As a lark, try "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes. The female protagonist surprised me.

Yeah quick look at his post history, also look at his avatar lol

He starts slow but finishes well

I dont get it either. For me another author whose style is just too pre-modern for me …

You are definitely onto something. First time I read "Tale of Two Cities" I was sitting in a hostel in Sydney, AUS, polishing off a bottle of wine becuase I realized I had more than I could take out of the country duty free. I finished the wine, then shortly after finished the book. I remember thinking. "Am I just drunk, or was that a really good book?" I still think it's a really good book. Haven't been able to enjoy as much or even finish some of Dickens's other works.

Many authors like Dickens during Victorian time would publish their work in newspapers, they were paid by word this is another reason for over description.

Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities,” was my first novel, period. And I was so so young when I read it I don’t remember it at all and did not understand it then. My reading skills came early, prematurely even, and my comprehension came much later. I tried it again a few years ago but couldn’t get in to it. It’s on the to-do list, but honestly I’m the same way about Dickens. And I want to be better about it…because to be well-read you have to know Dickens and I struggle with his work, honestly I do. It’s hard to get used to, especially if you are a fan of classics! He invented a writing style that still remains fairly unique to him. That’s his genius but…I’m not quite cultured enough I guess (?) to fully realize it I suppose. But I completely empathize.

internalized misogyny will do it

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I loved The Pickwick Papers. It’s hilarious!

In some books, I find the female protagonist to be like a cookie-cutter version of herself. They are served with choices and opportunities—another factor I noticed was behaviorism. As someone who identifies as female, some of the behavioral traits are predictable. This makes me less interested in the character s' personality and looking forward to a more challenging plot.

It sounds like you want to like him. Maybe put this one down and try Great Expectations and/or David Copperfield.

Metamorphosis and In Search of Lost Time aren’t too action packed. I think if you’re looking at “literary fiction” you’ll find a lot of books without much plot written by men. But I agree what you’re saying seems true a lot of the time.

I'm not a huge fan of Dickens, either, but I did genuinely enjoy Great Expectations. That's a good starting point.

Don't read stuff you don't like, if you are reading for pleasure. There are plenty of other classics that you might like better. If you hate long-winded description, the answer is Austen.

I'm a big fan of Great Expectations. It's one of my favorite books. Oliver Twist was good. I did not like Tale of Two Cities and disliked Bleak House even more. So, not sure where I fall on the Dickens' love meter.

He got paid more to write more (not by the word but by the number of instalments in his stories, which were released in chapters serially) and tastes were different in the Victorian era. Authors could make shit up as they went along. Novels weren't edited in the same way and people expected a book to take a good long amount of time to read. People still enjoy his colourful characterisation but don't feel like you have to read him. Victorian literature, by our standards, is sentimental and slow.

Edit: I say this with love, I find the 19th century really interesting.

Try David Copperfield - semi-autobiographical with some outrageous characters. Tale of Two Cities is not his best.

I posted the exact same thing a couple years ago when I read it. People told me that was the wrong choice for a first dickens. But I haven't tried another one since

Fascinating point! I haven’t thought of it like that before!

I got an e-arc of "The Magician's Daughter" by H.G. Perry and it's been weeks now, but I can't get the characters and the island out of my head. I loved the story so much, a little sad that it wasn't longer.

These books were written at a time when people were not exposed to imagery in media to the extent you are used to. My example is the description of a street festival in count of Monte Cristo. It goes on for pages. Nowadays, a few lines to set the scene would be enough, because we have all seen various street parties in person while traveling, or in movies and tv. Back then, those experiences were far less common. I think this his, then, one factor...the author needed to be able to describe what was unfamiliar to the reader, and do it well without spoiling the pace of the story.

I feel exactly the same way. Luckily I discovered, no joke, two glasses of wine or beer made it much more tolerable. I think it slowed my brain down enough to not keep it trying to skip ahead to the point. Just a suggestion.

I feel like I can’t relate to many female protagonists. So I generally get frustrated reading their thoughts and assumptions, daily habits, mindsets, etc.

Idk I guess if they’re female I would want them to be relatable, whereas if it’s a male lead it’s ~interesting~ to see how different they are from me 😂

Makes no sense, I know. I guess sometimes I like to picture myself as the protagonist when female so when they’re too different from me, it’s a turnoff.

I have and I enjoy most of them. However I just can’t get past his writing style for some reason. Reading long descriptions is something that didn’t bother me with other authors of his time. So I’m assuming it’s something about the way the book is written that nags me.