Since I knew nothing of Dickens beyond A Christmas Carol, I chose my first novel in the old fashioned way -- I read the footnotes. Specifically, I read footnote 4 of Deleuze's final essay, where he refers to a single chapter in this enormous novel (the one where Rogue Riderhood nearly dies). The novel contains several great scenes, and this is one of them. The full list would include the foggy night on the Thames that it opens with, our hilarious initial encounter with the Veneerings, and a couple of the climactic scenes that can't be described for fear of spoiling the surprise for the many loyal readers who will undoubtedly be inspired to plough through all 900 some odd pages of this monster once they read this review.
Because it was really pretty entertaining. Yes, admittedly, it is way too long for modern tastes. Many scenes that seem designed to be read aloud for purely comic effect could be significantly shorter. But when you consider that the novel was published in installments over the course of 20 months, these diversions make a lot more sense. And yes, modern taste may also find the ending overly moralistic. I don't know what it was like in 1865, but these days it strains credulity -- even in fiction -- to see every bad guy either fully reformed or perfectly punished according to his just desserts. But the story is crafty, the characters exceedingly well drawn and relatable, and the writing shockingly experimental for so popular an author. Though, if I ever do read another Dickens novel, I'll make sure to do it as the author intended and only cover 50 pages a month.
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