content: I picked up this book at B&N; because I had just read two Jane Austin novels and I thought this would be a light read. I was wrong. The beggining and the end had a purpose in the story but the middle could have been much, much shorter and the ending made a little longer.I liked the character of Mr. Bounderby. He was very well developed. I would even say over-developed, but he was the only one. How did Sissy influence the youngest Gradgrind? Why didn't we know of Mrs. Bounderbys inner turmoil till she ran to her father? Every character had something missing. What happened to Mr. Bounderby once he was found out? Why is Sissy so special and what did she really do for the family?It was a long book where nothing much happened until the last quarter and when it finally ended I felt cheated because it lacked a complete story line and full characters. The story line could have been forgiven if I was more satisfied with the characters.