David Copperfield ~ Charles Dickens

David Copperfield has been on my ‘must read list’ for longer than I can remember.  I don’t know what took me so long to pick it up, but I’m so pleased that I finally did as it was truly a very enjoyable read.

I was expecting a tale of destitution and cruelty with life only coming good towards the end.  But it was not like that at all.  It was a linear tale of David’s life, told in remembrance by David  himself, commencing from the date of his birth when his Aunt Betsy Trotwood appears out of the blue to meet the new baby girl only to disappear just as quickly upon being told ‘it’s a boy!’  Betsy later redeems herself by taking care of the orphaned David and paying for his schooling and articling him to a proctor.

David’s early life is happy enough until one day he is asked if he would like to go on a little holiday with his beloved nurse-maid Peggoty.  When he returns he finds that his widowed mother has  re-married, and life will never the same again. Mr Murdstone and his steely sister cast a gloom over the once happy home with physical and mental abuse, and David is sent away to a questionable school where he becomes friends with two boys who will play very different roles in his later life. 

There is plenty of drama and   tragedy and not all of it relates to David, but to some of the many people he comes to know from all walks and class of life – with the class divide being a major theme throughout.

This novel was Charles Dickens’ favourite, being semi-autobiographical, and it contains some very memorable characters such as Mr Wilkins Micawber and Uriah Heep, and I think it could well become my favourite too.

Fight Club ~ Chuck Palahniuk

This is now my third Chuck Palahniuk novel and he is well on his way to becoming an author I’ll be looking out for in the new release lists.

The genre is Transgressional fiction and though the subject matter he chooses could be distasteful it is not, and neither are the characters.  They are quirky and funny.

It’s hard to write about Fight Club without giving the plot away so if you think you might read this novel, and haven’t seen the movie, then just a warning that the rest of this review contains a plot spoiler.

The novel is narrated by a sleep deprived protagonist, telling the story about his troublesome friend Tyler Durden.  It is only as the plot progresses that it is revealed that Tyler is actually our protagonist's split personality who, when our protagonist is asleep, is running around America setting up ‘Fight Clubs’ and organizing ‘Project Mayhem’. 

Mayhem is what ensues in our Tyler’s life when he tries to stop what his other self has started.

Palahnuik crams so much of the story into each paragraph, starting at different points in time and weaving it backwards and forwards.  It keeps you reading at full pelt. I loved it!

Ben-Hur ~ Lew Wallace

Ben-Hur is a Biblical tale of betrayal and revenge set during the time of The Christ. 

Judah Ben-Hur is a wealthy Jewish Prince who is betrayed by his childhood friend, the Roman Messala, and during the course of the narrative Ben-Hur’s path runs parallel, and crosses, with that of Jesus Christ.

I found this novel to be a bit dated and over descriptive but hugely enjoyable.  Wallace suggests the foundation for the birth of modern Christianity and rather than being preachy he has just told a damn good story.

Some of the elements are a bit hard to swallow, such as the literal translation of the Christ's miracles and I only wish I could have got the image of Charlton Heston from my mind as Wallace’s Ben-Hur is way more gorgeous.

The only disappointment for me was  after the build up to the Circus, and the huge description of the stadium, the race itself fell flat.  It could have done with an injection of excitement of the kind written by Matt Reilly.

Ben Hur, however, is quite an achievement for the era that it was written in and well worth the read.