Review: Hard Times by Charles Dickens

The 'terrible mistake' was the contemporary utilitarian philosophy, expounded in Hard Times (1854) as the Philosophy of Fact by the hard-headed disciplinarian Thomas Gradgrind. But the novel, Dickens's shortest, is more than a polemical tract for the times; the tragic story of Louisa Gradgrind and her father is one of Dickens's triumphs. When Louisa, trapped in a loveless marriage, falls prey to an idle seducer, the crisis forces her father to reconsider his cherished system. Yet even as the development of the story reflects Dickens's growing pessimism about human nature and society, Hard Times marks his return to the theme which had made his early works so popular: the amusements of the people. Sleary's circus represents Dickens's most considered defence of the necessity of entertainment, and infuses the novel with the good humour which has ensured its appeal to generations of readers. (via Goodreads)

According to Goodreads, I've been reading Hard Times since 9th January, so thank goodness it's over and I've read it! Yikes. What a struggle it was to get through. If I didn't have to read it for a university course, I would've given up long ago. I even had to switch from print to audio book just to make it easier on myself!

This is the first full-length Dickens novel that I've read, and it's undoubtedly put me off reading any of his others. The description says that this is the shortest of them all, so imagine how long Great Expectations, Oliver Twist or Little Dorrit might take me! I don't think I'll be trying them out any time soon.

Hard Times had a number of points I struggled to feel enthusiastic about, but there were a few that I enjoyed about it. The characters are very diverse and of course well written; the villains are properly so, and the endearing characters grow more intriguing. There are also many twists which aren't expected, and the conclusion I found somewhat heartwarming. But, in the end, Hard Times proved too monotonous for me.

I'll stick to reading Dickens' short stories and articles, which I seem to enjoy much more.

Rating: 2 / 5

Short Stories on Wednesdays – #2

Short Stories on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted by Risa over at Breadcrumb Reads, where the aim is to read at least one short story a week.

A few weeks back I bought a book of 19th century short stories selected by David Stuart Davies (here). I read the first story in the anthology yesterday, which was The Black Veil by Mr Charles Dickens. This is the story of a young man who has recently qualified as a doctor, and is sitting in his practice one cold and damp night waiting for his first patient. Eventually a very unexpected visitor arrives; a mysterious lady dressed in mournful clothing which includes a heavy black veil. She startles the young doctor with her distressed manner and cryptic requests, being completely vague about the condition of a man very ill at home but not wanting the doctor to visit until precisely 9 o'clock in the morning. Baffled by this strange request, he gently questions her can learn nothing else of the patient's condition, so he eventually agrees to do as she has asked. Then, when he attends the next day, he discovers something so heart-wrenching that it stays with him for the remainder of his life.

I loved this story. I've read some of Dickens' work before and I always enjoy the very generous, empathetic and enlightening qualities to what he writes. The condition of this dying man is kept so beautifully and mysteriously vague until the last couple of pages and the climax of the story is quite unexpected and very endearing.
You can read The Black Veil online here.

What short stories have you read this week?