Lewis2
4d ago
I am given to understand that Charlie Kirk is a good example of this. Plenty of people have Kirk-like beliefs; none apparently have his combination of charisma, organizational skills, and industriousness.
Lewis2
4d ago
Seconding this. Skip the lengthy discussions on the Battle of Waterloo and the Parisian sewer system (also the argot one, though I personally found it interesting the first time I read it), but enjoy the rest of the novel intact.
50 pages’ worth in my copy, plus a final few pages that are directly relevant to the story (this out of a total page count of 1,463). I wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from reading it, but it’s definitely extraneous to the plot.
Coming back to this discussion, I think I’ve changed my mind. A 900-page abridgment would probably only eliminate the digressions, in which case it wouldn’t be bad to read. Actually, I suppose you’d also lose the lengthy biography of the bishop at the beginning of the novel.* I enjoyed that section of the book, but its omission would lose very little of value to the plot.
*No spoiler since it’s the first 58 pages.
More options
Context Copy link