Steinbeck Without a Syllabus: Checking Out the Classics by Choice --
By Ma rc Ingber /
V hcle Book s, Issue 15, pp30 -35
H AV I NG N E V ER R E A D one of his novels before, the f irst thing I noticed about Charles Dickens upon making it through the f irst few pages of Great Expectations was that he was a really good writer.
Perhaps a ridiculous statement, considering he’s one of the most acclaimed writers of all time, but I’ve found over the years that authors’ literary “genius” isn’t always immediately apparent in their literal words on the page. Greatness comes in different forms. Take Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, for instance. It deserves the acclaim that is regularly sent its way, but I would argue that mastering the art of local-color dialogue, in this case a Missouri drawl that only vaguely resembles the King’s English, requires a different skill set than what Dickens brings to the table.