I've always wanted to read at least one book by Charles Dickens, given his fame, and at every attempt, I never progressed more than 50 pages. However, this time, I managed with sheer determination to read 800 pages of tiny letters and complex eloquence which Charles Dickens is famous for, I believe.
The book is, apparently, Charles Dickens' "favourite child"; their initials, DC and CD, is somewhat similar. The book is also more or less a biography of Dickens, where he put some of his childhood experiences into the novel. The basic plot is, a boy grows into a man, marries a rather fragile lady called Dora, grieves at her death, becomes a respected author, and marries a childhood friend called Agnes. Happy ending.
After finishing the book, I was left much in doubt as to why one should read novels. Yes, David Copperfield was interesting, it had a lovely story, wonderfully laid out and conveyed, with hints of humour here and there. But it was too time consuming to read, and feel that I haven't "gained" as much as I would have if I had read something else. Did it teach me how to live a life? All it told me was to live inside a world of limited number of acquaintances(which might be a good thing considering so much relationships are so shallow nowadays) and to check one's impulses when one falls in love. It's not that I haven't learnt anything useful; it wasn't "efficient".
I think I'll stay away from novels for now, and concentrate on non-fictions to develop my thinking.
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