By today's ingenuity the story or plot is simplistic or lacks creativity. The Dickens style must have influenced modern storytelling.his status as a writer of "classics" seems earned but this long book did not move me. It is a coming of age tale all too predictable. The characters are mostly one dimensional. I had to read it to meet my goal of saying I did. ( )

Really glad I waited til I was older to read this as I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much in my younger years not having gone thru any heartaches myself. ( )