Pickwick revisted

I just finished Dickens' first novel, "The Pickwick Papers." I've read this once before -- back in high school, so long ago I think I was a contemporary of Mr. Pickwick. I didn't like the novel much then and it's still my least favorite.

When I reread "The Old Curiosity Shop," I found lots of nuggets of humor and great description I hadn't noticed before (I'm still struck by the details of the furnace tender and Little Nell's figurative journey into Hell it represents). I had hoped for the same revelation in "Pickwick," but didn't find it. Now, that doesn't mean the book was a waste of time. ...

I enjoyed the use of dialect with Sam Weller and his father. It could be hard to read at times, and I think Dickens was aware of this. He used the same approach with Ham Peggotty in "David Copperfield" and worked better there. Ham's dialog was kept to a minimum, while the Wellers had pages of conversation.

Mr. Jingle's telegraphic talk was just the opposite of Sam Wellers' colorful, metaphoric speech. A nice foil.

The story itself wanders -- it was meant to. It was set up to support the art work of hunting expeditions and the like. In typical Dickens fashion, though, the words overtook the art and once Sam Weller was introduced, the serialization was a sensation.

I did enjoy Mr. Pickwick's time in the Fleet debtors prison. I could see a hint of Dickens' lively social commentary in this, but the Pickwick scenes are lighter than those in "David Copperfield" and "Little Dorrit." By the time Pickwick is in jail, the novel started to hum along nicely and I could see a prelude to Dickens' other works.

I don't recommend "Pickwick Papers" to the casual Dickens reader. In fact, this is the only novel I would not suggest. It's long -- I think my paperback with no illustrations is more than 750 pages -- and if you're not in sync with the Victorian approach to reading, then this novel will just be a drag.

What's next?

I'm thinking of rereading "Dracula." I started watching the PBS presentation of it last night and was totally lost. I know the novel is all about sex and the repression of those emotions, but the PBS approach was just too heavy on the horny folk.

Something completely different

Here's a few things I just can't shut up about:

-- Please don't compare Anna Nicole Smith to Marilyn Monroe. There is no comparison. Monroe ranks as one of the top performers of our time. She's there with Hepburn, Bogart and Brando. Smith couldn't act (reality TV is not acting!) and didn't seem to be the brightest bulb on the tree.

-- Grammys? Never much got into these, but I find it funny that awards celebrating music are broadcast on television. Shouldn't they be on the radio?

-- War with Iran? George Bush is f ---ing insane. Why can't this crazy man be stopped? How many more people must be murdered before Bush is sent to jail? Of course the U.S. can win a war with Iran on the ground, just like the U.S. won the tactical war with Iraq, but winning the peace is where America has failed and, I think, will fail in Iran.

Thought: Yes, I said f ---ing.