Charles Dickens is my favorite author, and each novel I read causes my admiration to grow more and more.  “Dombey and Son” is a somber, moody book which is relentless in its exploration of greed and pride.

Like a great 90 minute symphony, this book is a slow progression of story and mood that builds over 600 pages to a climax so chilling that I kept gasping aloud.  Reading some of these Dickens novels can be a test of patience, but I have yet to not feel rewarded for my efforts.  His deliberate and brilliant prose builds slowly over successive chapters toward a conclusion that we have been dreading for hundreds of pages.  And yet even being pulled through the ringer by this master writer feels satisfying as the impact of his message is so brilliantly constructed and devised.

Master Dombey of “Dombey and Son” is a study in pride and arrogance.  His negligence of his daughter, Florence (the true heroine of this book), is heart-breaking and maddening.  The many scenes where Florence pines for the love of her neglectful father and feels somehow responsible …sneaking downstairs to simply listen at the door for his breathing and hoping he might suddenly appear and hug her for once in her life… these moments are as heartbreaking as any I have ever experienced in any book.

In a master stroke, Dickens pairs Dombey with a “trophy wife” who surprises him by being as prideful as himself, and the great battle of the book ensues.  Caught in the crossfires are the usual cast of colorful characters that we always expect from Dickens.

Included are such delightful characters as Capt. Cuttle (never was such a colorful sea captain ever seen in the pages of a book!), Doctor Blimber, another in a long line of inept and pompous schoolmasters, Mrs. Blimber, who constantly laments that she never knew Cicero, and the lovable Mr. Toots, whose unrequited love gives him to say things like “If I could be run over–or– or trampled upon — or– or thrown off a very high place — or anything of that sort — for Miss Dombey’s sake, it would be the most delightful thing that could happen to me.”

The villian, the endlessly creepy Mr. Carker with his giant teeth and horrible smile, is maligned for being the ultimate brown-noser and suck-up.  His pretensions and fake intentions are the most horrible thing in a book full of neglect and shame, saying alot about Dickens’ feelings toward businessmen of this nature!

Overall, “Dombey and Son” is a somber book with many sad characters and events, but which all add up to a worthwhile and rewarding read.  It’s simply enjoyable to read Dickens’ brilliant prose, even if your foot shakes with impatience or the chill bumps attack each time Mr. Carker appears on the page.  It’s another brilliant novel by the author I admire above all others.