Am I lowering my rating because of how many times this book has been recommended to me? Maybe? I certainly had high expectations going in and they were stomped on repeatedly as I read. I’m going to have a hard time trusting popular opinion about classics after this (and previous experiences). What a mess of a book. Only a handful of episodes come even close to redeeming it, but they are unfortunately not enough to do so. I’m glad I read it, and I understand why it’s considered important, but I absolutely, without question, did not enjoy it. Not enough there there. Not even close.