After my annual reading of Dracula, I decided to remain in the 19th Century by reading Charles Dickens’ first novel, Pickwick Papers.

To be honest, I have struggled with most of the Dickens novels I have read over the years with the exception of The Old Curiosity Shop. But for Great Expectations, Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, and David Copperfield the reading experience was, quite frankly, a slog.

In contrast, my experience so far with Pickwick Papers– I am about halfway through – has been a delight. I can already tell that Pickwick Papers will be that rarest of novels for me: one worth rereading..

Famously, here is what George Orwell said about Pickwick Papers:

“In The Pickwick Papers, Dickens is not yet writing with a purpose… He is merely pouring out a stream of jokes, anecdotes, and improvisations. It is a book that has no storyline, no thematic unity, and no real ending, and yet it is one of the greatest comic novels in the world.

Dickens did not know what he was doing when he wrote it, which is precisely why it has such an extraordinary, irrepressible vitality.”

In further researching Pickwick Papers, I also find that it was Chesterton’s favorite Dickens’ novel, and apparently maybe Auden’s.

I will report back in when I have finished my first reading. In the meantime, I am going to continue to enjoy my time with this literary gem.