Pickwick Papers - Charles Dickens

Now I normally have a problem about READING Dickens. The films are great, TV adaptations are superb, but sitting down and reading the books as written causes me difficulties.

I think some of the problem is with the ludicrous names, and the attempts at dialects foxes me totally. I think I've found a solution - go to a reading group where there are readings aloud, mixed with DVD recordings of film adaptations and audio books - read by a good actor of course.

This technique brings it to life - and I finally understand the humour. It has made me laugh outloud.

OK - lets talk about the Pickwick Papers. This is Dickens' first book. He wrote it when (I think) he was in his 20s. It is the story of Mr Pickwick and his friends leading ordinary, dull lives. Of course, what is an ordinary dull life to one person appears to be funny, silly, ludicrous, extraordinary or just plain dumb to the onlooker. There are comedies of errors, misunderstandings leading to disasters and humiliations. I like the way Dickens describes his characters, fills them out, and makes them easy to visualise. His plot develops easily, suspense is generated, a connection is made - but why does he need to have stories within the plots, and those names are just so irritating. However, Dickens deserves to be a classic author and should pass down from generation to generation. He talks about those everlasting truths and debates - relationships, emotions, love and marriage, and politics (with a small p). Pickwick Papers is not a book that deals with society and injustice in the way that many of his later books do, but you can see how the mature author will develop.

My rating? 8/10