Topic: The GMG Pickwick Club

[aligreto]

Dickens: Bleak House






This is quite a large novel. It is also somewhat different in that it is narrated by one of the main characters and, alternatively, by the author at different periods. It is essentially a story about a legal case involving a will. It is also a tale of obsession and the consequences of that obsession on various people. There are some very strong characters in this novel and the story is well told by Dickens. I have enjoyed the read [my first time].

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Dickens: Bleak House






This is quite a large novel. It is also somewhat different in that it is narrated by one of the main characters and, alternatively, by the author at different periods. It is essentially a story about a legal case involving a will. It is also a tale of obsession and the consequences of that obsession on various people. There are some very strong characters in this novel and the story is well told by Dickens. I have enjoyed the read [my first time].

I'm planning to read it at some point, as I enjoyed the BBC production a good deal.

[DavidW]

It is one of the few works of Dickens that I haven't read.  It is sitting on my shelf.  The last Dickens novel I read was Hard Times.

[aligreto]

I'm planning to read it at some point, as I enjoyed the BBC production a good deal.

It is one of the few works of Dickens that I haven't read.  It is sitting on my shelf.  The last Dickens novel I read was Hard Times.

Covid times are a good time for reading Dickens as in this case one needs a lot of time to allocate to it. The moral of the tale is one of tremendous irony. Enjoy the read if you gentlemen do go ahead with it.

[DavidW]

Covid times are a good time for reading Dickens as in this case one needs a lot of time to allocate to it.

My workload during covid is actually been quite a bit more instead of less.  It is difficult for me to commit to any long novel for that reason.  Maybe this summer.

[aligreto]

Dickens: Hard Times

I have read somewhere that this is the least read novel written by Dickens. That is a pity as I found it to be an engrossing read. I liked the strong characters and I also liked the plot. I found both to be very creditable and engaging. Dickens was a master storyteller and this is a fine tale which is well told.

[DavidW]

That is funny that is not often read since it is one of his shortest.  I agree that it is a fine novel.

[JBS]

Dickens: Hard Times

I have read somewhere that this is the least read novel written by Dickens. That is a pity as I found it to be an engrossing read. I liked the strong characters and I also liked the plot. I found both to be very creditable and engaging. Dickens was a master storyteller and this is a fine tale which is well told.

We were assigned Hard Times in my high school specifically because it was his shortest novel.

I do think it shows all his strengths as a novelist.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

We were assigned Hard Times in my high school specifically because it was his shortest novel.

I do think it shows all his strengths as a novelist.

Haven't read it in an age, should revisit it.

[aligreto]

Dickens: Little Dorrit





Little Dorrit is essentially the story of the incarceration and the life of a man who was sentenced to the debtors prison, and his and his family’s life especially his youngest daughter Amy Dorrit who was born in the prison. The book contains the comments of Dickens upon the system of the debtors prison, the operation of the civil service and the high regard in which an ultimate financial swindler is held. There are some wonderful characters contained in this work. The contrast between the characters of Little Dorrit and her father, both inside and outside of the prison is wonderfully written. There are, of course, many other wonderful characters here also. 

[aligreto]

Dickens: A Tale Of Two Cities





This is a very famous book obviously but how many people have actually read it? It is a well constructed novel that is easy to read. It is historically based but it is not a “heavy” read. It is based around a certain number of characters in, and some common to, the two cities concerned. I had forgotten the level of detail that dickens employs in his descriptive narrative in relation to the French Revolution. As always with Dickens wonderful characters inhabit the pages. I found it, once again after many years, to be an engrossing read. It was well worth another reading.

[DavidW]

Dickens: A Tale Of Two Cities





This is a very famous book obviously but how many people have actually read it? It is a well constructed novel that is easy to read. It is historically based but it is not a “heavy” read. It is based around a certain number of characters in, and some common to, the two cities concerned. I had forgotten the level of detail that dickens employs in his descriptive narrative in relation to the French Revolution. As always with Dickens wonderful characters inhabit the pages. I found it, once again after many years, to be an engrossing read. It was well worth another reading.

It is one of my all time favorite novels.  I've read it several times and I'm planning on rereading it in the next year or so.

[aligreto]

It is one of my all time favorite novels.  I've read it several times and I'm planning on rereading it in the next year or so.

Great. I had not read it in many years and I found the re-read very rewarding.

[Florestan]

It is one of my all time favorite novels.

Mine as well.

[aligreto]

Dickens: Great Expectations





This was an interesting reading of this work. I thought that I had remembered it but I was wrong. The book is full of wonderful characters with a straightforward, basically linear plot. It is also a book that is packed full of wonderful images, sometimes portrayed almost photographically. The standout ones are obviously those of the early scenes with the convict as well as those scenes associated with Miss Havisham. But there are many more that are wonderfully evocative which had been forgotten by me. Also the rich tapestry of characters was also something that came to light again for me. The writing of Estella’s character was wonderful and the description of Wemmick’s character and his domestic environment have become some of my favourite portrayals by Dickens. Wonderful writing indeed.