I have always believed classics to be a little boring. I love them but I also agree that they are slow. But Vanity Fair jumps out of the list of classics as fantastic piece of English literature. It was a witty, satirical novel that made me laugh several times, and engaged my attention always.
It was published in serial form, so it has cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. I love it how Thackeray has kept the plot fast and interesting. The climax of the novel comes with the battle of Waterloo. Unlike Tolstoy, whose War and Peace was influenced by Vanity Fair, Thackeray was squeamish about military matters, and chose to leave most of the fighting off-stage. Finally, however, for all its realism, Vanity Fair was a fantastic read! Never felt like I was reading a 867 pages long book.
The Bora Booktique 