Discovering Dickens

‎"Thus, a strain of gentle music, or the rippling of water in a silent place, or the odour of a flower, or the mention of a familiar word, will sometimes call up sudden dim remembrances of scenes that never were . . . " -Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist


     If you know me at all, you know that I'm always working through a book. I've been that way since I first learned how to read. Now, I am not a fast reader--so I might be seen carrying the same book around for months at a time--but still, you don't have to read fast to love reading. For me, reading gives me goals and a sense of accomplishment.  My somewhat-perfectionistic side has given me the will to finish pretty much any book I start. If I set my mind to it, I usually enjoy anything I read. However, there was one author who always set my face sour. Yes, it was him--it was that darn Dickens.
     I don't know what flamed my ardent dislike for this famous author. It could be that my younger sister always liked his works, and I always attempted to "be the older sister" by NOT liking whatever she liked (this could be my stark jealousy at her ability to read AND understand a book quickly--and I mean QUICKLY). It could be my hatred for anything to do with the abuse of children--movies like "Oliver Twist" and "Nicholas Nickelby" quickly send me boiling into the next room.
     You can imagine my attitude when I saw that there are at least THREE of Dickens' novels on the list of 100 books that I want to get through this year. I decided that I had to get it over with. So, despairingly, I reached for my dusty rendition of "Oliver Twist" that I had TRIED to read years ago, only to yank myself through 1/3 of the book before putting it away and declaring that "Dickens is dumb" again. This time, though, he wasn't gonna beat me. I found where I had left off and quickly started to finish what I had started.
     Oh my, how differently this author appears to me now! It was as if my eyes had been healed from a long-faring illness. It isn't the story of Oliver that I particularly like--it is the way in which Dickens writes it. Why had I not caught on to this before? There's something about his words--something about the way in which he writes them--that just simply leaves me satisfied after each portion of reading. I'm not saying he's become my all time favorite author or anything--after all, I still have 100 pages of Oliver left! But I no longer detest this author. Quotes like the one at the beginning of this page make me realize there's something special about him. He somehow makes you realize why his good characters are really good and why his bad characters are really bad . . . not only due to their actions, but their upbringing and mindset as well. I could go on and on about the character Nancy alone in "Oliver Twist" and how Dickens depicts an awful character brutally and honestly in such a manner as to make me partially sympathize with her . . . but I won't go into that. Dark and dreary as his stories are, he really understands life and is able to put pen to paper in a way that helps me better understand it too.
     So, as an inexperienced Dickens reader, what do you fellow literature lovers think about him? I am just now becoming his student. I am eager to learn!
    P.S.--yes I have actually read "Tale of Two Cities." I read it when I was younger, however, and now would like to read it again to discover it's renown.