The Old Curiosity Shop

I'm revising my rating because I just don't have good memories of this book. I got a two-volume set from around the 1880s, and decided to read through it; I kinda liked Nell, but it was like slogging through mud for me to get into the story. Well, I made it to the end of the first volume, and by then I'd invested enough time to put it aside, so I gritted my teeth and ploughed into it. I could hardly wait to finish the final chapter, because this villain is utterly bad and was totally creeping me out.

Imagine my shock when it ended on a cliffhanger and “End of volume II” instead of “The End.” I was missing a third volume! By that time I was mad; this book was not going to conquer me. When I got a chance, I got a complete volume and finished it off.

I didn't feel a big payoff like I hoped. In the end, things still look generally hopeless. It kept getting sidetracked from the Nell story I wanted to read and focusing on other, repulsive characters.

If it wasn't a classic, I'd probably give it two stars.

A classic that I've tried to read several times. Finally made it though. Interesting glimpse into old London life.

I can't think of any reason to give this less than 5 stars. We know Dickens isn't perfect. The merits and flaws of his work have been discussed exhaustively for nearly two centuries now, and we all know the arguments. The Old Curiosity Shop doesn't break any moulds. Yes, the villains are very villainy, and the goodies are very good. Why, little Nell, pure, courageous Nell, she's practically an angel on earth right from the get-go, and it should come as no surprise when she gently but gloriously ascends to the heavenly domain, particularly since the author builds up to it with some rather heavy-handed allusions in the immediate preceding chapters.

But Dickens exerts enormous power over his helpless readers. Such magnificent prose, passages comic, passages grotesque, passages profound, stirring, moving, joyous... let us stop there. I will spare you the full list of adjectives I had in mind. I mean, what can I say about Charles Dickens that hasn't already been said a million times or more?

Suffice it to say that there is a reason that Dickens sits high atop the pile of 19th century novelists, and perhaps atop the pile of all novelists ever. He is a byword, the last word, and he's even an adjective. He left to us one of the most compelling windows on the 19th century. He is a phenomenon that will never fade.

I prefer my books with happy ending.