When I received Drood, it was in a box. I remember wondering, "am I expecting a bunch of books?" Then I opened the box and realized, there was only one book. ONE book. One 775-page book. And then I thought, "Holy cow! That's a huge-a$$ book!" followed quickly by "OMG! I have one week to read it!"And while this review is late (I meant to get it up this morning, which meant posting last night), I did it! Hah! So, here goes...
Drood is a fictional account of the last years of Charles Dickens, told from the viewpoint of fellow author Wilkie Collins. It was written in the 1800s, for today's audience, and the prose reflects this. I have to confess, that definitely played a part in the length of time it took me to read the book. It's really hard to book through 1800s-English.
Victorian London is described in detail, especially the poorer sections of town. I went "ewww" at the sewers, "bleah" at the graveyards, and "nooooooo!" at the opium den. Holy moly, Wilkie is such an addict.
As for the mysterious Drood himself, well, you'll just have to read the book & find out. He's creepy... And I swear Dickens is nuts (or I need to get more sleep instead of trying to inhale this book in a week!). If he were my friend... Well, let's just say that wouldn't have lasted very long.
If you're a fan of Dickens, and very descriptive writing, then Drood's the book for you. So stop by my blog tour post & enter the giveaway. =)
Title: Drood
Author: Dan Simmons
ISBN-10: 0-316-00702-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-00702-3
Hardcover: 775 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2009
6 comments:
I have to say, Drey, I so enjoy your reviews! Your personal honesty and the way you seem to write like you talk, makes for enjoyable and informative feedback! Thanks for posting it!
That sounds like a very big book! Ha! I think I should probably go back and read some more Dickens. The last one I read was Hard Times. It made me fall asleep but I thought it was excellent once I finished.
Aw, Bingo, thank you! I actually had to go "back" and re-visit my impressions. (& shhh, I took notes. Just in case my memory's not firing on all cylinders...)
Lenore - Yes, it is. I could seriously hurt someone if I hurled it at 'em. If I could hurl it in the first place. =P
Well, start out by doing some book lifts to build up your muscles, and then move on to hurling ;)
Oh, Lenore, you're too funny!
Hi, Drey
775 pages... Oh, my word. Love how you thought it was a box of books. The look on your face... priceless. lol.
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