To encourage myself to post more regularly, I'm going to try sharing some of my favorite things each Friday. Hence the "clever" alliterative title of Friday Favorite.
My post today is on one of my favorite books, Charles Dickens Our Mutual Friend, which I just finished reading for the third or fourth time. I've lost count. The first time I read it, I stayed up til the wee hours of the morning to finish it, slept for an hour or so, ran to class up at USU and then returned home to nap between classes. Normally when I stay up late to read, I am aware of the passing time, yet so captivating was this story that I was so completely absorbed by it that I remember the surprise I felt when I closed the cover and discovered I had only a couple hours before I had to be on campus.
Our Mutual Friend in the simplest terms is a discussion of money. Those who have it, those who don't. Some who seek it by any means or those who know the burden of not having it, yet accept their life with dignity. To some degree, money drives the actions of nearly every character in this story.
So many characters are dear to my heart in this story, but I want to share my thoughts on one character in particular: John. Throughout the book, John is quiet, responsible and methodical. In a phrase, he gets the job done. He can be gushingly romantic (much to his credit) and at times, annoyingly furtive. While he is a main character, there are moments that you might forget he was there, because he has faded into the background, losing even his name and becoming simply the Secretary. Yet towards the end of the book, another side of him is shown -- a strong and vengeful side. He defends those dearest to him from a wicked and devious character with anger and violence.
Although I have read this book several times, I am always awed by this change in behavior, which to me speaks of Dickens brilliance that I still find the complexity of this character intriguing. While we learn through hints that John was once a seaman, which would require strength and stamina, his present profession of secretary indicates a bookishness and softness that mask the hardy seaman within.
I think the reason I continue to love this character so much is because his development mirrors life. Often we form an opinion of someone and then when we see them outside the context in which we associate with them, we are surpised by aspects of their character that were unknown to us. People are far more than they seem on the surface.
There is so much more I would love to tell you about this book, but I don't want to give away the ending, so I will have to stop now.
Have a fabulous Friday,
Mailee
P.S. If reading an extremely wordy 800-ish page book is not really your cup of tea, in 1998 BBC did a miniseries that I feel does justice to book. Being a mini-series, it is still a somewhat lengthy time committment, but you get to the end a little sooner.
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