Hard Times - Charles Dickens

Excellent. Much shorter, less of a sprawling, complex narrative than most of Dickens, but no worse for that. The story has a nice shape to it, with threads being laid down and taken up again later. Some excellent characters, especially, Mr. Bounderby, who I would think was the inspiration for The Big Lebowski, except that it seems more likely that both characters were inspired by real life examples. The prose is darkly beautiful here and there.