The Old Curiosity Shop

Whew, finally, I finished the book!

The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

 Hardcover: 624 pages

Publisher: Everyman's Library (August 1, 1995)

ISBN-10: 0679443738

Amazon.com Review
The sound of Little Nell clattering hurriedly over cobblestones immediately sets the stage by bringing to mind the narrow and dangerous streets of Victorian London. No fewer than 20 performers are called upon to conjure up the Dickensian world of wanderers, ne'er-do-wells, con artists, and kind Samaritans--and each performance is excellent. Tom Courtenay plays the sadistic Quilp, "the ugliest dwarf that could be seen anywhere for a penny" with magnificent sarcastic glee, and Teresa Gallagher's silvery, childlike voice is ideally suited for the role of the angelic Little Nell.

Nell is on her way home to the dusty shop where she and her grandfather live a rather mysterious life. The old man disappears every night--visiting gambling dens with the naive hope of winning a fortune. Instead he sinks deeper and deeper into debt. Enter Daniel Quilp, moneylender, who becomes furious upon learning that the grandfather is a pauper and will never be able to repay his tremendous debt. Quilp seizes the curiosity shop and begins making lecherous overtures to Nell, so she and her grandfather steal away one morning to seek their fortunes elsewhere. But the demonic dwarf is never far behind.

If, as they say, much of Dickens writing is based on parts of his life... he certainly met some unforgettable characters along the way.

This is the first book I have ever read by Charles Dickens.  Most might wonder why I chose a lesser known book of his to be my first time read.  To be honest I did it on purpose.  I love the old movies (and most newer versions too) of Dickens writings.  Needless to say I love love love A Christmas Carol .. all movie versions, with David Copperfield running a close tie.  Oliver Twist, and NIcholas Nickleby, and A Tale of Two Cities are some others.  I call them Period Pieces and just love the language and the characters he manages to create and the costumes.  So, having seen most of the movies at one time or another I thought that if I were to try READING Dickens that I would try something I hadn't seen a movie of.  I wanted to find out if I could see the characters he made without a visual help.   But I was concerned.  I am not the brightest bulb in the package and I worried that I would not follow his story well because of his wording.  

I was only partially right.  The language in which he writes is "foreign" to my mind, and so... I had to read slower... much slower.  But low and behold the characters came to me!

Here is a sample excerpt as Dickens describes a, not so nice, character, named Quilp on page 22 of The Old Curiosity Shop...

The child was closely followed by an elderly man of remarkably hard features and forbidding aspect, and so low in stature as to be quite a dwarf, though his head and face were large enough for the body of a giant.  His black eyes were restless, sly and cunning; his mouth and chin, bristly with the stubble of a coarse hard beard; and his complexion was one of that kind which never looks clean or wholesome.  But what added most to the grotesque expression of his face, was a ghastly smile, which appearing to be the mere result of habit and to have no connection with any mirthful or complacent feeling, constantly revealed the few discolored fangs that were yet scattered in his mouth, and gave him the aspect of a panting dog.  His dress consisted of a large high-crowned hat,  a worn dark suit, a pair of capacious shoes, and a dirty white neckerchief sufficiently limp and crumpled to disclose the greater portion of his wiry throat.  Such hair as he had, was of a grizzled black, cut short and straight upon his temples, and hanging in a frowzy fringe about his ears,  His hands, which were of a rough coarse grain, were very dirty; his finger[nails were crooked, long and yellow.

Now, I defy anyone to read that and tell my you don't get a very clear picture of the dwarf Quilp!

Many a time I had to go back and reread a paragraph I had just read, to be sure I understood what he wrote,  but .. I read on.

The story is not one of high adventure and does not render the book one in which you are rushing back to every free moment you have, but still.. it had captured me... and each time, upon lifting the book, I would totally want to be reading it.   Even the way it fit in my hands, being 5 x 8 in size and the smooth silkiness of each of the high grade pages, just felt right.  I felt different.  If there be one thing that bothers me, it's not the book itself... it's the fact that I am not quick to read the 'language" and understand it fast enough to be reading at my normal speed.. and even my normal speed isn't fast.  

Dickens writes this book dividing up the characters and thus when they are parted you read a few chapters of one person; possibly Nell and her grandfather, and then a few chapters on another character, possibly Quilp.

I am not one to "study" for long periods of time, otherwise I totally forget what I was supposed to remember.  And so it was with this book.  Thankfully the chapters are quite short which allowed me the luxury of stopping often when one ended and another about to begin.

I can't say I know why I continued to read this book.  I mean, there was surely a story there.  Most likely typical of a Dickens story, being dark , and dreary, and oft times sad.  But I think the same language that made me read slow and even reread whole pages was part of the reason I kept reading.  Actually, I found I did want to know just where this story was taking me.. and so I read the whole thing!  And yep, I'm proud of myself! 

I don't remember if I read any 'classics' while in school or not, if I did I'm guessing they didn't impress me enough to remember them.  I have a vague memory of the Pit and the Pendulum and maybe Le Miserable.  ... maybe.

This certainly isn't a book for everyone... unless you already like Dickens, and then I would say you might want to add this book to others you have already read.

The book has many characters that, as his other books, are quite unforgettable.  Dickens takes you through their lives in much detail and before ending the book lets you know exactly what happened to anyone mentioned in the story. 

I am glad I read this book.. and glad to have it in my library of books that I will be keeping.  I do have a copy of David Copperfield that I will attempt at a later time.  Two Dickens in a row would be a bit much for me, but I think now I will enjoy that one even more.   Yes, I already know the old movie about David Copperfield and even recently watched a BBC presentation of David Copperfield.  Now that I am more accustomed to his style of writing (though I doubt I will read it any faster!) I think I will enjoy a second book by Dickens.