Thanks! And I'm always happy to answer a Dickens question! :-)
Pickwick is a comic novel with very little plot -- it's more just a string of episodes. As I recall (it's been a while) there's some melodrama sprinkled in here and there, and a melancholy tale or two, but on the whole it's quite a cheerful novel. Oliver Twist has what I would call a bittersweet ending -- things turn out well for the young hero, but the book goes to some very dark places on the way. From what you say, I'm not sure it's the book for you right now.
If you want one that's not too dark and depressing and that DOES have a plot, I think I'd recommend Little Dorrit. It does have some darkness, as most Dickens novels do, but it also has a sense of hope. It's rather like David Copperfield in that way. Maybe also Our Mutual Friend.
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Pickwick is a comic novel with very little plot -- it's more just a string of episodes. As I recall (it's been a while) there's some melodrama sprinkled in here and there, and a melancholy tale or two, but on the whole it's quite a cheerful novel. Oliver Twist has what I would call a bittersweet ending -- things turn out well for the young hero, but the book goes to some very dark places on the way. From what you say, I'm not sure it's the book for you right now.
If you want one that's not too dark and depressing and that DOES have a plot, I think I'd recommend Little Dorrit. It does have some darkness, as most Dickens novels do, but it also has a sense of hope. It's rather like David Copperfield in that way. Maybe also Our Mutual Friend.