Charles Dickens

[clarebear]

I've read Oliver Twist, Hard Times and Great Expectations. I love what I've read so far and I know in the future I will read more Dickens. I believe it is his verbose style that I enjoy the most.

[Sheila]

I have read Oliver Twist, Great Expectations (my favorite), Christmas Carole, Tale of Two Cities, and David Copperfield. Obivously I like Dickens work, I do agree he is dark, and a bit long winded. He describe not only the lawn but each blade of grass.

[Wordsgood]

A Christmas Carol is referenced so often in pop culture that you basically have to read it. Oliver Twist is a great book. Charles Dickens may or may not be overrated, but either way his is still a great author.

Ditto!

[chekhovian]

I think Bleak House and Great Expectations are his best novels.They seem to have just the right combination of interesting characters and compelling storyline. Also if you like Dickens, check out the work of his contemporary, Wilkie Collins. His novel ,The Woman in White, is a terrific victorian era mystery.

[thisislissa]

Okay, so I'm probably going to get shot for this. But, I don't like Dickens. I find that his work is all too dark and depressing.

I don't know, but I think if I wanted to be in touch with the dimness of reality, I would just step outside or read a news paper.

Call me crazy but I never fond Dickens particularly dark. Sure his characters go through hell, but there is usually redemption at the end. Oh, and as to the verbosity that’s the best part . . . if you don’t want to hear about every blade of grass go read Hemmingway.

For the record my favorite is David Copperfield (bearing in mind I haven’t read Bleak House or Great Expectations yet). I sort of hated Tale of Two Cities, but I was made to read it in high school so I may be wrong. I just finished Hard Times, what a strange book. It contains not one but two of the dreaded Dickens implausibly-angelic-female-savior characters. On the other hand the bad guys were very memorable and the central idea that suffocation of imagination will destroy the soul doesn’t get as much circulation as it should.

[Stillost]

Dickens is definately a favourite of mine, really loved tale of two cities, david copperfield was beautiful and great expectations is a real insight.
my love for dickens comes from the way he captures my emotions and i cant help but feel everything that's happening, i cant read dickens in public because i'm sure to cry at some point , or be smiling like an idiot.
i haven't read chrismas carol as everyone else seems too, but i'm sure i will eventually.

[SheldrakeWriter]

Great Expectations is a good read. He wrote for serialised publication so don't rush it. Take it a chapter at a time and stretch it out. You want almost to have forgotten what's happening before you pick it up again.

[Gemma_375]

I love Charles Dickens' work, and he is definitely my favourite author from the Victorian period! I love the dark humour displayed in his novels and how he evokes such vivid imagery that each of the novels stays with me for years after I have read them - I have never forgotten the plot of a Dickens' novel, like I have done with others. I find that I can become so engrossed that I can just enjoy reading without feeling as if I am 'enduring' the book until some interesting incident occurs!

[LittleWilma]

I have read A Tale of Two Cities....it was difficult to plow through at first but in the end it was a good book.....Oliver twist I really enjoyed

It took me three tries to get through A Tale of Two Cities and it was more than worth the effort. I think the main problem was that the print in my paperback copy was a bit on the small side and my eyes tired very easily. Once I downloaded it on my Kindle, I got through it in no time. With Oliver Twist, it was a two-try effort and it is probably for the same reason. My second effort was initiated it because my daughter was reading an edition that was edited to be a child's reading level. She loved it and I hope that she will read more of Dickens when she gets older.

-- 19 May 2014, 00:18 --

Nobody has ever told me that they do not like Charles Dickens. He is definitely one of those beloved authors.

I have met one person who does not like Dickens. It was a paralegal at a temp job I was working several years ago.

-- 19 May 2014, 00:24 --

During my senior year in high school my English class was significantly smaller than the other one. We got way ahead in our study materials so we were assigned Great Expectations to read. It was my first Dickens novel and I absolutely loved it. A few years later, I bought a copy and reread it. The next thing I read was The Pickwick Papers. That one took forever to get through. I have read seven of his novels total and several of his short stories. When I first got my Kindle, I downloaded everything from Dickens that I can find. All of that being said, I think it is safe to say that I love Charles Dickens.