It's over...

In February 2010 I set myself the challenge of reading the BBC's list of the 100 books everyone should read. It is July 2012, and I have now finished. Kind of. I failed to finish Ulysses, because it is completely incomprehensible - I'm currently listening to the recent Radio 4 dramatisation, and it makes more sense but I still don't really understand what's going on. I also had to bow to realism and accept that I am not going to have the time or the motivation to sit and read Shakespeare plays on my own. Finally, I decided against reading the Wasp Factory based on hearing others describe their experience of it, and wanting to protect my mind against my tendency to have nightmares! (yes, I'm a wuss.)

So, technically, I have read 97 of them, but I consider it a job well done. I didn't think it would take this long, but there have been minor events in the meantime which have reduced my reading time.

I wanted to write a concluding post to reflect on whether I've actually achieved anything by this process. I think there are a few things I've learned.

Firstly, I discovered over and over again that I read for the story. Not for the beauty of the writing, not for descriptions, not for gritty realism, but to gain some sort of affection for the characters and to find out what happens to them. Thus, I found many books a struggle when they seemed to be going nowhere, but were luxuriating in description. 100 Years of Solitude, and Midnight's Children, I'm looking at you. This may make me a less intelligent reader, but I think enjoyment is important!

Secondly, after years of mainly reading lighter (some could say trashy) fiction, it was a relief to discover that I was still capable of reading more intelligently. Many of the books on the list were really hard to read, but I did it (I still maintain that I could have read Ulysses, but all that would have happened is that my eyes would have seen all the words, and it still wouldn't have meant anything to me!). I was particularly pleased by being able to get through various Dickens novels, having never finished anything other than Oliver Twist before. Moby Dick was another challenge, and I do feel a great sense of achievement at having read War and Peace, Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment; all worthy reads but you had to work for them.

Thirdly, I have discovered some books that I absolutely loved. Vanity Fair, Possession, Gone with the Wind, Cold Comfort Farm, Brave New World, Germinal, A Town Like Alice, and Brideshead Revisited were probably the highlights - if you don't read anything else from the list, read those. All were very different, and were books that I may not have picked up in any other context, but they were so rewarding and enjoyable, and I absolutely love that experience of finding a new book to add to the list of favourites. Especially Town Like Alice. Amazing.

Finally, I think one of the reasons that many of these books make it onto the list is the contribution they've made to popular culture. I enjoyed recognising phrases that have passed into popular usage, and speculating as to whether Starbuck in Moby Dick inspired the coffee chain's name (the answer is yes, by the way, according to Wikipedia). There's definitely a pleasure in recognising references and getting to feel a bit clever about it, and it also gives an added appreciation of the value that literature adds to society. Sometimes a book itself may not be much fun to read, but if it inspires a whole genre I do have to grudgingly admire it.

What's next? I haven't decided. I have really enjoyed having a list to work through as it inspires me to read differently, and not just fill my brain with fluff. I'm considering next this list of books about books (http://bookriot.com/2012/07/09/a-great-big-huge-not-very-small-at-all-list-of-books-about-books/) as I love books about books. We'll see. I may take a little break and...erm...fill my brain with fluff.

Thanks for staying with me while I did this...company and comments was much appreciated! I may be back.

Watership Down

Before I started reading this, I thought it was a children's book. You know - something like wind in the willows, animals frolicking, adventure, a bit of mild peril. IT IS NOT. I cannot stress this strongly enough. From a few pages in, when Fiver the rabbit has his frankly chilling psychic episode, I realised that this book is not fluffy & lovely.

This is not to say that I didn't enjoy it - I couldn't put it down, and it is excellent.

It is the story of a small group of rabbits who, as a result of Fiver's psychic episode, leave their warren and set out to find a new home. They face many dangers on the way, from predators, man, and other rabbits. As ever, I don't want to give too much away about the story, but there were, for me, two striking things about this book.

First, the violence. Rabbits fighting, being hunted, being gassed out of their burrow, live rabbits tearing dead ones apart in their panic...I was genuinely a bit traumatised by this. I did already know that this is how the animal kingdom works, but it's that much more difficult to stomach when they have names and brains which can understand the events.

Secondly, the accuracy of the portrayal of rabbit behaviour, and the reasons behind this given through the anthromorphisation (doubt this is a word) of the characters. The way that the rabbits behaved was so perfectly described that it made the events that much more convincing - they didn't become people in my mind.

Brilliant book. Read it but be prepared for the gore.

So that's it - the list is done. One more reflective post to follow, I think, once I've thought about the overall experience! Didn't think I'd make it...

Brideshead Revisited

We are moving on apace! I saved Brideshead Revisited till towards the end as it was one that I actually wanted to read, and my expectation wasn't disappointed.

It is set in two periods - during the Second World War, and in the 1920s. Charles Ryder, an officer, is billeted to Brideshead with his troops, and his arrival sets off a chain of reminiscence of his first visits to Brideshead and involvement with the family, which form the majority of the book.

At its heart is Charles' meeting with Sebastian Flyte, the younger son of the Marchmain family (owners of Brideshead) at Oxford. They have a friendship to the exclusion of all others, intense and hard-drinking. Sebastian is reluctant to introduce Charles to his family, but eventually relents and Charles is drawn into the Brideshead world. The story of a boy from a quieter background making a friend from "high society" and being attracted to the glamour of it seemed really familiar but I can't remember which other book I'm remembering! It certainly turns out differently anyway.

Sebastian is the difficult son of the family; just how difficult, gradually emerges as his drinking problem develops. Charles is in the difficult position of having to choose between supporting the family in trying to stop Sebastian drinking, and losing Sebastian's friendship, or keeping the friendship by enabling him to drink, which he knows is not the best course for Sebastian.

It's difficult to say more without giving away too much of the story, and I would definitely recommend reading it for yourself.

One interesting point to notice is how detached all of the relationships are except for the friendship between Charles and Sebastian. It's as if the intensity of this makes it impossible for either of them to form anything deeper in later life. This is typified by Charles' marriage later in the book - the reader only discovers that he has married when he returns from a six month painting trip abroad to be met by his wife, who has had a baby in his absence. "Oh yes, I believe you mentioned there had been a baby". It is a marriage of convenience, not of love, but this is still extreme detachment!

This is a great book, although I would have been interested to learn more about how the relationships developed - so much goes unspoken. Still, deserves its place in this list and one that I will definitely be reading again. I couldn't put it down.

Moby Dick

Moby Dick was the final book that I've been dreading from this list. I started it a couple of times and didn't get very far. However, it didn't defeat me!

This book is hailed as the best American novel. I'm not sure I agree. I'm not convinced that it's a novel. It's more a short story interspersed with a textbook on whales & whale hunting. Moby Dick is about a whaling voyage where the obsessed monomaniac Captain Ahab leads his crew in search of the giant white whale that caused him to lose his leg. It is a fascinating portrayal of obsession, leading him to take his crew into extreme danger to try to kill a whale that was known to whalemen everywhere as unkillable.

However. The edition I read had 360 pages. I would estimate that only about 50 of those pages had actual narrative action. The rest described in intimate, excrutiating detail, every tiny element of the whale & catching thereof. Chapters on the spout, the tail, the jaw, each piece of equipment. It is beautifully phrased and deeply researched...but not very interesting. Sorry, Herman.

A couple of observations, which may get me some spam followers. I may be smutty but I found it really difficult to get past the number of times the word sperm was used - maybe more than in 50 shades of grey (haven't read it). They were hunting sperm whales, I get that. However, I must confess that I read the descriptions of buckets of bubbling sperm and squeezing lumps out of sweet unctuous sperm and so forth with something of a smirk. Sorry - must grow up.

Also, the end is quite exciting. I won't give it away...but I'm not sure whether it was just exciting because nothing had happened thus far!

I wouldn't argue that this isn't good - it's very well written and researched - but it's not much fun.

Two more to go, and then I regain freedom of choice in my reading matter once more. Woohoo.

Ps random fact - Herman Melville is singer Moby's great grandfather. Don't say I never teach you anything!

Chroizo, chicken & butterbean stew

A few weeks ago, our whole family decamped to Derbyshire to celebrate the parents' 40th wedding anniversary. Being a large family, we didn't all manage to be there for the whole time, but we did manage one big celebration dinner together.

Heidi wrote a great overview of the meal here: http://www.movingfoodie.com/2012/06/recipe-pork-belly-with-coriander-and.html but I failed to provide her with the recipe for my contribution, a chorizo and butterbean side dish, in time. Here it is.

As cooked that evening, for 10 people as a side dish, you need to:

- Crush and gently fry two cloves of garlic in some olive oil
- Slice a chorizo sausage into thin rounds, add, and fry for a few minutes
- Add about 4 teaspoons of paprika, 2 of coriander and 2 of cumin, plus salt and pepper
- Add two tins of chopped tomatoes and a tin of butter beans
- Bring to boil, stirring occasionally, then turn down low and cook until the sauce thickens, stirring from time to time. We cooked it for about an hour, but it probably doesn't have to be that long. The longer the better in terms of developing flavour!

Further to this, I cooked this tonight as a main dish. In addition to the ingredients above, add two diced chicken breasts with the chorizo, then a chopped sweet potato, 3 potatoes (butternut squash or carrot would work well too), and 440ml water (I filled a tomato tin with water and tipped it in!) with the tomatoes and beans. Cook slowly for a couple of hours on the hob, stirring regularly. Yum! Would serve 5-6.

Sorry it's late, Heidi!

Cloud Atlas

Finishing this list is now starting to seem like a reality - hence my reading has become more purposeful (for this read: I am reading when I should be ironing, washing up, cleaning...oh well).

Before reading Cloud Atlas I had a sneaking suspicion that I had already read it, but as I couldn't remember anything about it, I thought I should read it again. About 2 chapters in, I was sure that I'd read it, but still couldn't really remember what was coming next so carried on.

I have a grudging admiration for David Mitchell, although I really don't enjoy his writing. I think this is predominantly because he tends to construct his novels out of a short story format, where the individual elements are very cleverly linked together to form a whole, but it still essentially feels like reading short stories. And I don't like reading short stories. My first DM experience was Ghostwritten, recommended to me by my brother after I had read and raved about Memoirs of a Geisha...the two are really not very similar, so I think the gap between expectation and reality also coloured my opinion! However, this challenge was partly about reading books that I wouldn't normally pick up, so I tried to approach Cloud Atlas with an open mind.

The thing is, it's really good. Intelligently constructed as a palindrome, there are four interlinked stories which take you forward through time and then back again. If you apply yourself to noticing, there are loads of little details throughout which connect the stories together, ranging from the fairly obvious birthmark to locations, music, and so forth. The scope of the work is wideranging, moving from a 19th century (I think) ship voyage to a post-apocalyptic future, with the style of writing adapted to suit each period and scenario.

I found the Adam Ewing and Zachry sections really difficult to read due to the style adopted in writing, but I'm probably just fussy.

There is a suggestion that Luisa Rey, the central character of the third story, has a spiritual connection to Robert Frobisher, of the previous story, given by her sense of recognition of the music he wrote despite never hearing it before...this is a little bit weak. But this is about the only hole I could pick in the storyline.

Cloud Atlas definitely deserves its place in this list. It isn't easy reading - well, you could make an easy read of it, but this would result in missing most of the clever plot devices and connections, and wouldn't do justice to it. I'm glad I read it, David Mitchell displays such creativity and imagination in pulling the elements of the story together, but...I'm really sorry to say, I still don't like it. Perhaps I'm lazy and don't like to work too hard for enjoyment of a book, maybe it's something to do with his tone and characters...I don't know, but I haven't been converted! You should read it though, if you haven't already.

A Confederacy of Dunces

I was intrigued to read A Confederacy of Dunces (CoD) as it was one of the few books on the list that I had never heard of. It's an interesting one.

For once, I read the foreword to get a bit of background. The author, John Kennedy Toole, wrote CoD in the early 60s and failed to get it published. He eventually committed suicide, and his mother took up the cause. The manuscript landed on the publisher's desk, in a messy, handwritten, smudged state. He hoped that it would be terrible, so that he didn't have to read much of it, but within a few pages was hooked and so took it forward for publication.

The novel is described as a comedy, and some reviewers describe it as the funniest thing they have ever read. I wouldn't go that far, but it is an entertaining read. It's set in New Orleans, and the central character, Ignatius J Reilly, is a 30 year old man, enormously obese, and with an entirely unique view of the world. At the start of the novel, Ignatius continues to live at home with his long-suffering mother, not working, and spending his days writing ranting treatises on various subjects, wallowing in the bath, and lying in his "yellowing sheets" (ugh!). Due to an incident that places financial pressure on his mother, she snaps and forces him out to get a job. It is only when Ignatius has to interact with the outside world that the extent of his insane world view becomes clear. The slightest incident causes him to unleash streams of abuse at the individual; he calls anything he disapproves of an "abortion" which makes for slightly uncomfortable reading. He is a comic character, due to the extent of his hideousness...it's difficult to explain this further without giving too much away, but the contrast of his puritanical world view (whilst not hesitating to lie, cheat and steal) with free and easy New Orleans demonstrates that he is almost a caricature with no redeeming features, rather than (you hope) a feasible individual.

It's an easy read. I didn't love it, because I find it really hard to love a book unless I can identify with at least one of the characters, and there is very little to like in any of the characters here. However, it is humorous. The characters are well defined, although one dimensional, and the events which play out are entertaining. If you like the style of Martin Amis, you may well like this!

War and Peace - peace at last!

I have finished War & Peace. Yes, that's right. I read it, all the way to the end. Here's proof:

I have to say that I'm not sure I could have finished this if I had read it in book rather than Kindle form. The book comes in two volumes and, as I didn't really get into this until about 50% of the way in, I would have had to read one enormous tome with no enthusiasm, and then motivate myself to start another - I think this is psychologically more difficult than watching the percentages grow at the bottom of the screen! Kindle...reading for cop-outs...!

After reading 25%, I gave myself a break and read Swallows and Amazons. I then promised myself a similar incentive for 50% and 75% but chose to plough on instead while the going was good. Having complained about reading this, I eventually got into it and, whilst I'm not sure I could say I enjoyed it, I found it a rewarding and more pleasurable than not pleasurable experience.

Now, to touch on all elements of W&P in a review would involve writing something the length of a normal book, so I won't attempt to do that, but a few observations:

- I really enjoyed Tolstoy's tone as he talked about war. He made it clear that he viewed the entire Russian army as incompetent and disorganised; the chaos was entertaining in that every plan for a battle went wrong, the majority of the officer class were incompetent gentry who had just joined the army, and the victory over the French was caused by the French themselves losing discipline and fleeing, rather than grand strategic plans coming to fruition.
- This tone also carried through to the way society was portrayed - I think I mentioned this in one of my interim reviews. Tolstoy's depiction is in the tone of a sardonic observer, who has a certain affection for what he is seeing, but believes it to be rather silly. And it is! As the war progresses, society breaks down, and he focuses more on a couple of families who then achieve a more wholesome (if that's the right word!) and worthwhile lifestyle. I particularly enjoyed the conflict of a society which aspired to all things French, spoke French as a mark of elegance and education, and was faced with invasion by an undesirable French force, suddenly having to change their views of speaking Russia and acting like Russians.
- There is a storyline, but this is very much secondary - W&P seems to me that it is more of a vehicle for Tolstoy to air his views on society, religion, war, free will, the interpretation that historians place on the past. On reaching the end of the book, there is an epilogue, which ties up all the loose ends in terms of the characters that have become the main focus of interest. There is then a second epilogue, forming about 5% of the whole work, where Tolstoy explores and explains, in depth, the nature of power, free will, whether activity in war is ever the result of commands or whether it is wholly coincidental...and so on. Having a historian's background, I found some of this quite interesting as it cropped up throughout the book - looking at what actually happened, and then the interpretations that French and Russian historians placed on events retrospectively, as this is something that comes up frequently as you do a history degree. However, I felt that he'd made his point and it probably didn't need a whole epilogue to repeat it.

I am very glad that I've read War and Peace - it definitely feels like one of the books everyone should at least attempt. Once you get into it, it's much more rewarding than Anna Karenina. Definitely deserves its place on this list. The only other book which has felt like as much of a commitment to read was A Suitable Boy - if you're only going to read one, read A Suitable Boy as that is much more rewarding in terms of character and storylines, but I would go for both!

Finishing this list actually now starts to feel like a possibility, although I do have to read Cloud Atlas, and I just find David Mitchell's style a bit pretentious and inaccessible. However - if I can read War and Peace, I think I should be able to read that!

War & Peace #2

I have read 50% of War and Peace! Yippee. I promised myself that, as a treat, I would allow myself to pause following each quarter of this massive tome, and read something else. However, at the moment, I'm making good progress through it and am quite absorbed so I will stick with it for now.

So, a couple of observations at this point.

Having got through the interminable descriptions of battle minutiae, and returned to Russian society, War and Peace becomes more readable. It still doesn't seem to be going anywhere purposeful, but I'm starting to settle into the different approach to reading that this kind of work demands. With most books, I am driven to read because I want to know what happens at the end. With War and Peace, and other looooong books (such as a Suitable Boy - definitely recommended), you have to read for the pleasure of the reading itself. There is no sense of a drive towards a resolution, at this point. For example, Natasha has had, so far, 3 intense love affairs which have been suddenly ended - in most other books based in this kind of period, by now you would expect to have an inkling of the character that she will actually end up marrying, but there is no such thing here. No predictability - this is probably a positive in terms of plotting skill, but deprives the reader of the satisfaction of divining what might happen next!

Secondly, Tolstoy is fairly subtly giving the impression that he views Russian society with disdain. He paints quite an affectionate portrait, but none of his characters are "good" - all of the young men are given to spending money they don't have, gambling, drinking, and general misbehaviour; the "respectable" older generation are either unreasonable, crotchety and mean, social climbers, or buried in a sea of debt - it's not really a surprise that the younger generation don't behave well! The interesting thing about the way Russian high society is portrayed is that it seems very modern - the young men seem very similar to the way some of the "evils" of today's society are portrayed by the media. Russian society also seems much free-er than English society at the same period.

There is, however, very little to like. I am trying to get over this, as I know that liking the characters shouldn't be the be-all and end-all of appreciating a work of fiction, but it is quite deeply engrained!

Onwards and upwards...

Swallows and Amazons and War & Peace #1

I have started reading War and Peace and, indeed, have read approximately a quarter of it (loving the Kindle's display of the % completion, it gives me hope!). However, it's the kind of book which is such a hard slog that it makes me forget I love reading.

So, as a treat to myself, I decided that I will pause after each quarter of W&P and read another list book before continuing.

Firstly, W&P - I'm not hating the reading experience; some of Tolstoy's characters are brilliant. I particularly enjoy the soldier with the lisp, and am intrigued as to how that would have been depicted in the original version. There is definitely a sense of comedy within the work, as Tolstoy very gently satirises Russian high society. Whilst it was set within Moscow, at society parties and following the exploits of the young and rich, it was shaping up to be an enjoyable read. Then...the war...and we became mired in interminable descriptions, in minute detail, of battles and interactions and success and failure. There are so many characters that I still don't quite know who everyone is (not helped by the way that many of them have a couple of names), and so it's difficult to connect what goes on on the battlefield to the previous events of the novel. This is probably my fault for only reading a few pages at a time before going to sleep. My mother-in-law is currently reading W&P "again". I don't think this is something I'll ever need to say for myself, but finishing it once does seem achievable.

Swallows and Amazons, on the other hand, is a really quick, easy read, which I have finished over 3 days. It is quite a good thing to read during never-ending rain, as it's proper escapism, and reminded me that one day, there may be sun again! I had only got a few pages in when I realised I'd read it before, but as I had no idea what happened, I felt I should persist with reading it again. S&A so deserves its place in this list. It's a children's book, it's not massively complex, but it is a beautifully written story of a summer adventure when kids were allowed to go and camp on an island for a week with no parents. This is something I feel nostalgic about, even though it wouldn't have been allowed within my lifetime either; it's a very idyllic picture where these children could go off and live in their fantasy sailor world, rowing back to the mainland every morning to pick up milk from a local farmer, fishing, and engaging in wars with the local pirates. Children, imaginations running free, and learning life skills too...what's not to like. In fact, one of my favourite bits in the book was where Captain Flint unfairly accuses John of being a liar, and this deeply hurts and offends John. It made me nostalgic (again) for the sense of "honour" and "playing the game" that children in novels of this era always have, which just doesn't seem to exist any more - being called a liar was the worst insult that John could imagine, and it's difficult to see a child of today taking it the same way. Maybe I'm wrong!

If you haven't read Swallows and Amazons, do read it. It's a lovely book.

And now back to War and Peace...

9 to go...

I've just done a count up and I have only 9 books left to read - the end is in sight!

I'm planning to tackle War and Peace next but keep putting off starting it. Must read...perhaps I'll start it now.

In actual fact, I have accepted that I'm not going to read the complete works of Shakespeare. I'm also boycotting the Wasp Factory as I've heard others say that it traumatised them - I have a really visual imagination and so don't want to read something that I know will give me nightmares. Yes, I'm a wuss, but sleep is very important at the moment. So, only 7 left which I'm actually going to read. Woohoo! I'm going to have to start reading whilst still up in the evenings, as any pre-bed reading inevitably results in dropping off after 2 pages.

I'll keep you posted on progress.

One hundred years of solitude

I've been looking forward to reading this one by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But at the end I'm left with mixed feelings. This is an elaborate family saga through about 6 generations living all in the same house but each in solitude due to their obsessions, quirks, ghosts and fixations. As ever, Marquez creates a magic-realist world where ghosts and impossible events exist without apology; it is beyond the suspension of disbelief but so beautifully and poetically written that you can enjoy the language without caring if it's believable.
It is a cold reading experience, with characters who are not designed to be related to, but an enjoyable one all the same.

The Wind in the Willows

I don't quite know how I hadn't read this before. I have seen the film and, I vaguely recall, played a bit-part in an am-dram production, so was familiar with the story.

It is a lovely children's book, worth reading as an adult. The loyalty of Mole, the bluff confidence of Badger, the generosity of Rat and of course the arrogance of Toad combine to create a compelling and, above all, nice tale. If you haven't read it, devote a few hours of your time to tales of the riverbank, Toad's trials and tribulations, and the battle of Toad Hall!

The Three Musketeers

For me, and perhaps anyone who was a child in the 80s, my expectations of Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers were entirely based on Dogtanian and the Three Muskahounds. It's not often that a cartoon dog offers an accurate interpretation of a literary classic, but bizarrely, it does.

D'Artagnan is impulsive, firey, proud, continually challenging people to duels. Athos, Aramis and Porthos are brave but vain and foolish. The cardinal is evil but somehow admirable. This much I knew from the cartoon.

However, to the book. It is a great read - pacey, intricately plotted, containing love interest, war, grudges, mysteries on both a national and personal level. It's difficult to describe without giving too much away, but I would thoroughly recommend reading it.

Things that bug me about London

I've passed through London twice this weekend on my way to the south coast. Last time I went on the tube I was 8 months pregnant and it was the height of summer. This time, I was relieved to note that I'm back up to full pace again, and transformed back into a londoner as I stepped off the train. Phew. However, it did lead me to thinking about the things that annoy me when passing through the capital.

- people who don't move at "london pace". I.e. the ones who step off tube trains and stand stock still, blocking the doors; those who meander through the corridors of the tube 4 abreast with no awareness of those around them; those who don't appear to realise they'll need their ticket until they're actually standing blocking the gate...you get the idea.

- people who don't organise their luggage, or who carry more than they can manage. We've all seen them - a suitcase, slightly too heavy to be able to carry it, a couple of other bags, clutching a book or magazine that doesn't seem to fit any of the bags. They look as though they're on the brink of dropping it all, and every staircase, escalator or ticket barrier requires a complete stop and redistribution of luggage. I appreciate that sometimes people will need to travel with a lot of luggage, but this type don't appear to have given any thought to how they're going to navigate the inevitable steps etc.

- people who invade your personal space. You've tucked yourself out if the way into a corner, perhaps awaiting the announcement of a platform number, and people come & stand practically on top of you, or pass by so close that you might be invisible.

So, yeah, people. I think I should become a recluse.

In other news, Rachel has survived her first weekend alone with Martin (with grand-parental assistance) and I am going to attempt to finish the 3 musketeers on the remainder of the journey. Bye for now, London.

Bleak House #2

Fanfare please! I have finished Bleak House!!

I think it's my favourite of the Dickens novels I've read, although as I've established on this blog, that's not necessarily a massive compliment.

It's a long book, and I would estimate that the first two thirds of the book is establishing characters and setting the scene for the dramatic ending. I found it quite confusing at times as there are so many different strands to the story, and seemingly unconnected characters, that it was difficult to keep track of them all. Naturally, they all get woven into the story, but I felt that it took far too long to get to that point. Esther, the main narrative voice, is quite a likeable character, although her uber-humility regarding others' opinion of her got a bit wearing at times.

The court case of Jarndyce v Jarndyce is a central theme of the book, with many of the main characters living their lives waiting for the outcome. I think that this was predominantly a way for Dickens to criticise the Victorian legal system and the court of chancery, and the various digs at the legal profession etc are mildly amusing.

There is also a comic character, Harold Skimpole, who is skilfully realised, and gradually exposed as a cynical manipulator - this is cleverly done.

Once Dickens actually gets to the point and starts telling a story, it gathers pace, is very readable, and very involving. It's just...why does it have to take him so long to get there?

Still, done and dusted, and I feel a sense of achievement at having finished it. I still won't be rushing to read any more though...