shell 'n harp

Reading my second Dickens novel. Oi! It is a big book – 993 pages in the edition I am reading and I am a s l o w reader. I found the first two chapters almost impenetrable. At page 235, I am enjoying it very much. He creates such wonderful characters and can take you right to a place with all it’s grime and filth and suffering.

Here is one of my favorite lines so far,

“There is something decidedly keen and wan about her anatomy; and she has a watchful way of looking out of the corner of her eyes without turning her head, which could be pleasantly dispensed with – especially when she is in an ill humour and near knives”.

Love it!

Favourite (because they are so deliciously awful) characters so far – Mr Turveydrop Snr & Mrs Pardiggle

I was excited to see that our local PBS channel was showing “Great Expectations”. It was so disappointingly one-dimensional after all that pithy prose. Understandably (for tv) half the characters and 9/10th of the action was done away with, just leaving the bare bones of the story, which I might be quite happy with, if I hadn’t just read the book. And the characters didn’t look like they did in my head at all!

kind of how I feel about my life right now, but more importantly a well known Charles Dickens quote (albeit somewhat condensed).

My one and only new year’s resolution is to read some Dickens this year. I never have and think it is about bloomin’ time. I have jumped right in with Great Expectations and, at page 100, I am enjoying it enormously and have Great Expectations for a year of good reading.

I have just found out it is his 200th birthday this year. Even more reason to get reading.

Here he is as a young fellow – quite the dandy.