Novel One Completed

Well, I just finished reading the first novel on my list...Hard Times by Charles Dickens.

Impressive in its brevity - not very Dickensian! I'm used to reading Bleak House and Nicholas Nickleby, where you just have to jump in feet first and wallow luxuriously in the labrynthine plots and character descriptions and relationships.

Hard Times is a much more pared down effort for Dickens, but I found it all the more moving and eloquent for being so. Dickens' love of language and wit still shine through, but the relative shortness of the novel allows his passions and strong beliefs to come to the fore.

Needless to say, I enjoyed it. I would love to see an adaptation by the Beeb of this, but I fear it just wouldn't be meaty enough for them (not enough characters or plotlines) - although the issues of 150 years ago (workers' and marital rights, "proper" education) discussed in the book are still relevant today.

Gonna find a good pic of Dickens himself to post...

Next novel: Back to the weighty Dickens....Dombey and Son.