Blogger Marianne Goss, in a post titled "Alternative approaches to Dickens," writes that, when Dickens's wordiness wore her down, she went looking for other ways to enjoy his work:
I wouldn’t abandon Dickens’s novels, I’d watch them in performance. With his vivid descriptions of people and places and his masterful dialogue, Dickens is ideal for dramatization.
We all know there a lot of great Dickens adaptations out there, and certainly Dickens adapted is better than no Dickens at all. But I would tell Goss, if I had the opportunity, that one misses so much of Dickens's magic without his words. I'm not saying the words can't be difficult. Sometimes I have to wrestle with them. Sometimes, to be completely honest, they wear me down too. Recently, listening to an excellent audiobook of Our Mutual Friend recommended by my friend Kaitlyn, I had to take a break for a while when I got to the passage about Mr. Boffin's big reveal. It's not one of my favorite passages in Dickens, to put it mildly. And unfortunately, when you're dealing with an audiobook, it's not so easy skipping your least favorite passages.
But eventually I picked it back up and pressed play again, because even when he's not at his best, Dickens's words are worth it. I always come out happier and better for having read (or heard) them. So enjoy the adaptations by all means, but don't stay stuck there. Read them in installments if you have to -- another idea of Goss's, and one that I hope she follows through with -- but read them. In the end, you'll be glad you did.
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