The Immaculate Conception Dickens Champions have been reading Our Mutual Friend. Meeting up to discuss Dickensian London, a host of characters and disability, Ms Trish writes what they thought:
Meeting up
We, devoted to Dickens delightful darlings, met recently on a balmy summer evening to review our latest tome Our Mutual Friend which we have affectionately abbreviated to OMF.
Apologies for non completion were offered by those whose time had been diverted while taking the sea air in other parts of our green and pleasant land; those also heavily weighted down by chores of domestic drudgery and others who remain perplexed by that strange inhabitant of our homes, that social phenomena which is the young person inhabitable within but in much need of social and physical attention.
Our verdict
This veritable doorstep, this chunk of literature, this slice of London, this portion of people, this plateful of personalities provided lively debate and opportunistic opinion. Those who had found the time to peruse the pages all found favour and enjoyment with the plot rolling along with the waves and tides of the Thames.
This is a later novel by Dickens and is a more maturely developed story with a cast of heroes and villains. I personally liked guessing the fate of the characters – is someone named Headstone destined to live happily ever after?
Social themes such as recycling, rubbish and disability feature heavily. Wegg with his wooden leg who “stumps” along and is a sly conniving character, is made disagreeable to the reader whereas Jenny Wren is a far more gentle character and more favoured by Dickens.
An enjoyable read with an intricate plot which keeps the reader’s attention until the last page.
Where to next?
We now move onto Little Dorrit. Who knows what Dickens will serve up to us between the black shiny front and back covers, to go with our cheese and wine consumed in generous proportions – an aid to our thought processes while reviewing these books.
Get involved
Share your own thoughts on Our Mutual Friend by adding a comment to this blog. Or get in touch with us to tell us if your reading group is discovering Dickens.
Remember to watch out for our Dickens Champions’ blog posts as they read and review their way through Dickens during 2012.
