Hoorah! I finally finished reading David Copperfield.
When Charles Dickens was selected as our theme for book club I must confess I didn't know what to expect. I knew of his works that had been converted into plays or movies (A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist) and I could name other books for which he was famous (Great Expectations, David Copperfield, etc) but that was the extent of my knowledge. I had tried to read Great Expectations once, but didn't get past the first chapter.
My book selection for this theme was David Copperfield - I happened to have as an ebook (blasphemy!). And what can I say... It was a struggle? Yes. It was rewarding? Yes. Did it take me long to read? Hell yes! Did it make me cry? Very nearly.
One of things Dickens seems to do best, which I believe has meant his books have lasted the test of time, is character development. In fact sometimes, for our day and age (where information is always a touch away and in a format that can be rapidly consumed), I'd say he spent too much time (in David Copperfield). I did find myself skipping whole paragraphs, particularly towards the end so that I could quickly find out what was going to happen. I did find the language challenging at times and occasionally had no clue what a particular character was saying or doing. But this did not have a significant impact on the story. Actually, I could spend hours analysing the plot development, the character development, the literary style, the pros and cons but that has been done many times before and click this link for more info (wiki of course).
What I really wanted to say with this blog is - persevering with all these things is worth it. The plot is so cleverly woven together it's not until the last chapters that the outcomes are revealed (Spoiler alert: I've read so many romance novels I could see that part of the ending coming a mile away). And just like a Hollywood movie (or it should be the other way around) everyone gets their just desserts or comes out peachy.
