We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
Snow Line (8)
When you think of Dickens, you might think of Oliver Twist or Great Expectations. They're lengthy, sure, but those books are pretty easy reads compared to this bad boy.
No doubt, the writing in this book can be pretty tough to penetrate, especially when Dickens goes off on wild rants or deep explorations of individual characters' minds. For every ten pages of this book, you might cover a single detail of the book's plot (maybe two, tops).
But like all good things in life, Our Mutual Friend will reward you if you show discipline and stick with it. And you still get the awesome interwoven plotlines and kooky characterization that makes Dickens so awesomely, well, Dickensian. You just have to feel the burn a little more in order to get to the good stuff.