David Copperfield

I finished reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens a few days ago. No, it has nothing to do with the magician. I love everything I've read by Dickens. His stories are neatly woven, a little too neatly perhaps with loose ends being tied up in unrealistic ways, but the stories are beautifully poetic, witty and funny, and delightful to read. The book was really long, but enjoyable.

I think my favorite of Dickens' books so far is Nicholas Nickleby, but I enjoyed Copperfield too. I'm not in the mood to give it a thorough review, but in researching Dickens' own life, it sounds like there's a lot of correlation with his personal experiences and his fictional story of Copperfield. That book is probably the closest thing we have to an autobiography of Dickens - though calling it that is a bit of a stretch. In the preface, Dickens tells us that Copperfield is his favorite fictional creation. Perhaps that's because he sees so much of himself in the character. It seems to me that he may have created in Copperfield a romanticized, idealized version of himself that, if I were him, I would imagine I would look on with some fondness. Fun book. If you haven't read Dickens, give it a try. And tell me what you think.