Dickens

Slattsy

I know this will be quite subjective, but if you could choose one Dickens novel to give to someone, what would it be?

Swiper the fox

I love Hard Times because I did it for my leaving cert all those years ago.
But I would go for Great Expectations, brilliant book.

Paddy Samurai

I only ever read one of his books ,Hard Times,also for my leaving cert.
But as a kid I read most of the rest in the "classic Illustrated" range ,a type of graphic novel. Also watched a fair amount of the films based on his books.

If I was going to give one of his books to someone ,it would be "A Tale of two cities". I love that story.

buck65

Great Expectations for me too. Stopped reading for a few years after college, just had other things to do. Lived abroad for a year and had lots of time and bought this and Kafka's short stories, haven't stopped reading for 20 years since!

Ormus

Great Expectations or A Tale of Two Cities

Or David Copperfield if you want to give them a pure feel good book.

He didn't write many bad books.

HamsterFace

Great Expectations.

Did it for my leaving cert and read it about ten times that year so I could say I was "studying".
Fantastic book though.

Harry Angstrom

The problem with Dickens is that he relied far too much on coincidence to drive the plots of his novels. If he was around today, he'd probably be a scriptwriter for a soap opera. While I think that David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Hard Times etc. are well worth reading, his use of coincidence becomes laughable at times.

I think Great Expectations is his best work, although that isn't without coincidence either.

buck65

That is a bit of a coincidence so.

Ormus

Harry Angstrom wrote: »

The problem with Dickens is that he relied far too much on coincidence to drive the plots of his novels. If he was around today, he'd probably be a scriptwriter for a soap opera. While I think that David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Hard Times etc. are well worth reading, his use of coincidence becomes laughable at times.

I think Great Expectations is his best work, although that isn't without coincidence either.

Yeah it gets a bit silly sometimes, but the classics were all like that. People preferred happy stories to gritty realism back then.

heathledgerlove

Great Expectations too, the characterization is just brilliant, the detail he goes into! Eg Wemmick's gorgeous gentleness towards his Aged P., and Miss Havisham blasting her grasping relatives ha ha, I love this book even though Pip is an unbearable little wench, I like that it's told in his exasperating first person. Joe Gargery is my favourite, salt of the earth.

I've just started David Copperfield so that to look forward to. Only read a page or two and David remarks how his birth caul, which legend says will guarantee the possessor a long and happy non-drowning life, was bought by a 90 year old woman :P Humor and great human empathy really resonate his novels with warmth.

I know there is too much coincidence and plot contrivance (Lisa Simpson: "It's like something out of Dickens or Melrose Place!") but still I find the stark descriptions of the working classes help retain some semblance of credibility. Hard to believe now they were originally serialized seeing as how the stories, though they ramble, are nicely plotted and compact and clear.