Why read Dickens?
In a day when relativism, individualism and the love of money are prevalent, it is interesting that the media should be engaged in re-examining and generally celebrating the works of a man who wrote so extensively and scathingly about such issues.
Ann Benton
Charles Dickens, while universally admired, is not universally loved. His books are long, his plots thick, his denouements incredible, his descriptions very wordy and some modern readers lose the will to turn the page. But for comedy — his books contain some of the funniest scenes ever written — and for pathos, characterisation, dialogue and powerful storytelling, Dickens is matchless and his books well worth the effort. If this is to be a year when Dickens writings will be under general discussion, believers should not miss out. Dickens’s fiction is packed with truth and with large and serious themes.
