A Good Read
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I have just finished reading this book and I must say that I found it a little disjointed, although there were some real gems of characters in it - Swiveller, the Brasses, Quilp. That's why I've given it a 4 instead of a 3. The "good" characters were, as often in Dickens, rather boring and just too good to be true. Some things were left unsaid: for instance, how did Quilp's wife ever get to marry him!!!! There was a little note at the end that said her mother coerced her, but that part of the story might have been a lot better. All in all worth a read and, despite my criticisms, I wish I could write a fraction as good as Dickens!
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Twee heroine but revel in the characters
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The basic set up of this story may have pulled at Victorian heart stings but I thought it just silly : Nell, a young girl (12 I think) is brought into poverty by her uselss gambler of a grandfather and so decides they should both escape from the evil clutches of Quilp and run away to live as travellers in the countryside.
As is often the case in Dickens the good characters are dull and Nell is certainly this. Dull and niave the book drags when it's just her and her ga ga grandfather trapssing around the countryside. However, what saves the books is the great characters around them. Mrs Jaffery who runs the wax works, Richard Swiveller and the Marchioness, the noble, trustworthy Kit and of course the vile Quilp. Quilp is the star of the book, evil incarnate he steals every scene he's in. I'd love a really dark version of this story to be made for tv or the cinema.
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The essence of Charles Dickens
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This is the story of a little girl called Nell, who together with her grandfather, must run away from a succession of villains in an almost epic journey! You'll find everything here that you love about Charles Dickens: humour, satire, drama, unforgettable characters, laughter, and tears (I read somewhere that when Dickens read The Old Curiosity Shop at his public readings, the audience would actually burst into mass tears!) There are moments of heart-warming joy and moments of despair, and I think anyone with empathy and imagination will love this classic tale of good and evil.
A word of warning though: if you buy an edition with annotations, don't read them!! I made this fatal mistake, and was informed by a note in the middle of the novel about the fate of one of the main characters and what happens to the person at the end. What a spoiler! It ruined the whole pleasure of reading for me and I only managed to finish because the narrative was so lovely... if it had been any other novel I would surely not have bothered to go on to the end. Allow yourself the pleasure of reading this novel for its warmth and literary greatness - don't touch the notes.
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Quite Delightful
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I found this Charles Dickens novel quite what I expected: vividcharacters, demonic villains, comedy and tragedy together. I especiallyliked Mr. Swiveller and Marchionette. I liked how Swiveller turns out tobe at the end. Quilp was one of the worst villains I ever met inliterature. The parts where Dickens describes the poverty and inhumanconditions in the beginning of the industrialization process are simplytouching. Also towards the end, Nell's wanderings in the ancient town areso foretelling that one cannot help being moved. Although I found the plotto be quite predictable, it takes nothing away from the story. Theillustrations are quite fun too.
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An amazing piece of work
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I had bought this book in a multi-buy deal with other classics, and somehow it managed to sit on my bookshelf for almost a year before I got round to reading it - by the time I had finished it, I was kicking myself that it been wasting away for so long! There are so many things going on it, and although some things are just *too* coincidental, it never fails to grab you into the story. Couple this with the fact that Dickens can draw a wonderful picture of London of his time, and you feel part of the whole thing. The characters are wonderful as well - my favourites being Quilp, the evil dwarf, and Richard Swiveller (his antics 'working' in the office were always highly amusing). In short, a real rollercoaster of a novel, thoroughly recommended!!
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