I really want to say it, so as cheesy as it is, let me have my moment: I really didn’t have great expectations for this book.
OK, now that’s out of the way I can tell you what I really thought of it.
This was my first ever Dickens that I’ve read cover to cover and I was incredibly impressed. It’s a long book (I know you probably get sick of hearing that from me) but Dickens made me realise that (in the case of novels that span a significant amount of time) length really does matter.
My very first Dickens
It took me a long time to get through the 484 pages – sixty-five days in fact – and I found myself in the habit of setting small goals and rewarding myself for chapters finished. I have to read 5 more pages before falling asleep (never worked), or if I get to the end of this chapter I can have a bowl of icecream (all the icecream was eaten well before the end of the book).
Jessie Ansons 