Typical nineteenth century literature--heavy on vocabulary, overwritten (at least compared to contemporary styles), quaint, and a little over sentimental. I didn't really enjoy the book, but since it's a classic, I'm happy to have toughed it out for the sake of broadening my range of literacy. It's a lot like other challenging projects: Once done, it becomes a bit better. I think readers naturally become more sympathetic to works once they've actually finished them. But the journey itself was a challenge.