I'm ashamed to say that the only Dickens book I've read is Great Expectations, so I need to remedy that problem immediately. Two friends have recommended that I read Little Dorrit. The problem with reading Dickens is that he writes huge tomes that are daunting, to say the least. Does anyone else have a recommendation? I'm looking at David Copperfield, Little Dorrit, and A Tale of Two Cities. I'm having a dickens of a time choosing.
Well, what have I been reading anyway? I just finished A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry which came to me highly recommended by Melody at Fingers and Prose. Check out her review. This book reminds me of the classic All Quiet on the Western Front only more beautiful and more horrific. The writing alternates with beautifully, descriptive language and horrific war scenes from World War I.Willie Dunne leaves Ireland for the western front during WWI to fight for England. He quickly learns that he's caught in the middle between Irish Rebels who want Independence for Ireland and the English whose "intent" it is to establish home rule after the war. Willie lives all the horrific battles and situations on the front on behalf of England, but back at home Irish boys are being executed by England for their role in the rebellion.
Little vignettes of beautiful language punctuate horrific scenes. Plus, there are touching characters: Willie Dunne and his family, a Catholic Priest, fellow soldiers, sweet letters. Plus some nasty home visits, battle scenes, and French prostitutes.
"Wearily, hungrily, thirstily, they slogged back. They passed men they knew and men they didn't know, all freshly killed along the way. They were like paint marks painted on the fields."
"But perhaps Armageddon lay not so far away as Ireland."
Rating: 4.5
Pages: 292
Published: Penguin Books, 2005
Warning: Strong Language, Sex, Violence
I haven't read Little Dorrit, but I have read Great Expectations, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, the Pickwick Papers, and several of his short stories. I really enjoy his short stories and love to read A Christmas Carol every year, but I also enjoyed his other books. I think I'd recommend reading David Copperfield and watching Bleak House on Netflix -- the 2005 BBC version.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that Bleak House is his masterpiece, but the storyline of David Copperfield is appealing. Thanks for the movie recommendation.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a great track record with Dickens, but I'm drawn to A Tale of Two Cities--maybe because I've heard that it's different from his other books. :)
ReplyDeleteA Long Long Way was horrific at times--it's as close to WWI as I've ever been. For some reason I really liked Christie Moran, even though half of his speech (or more!) was 'indecorous'. And my heart just broke during Willie's home visits. :( The attitude reminded me a lot of the sentiment during the Vietnam war.
Just so you know, The Secret Scripture (also by Barry) was very different--more about the story/plot than the writing and setting.
I personally thought that A Long Long Way was better than All Quiet on the Western Front. I really fell in love with the priest. What a beautiful person he was! I never realized the situation for the Irish soldiers. It did seem a lot like the Vietnam War.
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