Ivanhoe - A Goldie from My Past

The title says it all.

I dug this novel from my childhood. 

At the time I did not understand a quarter of the literature and language employed, mostly because olde English was used for the dialogues and also because the age was, at the time, tender to the point that the paragraphs looked like complicated mazes where to trace a route among all the spaces interlacing the text.

And, the last sentence above, which is only the second in this article is also a critique of the wordage, syntax and structure used by Sir Walter Scott to entertain us mortal bookworms. Ironically, I neither understood the gist at the time of my initial read albeit something did register. I started writing very long and complicated sentences to which my English Language teacher at the Secondary school showed little to no  appreciation. This was reflected in their semester reports and meetings during the Parents' Day.

"Your child is reading books unsuitable for his age."

"These sentences are too long. Shorten them."

"This paragraph only contains two sentences. Structure them into five shorter sentences."

...and so on!

I have to say that the ancient English of this novel put me off from reaching its end. So, this is an article that does not really convey a recommendation. Yet, it could be me who in these particular weeks am enjoying some technical literature rather than reading for entertainment value in the form of modern novels, let alone that of Ivanhoe.

So, to stop beating around the bush, I still recommend this novel. One for having read it in my childhood and was lately compelled enough to pick it up for a second time. Another reason is that my tastes may not reflect yours, hence, if you ever get the opportunity do give it a go.