Some books just linger and linger and linger. After I finished all of my CPA stuff, I decided to get back into serious reading. One night around Christmas I was flipping channels and saw the end of Cider House Rules movie (the one with Spiderman and Alfred from Batman) and in the end of course it shows Spiderman reading David Copperfield to the orphans. Something about it caught my attention. Maybe I needed to expand my Dickens horizon? I had read Hard Times, Great Expectations, Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol, but it had been a while since I had tackled a new classic so I figured that this one would be a good one to try as any. Especially since I have always found Dickens easy to read. I also decided to go with the Kindle version, so it only cost a couple of dollars. So in January I started out on my adventure learning about Davy Copperfield's life.
The novel is Dickens only major work written in first person and is supposed to be the most autobiographical. It covers his life from birth to somewhere around early adulthood. If there is an overarching theme, it is the story of the orphan striving. By orphan, I mean not only those whom have lost both parents, but those who have been cast off by society. Essentially, all the main characters are orphans of some sort or have taken in orphans of some sort. David, Emily, Ham, Steerforth, Dora, Agnes, and Miss Dartel are all orphans proper. Ms. Gumbridge is a "lone lorn creature". David's great aunt is a scorned woman, with no close family, trying to find redemption. Before she takes in David, she has taken in Mr. Dick, who is kind hearted mentally ill man that has no family. Mr. Micawber and crew are cast offs from the economy, despite his wits he is unable to keep a job or stave off creditors. Mr. Peggoty has created a legacy in his town by taking in orphans of lost fishermen.
And in true Dickens fashion, the plot is full of surprises and twists among the dozens of characters. There are bad guys with bad guy sounding names; Mr. Murdstone, Mr. Creakle, Uriah Heep, and Littimer. And also in Dickens fashion, in the end most of the bad guys get justice and the good guys persevere. It just takes a long time to get there. Dickens is also great with imagery and this book is no exception. I always have my favorite descriptive screens. In Tale of Two Cities, it the storming of the Bastille. In Christmas Carol, it is the descriptions of the December street scenes in London. In Great Expectations, it is the description of Miss Havisham's house. And in David Copperfield, it is the description of the ship carrying immigrants to a new life in Australia.
Well, it was fun but I am glad to have this one behind me. I am a little done with the rambling lonely lover(s) striving for happiness and a place in the cruel world. I think my summer reading will involve a little Hemingway action.
