by Zoë Pollock
Daniel Arizona considers why many of us admire Dickens around the holidays but don't often read him:
Much in the way that Elvis will be more famous for being Elvis than for his Sun recordings, Dickens will be forever remembered and commodified for the vibe that his name conjures up rather than the social realism of “Bleak House” or the hilarious diction of Mr Micawber. One day perhaps his mass popularity will translate into mass curiosity and finally into mass appreciation. In the meantime, the basic Dickens DNA will continue to replicate in the stories we tell about life and love, poverty and scroogery. For that God bless us, every one.