Bleak House - Charles Dickens

one sentence summary:
Possibly the best look at Victorian England a modern reader can take.

review:
like all of Dickens work (god, I am starting to feel like a parrot with this string of reviews on the classics), the characters are all brilliantly developed, the plot is clever and the prose and language alone make it worth reading. I recommend this to anyone who wants to read a wonderful novel with beautiful language unlike anything that is written now a days.

7/10

David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

one sentence summary:
follow David Copperfield as he lives out the dream of every impoverished writer.

review:
Dickens was one of the greatest writers in the English language, this novel is no exception (in fact he said it was his favourite). The characters are all brilliant and the prose, as always are gripping. The plot is well designed and the setting is perfectly flawed. Copperfield is the every-man of those who think of themselves as artists. I recommend this to anyone who wants to read a poignant story of a man raising himself up by the bootstraps and making something of his life.

6/10

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

one sentence summary:
there is a revolution going on in France.

review:
Again Dickens hits it out of the park with his descriptive ability. This is a beautiful work about the flaws of man and the hideousness of humanity. Every thing is connected but as you are reading it you do not necessarily see that it is even possible for the characters to be connected, but in the end they are.  The writing is beautiful and unforgettable. So much description that often it is called "wordy", that, however, is the beauty of Dickens, each of the plethora of words has a purpose. I recommend this for people who call themselves readers.

8/10

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

one sentence summary:
an orphan grows up

review:
Dickens proves once again that he is brilliant at making characters who the reader loves and/of hates. The plot flows without any glitches and it is easy to get drawn in to. The prose are a beautiful treat to read and because of this the  novel has become a classic that every lit class reads. Dickens uses what we now think of as stereotypical orphan plots in the original and unique ways that today's authors only wish they could. I recommend it to any one who enjoys reading good writing.

7/10

The Pickwick Papers - Charles Dickens

one sentence summary:
an exclusive club report the details of their personal adventures and the people they meet to each other.

review:
This is one of those books that you can keep around and read over and over. You can pick it up on a shitty day, open it randomly and read a few pages of genius. I may be too much of a fan of this but I honestly think it is the best character study ever written. It is hilarious in its attention to detail, the details of the people and the things they do. It is all so perfectly written that even a few pages of it is sure to wash even the worst story telling off your brain. It is like a palette cleanse for the readers soul. I recommend this to people who consider themselves readers.

8/10

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë

One sentence summary:
Another story where a poor girl finds herself in love with a wealthy man.

review:
This is often called one of the most beautiful love stories ever written, I agree. The writing is superb and the characters are both (there are only two that matter) unforgettable. It is the story of finding the bravery to follow your heart. There is a lesson in it for everyone and I think almost every one should read it (or see one of the movies if books aren't your thing).

7/10

Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë

one sentence summary:
A self involved man meets a self involved women...

review:
All of the characters in this novel are assholes, every single one of them, all terrible people. The writing is beautiful, the characters are well written but everyone is a total ass. This may be done ironically, or as a statement on society in general, however that does not make the characters into good people. The writing is brilliant though so is worth reading even though you will possibly hate everything about reading it. I recommend this to anyone who is on a "must read all the classics" kick.

6/10

Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

one sentence summary:
a poor cousin is taken in by wealthier relatives, but never allowed to forget where she came from and that she is not one of "them"

review:
This is the most depressing story I read during the Jane Austen Summer. At least that is how I remember it, a girl is taken from her family who loves her but is poor by her extended family who is wealthy and thus can "give her a better life". But, once there she is treated like a fat girl at camp whose only purpose is to make everyone else feel better but always is left out of the joke. She becomes a really strong woman as the book continues on. I recommend this to lonely girls who want to feel better about themselves and have some tips on how to be stronger.

5/10

Emma - Jane Austen

one sentence summary:
A young woman feels that she knows best about not only her love life but her friends as well, she does not.

review:
The funniest read of the Summer of Jane Austen, Emma was remarkably similar to me, trying to make everything perfect for everyone without even knowing what would make me happy. The wit in the writing is brilliantly entertaining, and, as always the characters and plot development are top shelve. I recommend this to any awkward teenage girl who has no friends and is wondering why.

6/10

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

one sentence summary:
Two sisters find love, and all complications that come with it.

review:
I rather enjoyed this work during my Jane Austen summer, the female characters are relatable to my modern mindset more than most of her other characters. The characters (particularly when viewed as couples) are really quite flawed and the way they react to each other is brilliantly portrayed. The two sister characters play off each other so well that when reading I often felt that I was a scullery maid listening from behind the door and witnessing this all happen. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in either the era or the workings of relationships.

6/10

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

one sentence summary:
a pair of sisters fulfill their societal obligations.

review:
I read this in my summer of Jane Austen, I started out completely hating the Bennet sisters, but once I looked at it from a humorous angle it was highly entertaining. Don't take it seriously because, as a modern reader, you will probably hate all of the characters but if your read it as a statement on the ridiculousness of societal conventions you will enjoy it. The writing is brilliant, the vocabulary makes me wish that writers still wrote for the educated masses instead of high school drop outs.

6/10

Persuasion - Jane Austen

one sentence summary:
Sometimes the only way to fix your life is to be completely honest with everyone in it.

review:
Ok, I love to hate Jane Austen, I think that all her heroines are terrible, weak and generally irritating as hell. However, at the same time I am hating on her and her characters I am loving everything about them. The writing is beautiful and all of the characters are wonderfully flawed. I went through a summer (probably 2004) when I read a whole lot of Jane Austen all at once. This story was one of the easier to see the message in and to take that very prim and proper message and give it a real world spin. The moral of the story is that sometimes the best thing to do is eat that humble pie, enjoy it (or at least pretend to) and smile. Also the writing is really good, amazing in fact, using language that we would think of as antiquated but I really enjoyed.

6/10

Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Jules Verne

one sentence summary 
An inquisitive scientist goes on a journey to the centre of the earth.

review
The writing is antiquated, the story is timeless and the characters are charming. I love the attention to detail and the general quality of the writing, it seems to me that authors used to write better than they do now. I recommend everyone read this great adventure.

8/10

The Complete Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

one sentence summary:

Holmes is a bit of an egotist, but well tempered by his friend Watson.

review:

This is fantastic reading, a good mix of story lengths. All well written and entertaining. The characters all interact with each other in most interesting ways, especially the relationship between Holmes and Watson. With driven, fast paced plots the stories are all page turners. Because they were written so long ago they have taken on a historical feel which adds to the general awesomeness of great writing. I recommend everyone read at least one of the stories of Holmes, after all the stories are a huge part of our culture.

8/10

Remarkable Creatures - Tracy Chevalier

One Sentence Summary:
at the turn of the nineteenth century a girl becomes very interested in paleontology and is assisted by an "old maid" from London.

Review:
Typical of Tracy Chevalier a well written well researched piece of Historical Fiction that transports you to the time and place. The main characters in this are so well crafted I felt like they were my friends and wanted nothing more than to go with them to search the beach for fossils. Chevalier has the two women of different classes interact in a believable way and uses their passion for fossils to show us the pre-Darwin world of the English literati and scientists and at the same time comments on the place of women in society. The way Chevalier uses language brings us to the era she is writing about.

8/10 (Historical fiction)

Notable Quotes:

"We say very little, for we do not need to. We are silent together, each in her own world, knowing the other is just at her back." 

If you enjoyed this you should read:

the Flavia de Luce series - Alan Bradley
Alias Grace - Margret Atwood
The Secret River - Kate Grenville
Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

One Sentence Summary: 
Grumpy wealthy man is visited by three spirits and becomes a philanthropist.

Review:
One of Dickens less superfluous pieces of writing. A classic story worth reading under the Christmas tree, unfortunately the language used makes it less accessible than it once was as it requires more than a grade 9 education to read (which is a wonderful thing in my opinion). The descriptions of everything as still long winded but the plot plays out much more quickly than in other Dickens classics making this the one story of his that I will recommend everyone read for a taste of the Victorian Era.  


9/10
8/10

Notable Quotes:
"Bah," said Scrooge, "Humbug."

If you enjoyed this (because you like Victorian Era story telling) you should read:
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Kim - Rudyard Kipling
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

ps. I think the Muppet Christmas Carol is the best - followed closely by the one with Mickey Mouse and Goofy