A question about Dickens

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  • August 19, 2015 at 2:45 pm
    albanyaloe
    Participant

    My reading has got rather stuck in a rut, and I’ve been sticking to a repertoire of  Jane Austen, the Bronte’s, Elizabeth Gaskell, and the works of Gene Stratton Porter.  I simply adore the plots these authors create and the wonderful embroidering of their characters.

    I am slowly trying to get more classics under my belt.  Karen Andreola seems to think that Charles Dickens is a wonderful author, so I am trying to like Oliver Twist, but I find it so cruel and rough.  (I am not reading it to my children, though my son has read it, and didn’t find it too bad.)  Is it just me, or did anyone else find it rather rough?

    We have read A Christmas Carol and enjoyed that very much.

    Which novel by Dickens that isn’t quite as harsh as Oliver?  Would David Copperfield be a good one to try?

    Thank you,

    Lindy

    August 19, 2015 at 3:24 pm
    alphabetika
    Participant

    I’d go with David Copperfield. Much less harsh, in my memory. Or maybe Great Expectations. I haven’t read much Dickens but these two stand out in my mind as having much less childhood misery than Oliver Twist.

    August 19, 2015 at 3:54 pm
    Sonya Shafer
    Moderator

    The first chapters of David Copperfield were pretty miserable for us, though the book itself is fantastic; as is Great Expectations. I wonder if Bleak House might be a good choice for less childhood misery scenes.

    August 19, 2015 at 9:36 pm
    Kristen
    Participant

    I am also trying to read more classics and have just started David Copperfield. I am only on chapter 2 but have found it fairly easing going.

    August 20, 2015 at 3:25 am
    albanyaloe
    Participant

    Thank you for those answers, ladies.   I never thought of Bleak House, Sonya, thank you.  I think I will try David Copperfield and put Bleak House and Great Expectations on the list next.

    Regards,

    Lindy

    August 20, 2015 at 7:03 am
    Rachel White
    Participant

    And then, after you read Bleak House and Great Expectations, you can watch the incredible most recent versions of both from BBC and Masterpiece Theater, both starring Gillian Anderson.

    Don’t know which D.C. version is best; though I always think the British do Dickens best.

    August 20, 2015 at 7:36 am
    Sonya Shafer
    Moderator

    I agree; Gillian Anderson does a wonderful job in both!

    August 21, 2015 at 8:46 am
    Rachel White
    Participant

    She’s an amazing interpreter of these characters. She was also in House of Mirth in 2000, to much critical acclaim. http://www.amazon.com/House-Mirth-Gillian-Anderson/dp/B00003CXSA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1440164505&sr=8-4&keywords=house+of+mirth

    I haven’t seen because I haven’t read it yet, but it’s on my list.

    Two books I just finished that I would recommend:

    I think a must-read (I couldn’t put it down)–Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle. http://www.amazon.com/Trail-Tears-Rise-Cherokee-Nation/dp/0385239548/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440164346&sr=8-1&keywords=trail+of+tears

    and a good, easy read, probably most enjoyed by those who love/work the land: O, Pioneers by Willa Cather. A good character study.

     

     

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