhaps I should read it again and see
Personally, I feel the Tale of Two Cities is overrated.
My faves, in order; Our Mutual Friend, Little Dorrit, Bleak House, and then Dombey and Son.For me, Great Expectations, and (I agree with Ruth here) A Tale of Two Cities are over-rated; but that's just me. ;-) Cheers! Chris
My favorite is Oliver Twist. I also love Great Expectations and Hard Times. And is it possible to say the A Christmas Carol, adored as it is, is still underrated?I enjoyed Bleak House, but the characters were way cardboard (sorry!).
I must get to Little Dorrit.
My favourite Dickens book is Our Mutual Friend, which I thought was just wonderful on so many levels. The characters in this story were so different and really three-dimensional with their own quirks and problems and stuff. I also loved the character interaction in this story (I had a blast with the Eugene/Mortimer scenes) and found myself laughing out loud at times, which I totally didn't expect. The themes running through the story were also pretty interesting IMO. =)
Just finished David Copperfield and think it is my favorite thus far! Great, great book!
I think I am liking Bleak House the second time around.
I think I've read all of his major books except oliver twist.Ive found them all (almost equally) excellent. What stands out in my mind are not his best books,but his worst. I find The high quality of his writting is so consistant that its the duds that stand out.Its my opinion that the tale of 2 cities was a dud (I read it twice).I also feel Barnaby Rudge,Hard Times and Mystery of Edwin Drood stand out as somewhat weaker (comparativly) than his other novels.
