Meandering Em's

I was looking forward to reading this book. I enjoy reading classic literature from little-known authors. However, I was overall disappointed. There were long discourses in the book, where Samuel Butler ranted about things in Victorian life which irritated him. His main ire was directed toward the Church of England. Many of his criticism were spot-on, but didn't really need several papers of ire to make his point. These discourses disrupted the plot line on several occasions.Butler had reasons to think poorly of the English clergy. His father was a rector. His father beat him regularly and there was no love lost between father and son. However, Butler blames the Bible for the shortcomings of his father and the Church of England. Butler derides the account of Christ's resurrection, considering it a hoax. He indicates John's account of the death and resurrection of Jesus can not be reconciled to the other Gospel letters. Since he doesn't seen how they can fit together, he rejects the entire Bible, except to quote Scriptures out of context to make a satirical point.I enjoyed the story of Ernest and how he grew and developed into manhood. Unfortunately, the discourses disrupted the storyline, leaving a feeling of dissatisfaction.