"Awful" does not even begin to describe the atrocity of this pathetically revered novel. "Dreadful" is getting there, but the only word I've ever come across that comes close to encompassing the book's many shortcomings is "ABOMINABLE". In all caps, yes.

Boring and uneventful, this steaming pile of excrement teaches no lesson that a ten-year-old with a decent upbringing could teach you; money does not a happy man make. Why Dickens needed 399 pages of fictitious drivel to articulate this message is beyond me. Terribly sorry, everyone, but this book is NOT deep. There is no extraordinary philospohical meaning to it. Noting we haven't all heard before.

However, the way this novel is worshipped among literary communities is almost as lamentable as the novel's complete lack of substance. Just by reading this site's reviews you can see that readers honestly believe that liking this book puts them in some sort of authority position, but I am under the belief it simply means they are easily amused, and perhaps are not nearly as selective as they should be. Truthfully, I believe that something is seriously wrong with someone if they are actually captivated with this uninteresting "classic".