Dickens - Where to Begin?

[laymonite]

Hard Times. This was my first Dickens novel, assigned in a class to illuminate a discussion on Marxism. Great novel. A Tale of Two Cities and Bleak House were to follow (outside of the classroom) and both were, in my opinion, superb literary treats!

[Patrick_Bateman]

Hard Times. This was my first Dickens novel, assigned in a class to illuminate a discussion on Marxism. Great novel. A Tale of Two Cities and Bleak House were to follow (outside of the classroom) and both were, in my opinion, superb literary treats!

I had a bad experience when I read the supremely awful Great Expectations

But two copies of Hard Times are always lying around in a room a study in and because it's relatively short I am tempted to give Dickens another go.
I believe I shall now.

[ScribbleScribe]

I started off with Oliver Twist. I got it free as an award for reading so much in Middle School. It was the first Classical literature I ever read of my own volition. Then I got hooked on Dickens and that was the end of that.

[Jassy Melson]

I started a Dickens reading project about five years ago. The goal was to read every Dickens novel. I completed the project a few months ago. Now I'm going to begin another project wherein I go back and reread all his novels. It's well worth it.

[Voivod30]

I consider Hard Times one of my favorite novels. It's quite biting and sarcastic in a political sense but also features great characters which is what he's mostly known for. I loved Great Expectations as well although it's some what lengthy it's quite an easy and quick read. I've also read A Tale Of Two Cities and David Copperfield but that was many years ago so I have little memory of them. I recall enjoying them a great deal at the time. I recently purchased the Complete Dickens for my Kindle which chronicles all of his novels.

[mal4mac]

I've read most of Dickens and a Tale of Two cities was one of my least favourite of his novels. Ok it's set in the most colourful period in history, has Byronic hero, and well-paced action, and it's written by Dickens So it isn't a bad experience. BUT it lacks all that Dickens does best - no cozy Englishness, no quirky characters, little comedy.

The populous landscape is absent, you only get the rather "straight" main characters and "the mob". Ok the characters are as good as, say, those in Trollope, but Dickens is usually better than Trollope! Also the actual landscape is flat - no unforgettable sketches of London here... or even of Paris. So read it certainly, but if you are disappointed by the lack of the particular "Dickensian magic", then don't worry - there's more of that in whatever other novel of his you might read!

[kiki1982]

Well, I might like A Tale of Two Cities then. I'll give it a go.

Hope I will not get exasperated by his 'Paris', like I did with his 'Venice' in Little Dorrit, which I abandoned shortly after that... :yuk:

Thanks for the hint on Trollope, may add him to my list.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

As an update, I just finished A Tale of Two Cities and really enjoyed it.

[misterreplicant]

I once starred in an Oliver Twist play..
Try reading Oliver Twist, if you are up for a FUN story!

[wessexgirl]

Well, I might like A Tale of Two Cities then. I'll give it a go.

Hope I will not get exasperated by his 'Paris', like I did with his 'Venice' in Little Dorrit, which I abandoned shortly after that... :yuk:

Thanks for the hint on Trollope, may add him to my list.

Trollope is wonderful. I am reading The Way We Live Now, and watching The Barchester Chronicles again, after just having watched TWWLN again. He's very good on the establishment of the day, the Church and Parliament, with a lovely satirical bent. I love him.