[Dr. Drib]

When I was doing some research on the book, back when I first read it, many scholarly critics felt that Dickens descended into sentimentality.

Additionally, the book has been criticized for not having a clear goal, one that gives the book a loss of focus.

Other critics see the book has parodying stylistic devices and themes of the day - in other words, it resembles a pot-boiler, perhaps akin to many of Wilkie Collins's work. (I also admire and enjoy Collins.)

I don't see the sentimentality as excessive; rather, I see it as carefully orchestrated. Also, for me, the book relies upon metaphor to make its point. There is this sense of mystery in the novel that things are not exactly what they seem. Granted, Dickens's characters often come across as caricatured, but much of that (I feel) was how Dickens percieved his world. He took a "type" and heightened it; that's one of the two main things many love about Dickens, the other being plot.

When I go back and re-read it a fourth time (thanks to you!), I know I'll discover more about this book.

Sidebar: This is also a novel I own in two hardback editions, and I really like the feel of these hardbacks. Right now, many of my books are packed up due to space limitations that occurred after my divorce.