im trying to read ‘a christmas carol’ by charles dickens quite literally one of the easiest books to read ever and i cant do it. at all. im trying to reread this one bit over and over and i am stressed out because my brain cant grasp it at all? what do i do? am i just stupid? english is my first language aswell and i have to read this by tomorrow, i’ve genuinely spent 2 hours reading this and got past 12 pages. wtf
‘The owner of one scant young nose, gnawed and mumbled by the hungry cold as bones are gnawed by dogs, stooped down at Scrooge’s keyhole to regale him with Christmas carol: but, at the first sound of - “God bless you, merry gentleman! May nothing you dismay!” Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of act that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole the fog and even more congenial’
is this just a normal sentence?? can you see where my confusions coming from or am i just dyslexic or whatever.
Books from Charles Dickens’ era are characterised by heavy descriptors and metaphors, this English is often considered ‘posh’ and Victorian novels take an avid reader to get accustomed to.
Having said that, when I was first learning English, I got very attached to this era of books and while it did help my English and made me advanced as a reader and writer, I suffer from eccentric-speak and people think I sound too ‘formal’ 😅 —
This is not an ‘easy book’, if you prefer less purple phrases/prose, look for more modern books, things that are tailored to young adults for example.