Bleak House by Charles Dickens

As the interminable case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce grinds its way through the Court of Chancery, it draws together a disparate group of people: Ada and Richard Clare, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a ward of court, whose parentage is a source of deepening mystery; the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn; the determined sleuth Inspector Bucket; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. A savage, but often comic, indictment of a society that is rotten to the core, Bleak House is one Dickens’s most ambitious novels, with a range that extends from the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to the poorest of London slums.


It seems virtually impossible to pick up any of Dickens' books and regret it. His genius was such that in spite of the years that separate us from his days, we still can feel very close to the plight of most of his characters.

This novel is particularly touching for those who have gone through the (nearly) endless and (most of the times) miserable path of seeking justice in the courts (yes, there is a little bitterness in these words). Yet, it reaches far beyond. All the stories, all the characters that are brought together are each a marvel, an example of literary craftsmanship. I've enjoy this novel so much that I highly recommend it. You'll get everything: intrigue, a mystery, one of the first detectives in literary history, a couple of love stories, a lot of irony, some heart-rending moments and always, the incredible power of Dickensian prose.

(by the way, this is my first chunkster and I'm so glad I loved it!)

16 Comments:

  1. nessie said...
    ah! so much fun! I recently read my first dickens and was so suprised by how witty his writing style is. I think its his titles that have put me off till now.
    Heather said...
    Yea! First chunkster!! It is great that you liked it so much - I definitely want to read it now!!
    bookish lore said...
    Hi Nessie! You're so right. Dickens had such a way with words. I loved his descriptions, the adjectives he used and the images he chose to make everything more vivid.

    Heather, three cheers for the first chunkster! :) I hope you give it a try someday!
    Kagemusha said...
    I absolutely love your reading list. Great blog, by the way!
    bookish lore said...
    Gee thanks JCR and welcome! I've just been through yours and my compliments to you. I was intrigued by Rilke's Letters because I'll be reading his Elegies soon. Oh! and Camus and Didion are on my list as well!
    Anonymous said...
    I loved Bleak House! Bitterness? Uh oh.
    James said...
    You're comment about the impossibility of being able to regret reading a novel by Dickens is certainly true for this reader. After finishing David Copperfield last month I'm in the middle of Bleak House and enjoying it even more, despite the fact David is my favorite Dicken's novel. His ability to create believable characters with psychological depth may, in part, explain their relevance to our lives.
    Anonymous said...
    It's one of my biggest regrets that I gave up on this book just before it gets going. I simply didn't have time to complete it but it is now back ont he list and next time I find a copy, it's dead.

    Great Expectations remains my favourite so far though...

    Congrats on the chunkster... what exactly are the specifications for that?
    Bookfool said...
    I still haven't made it through a Dickens, even though I was really enjoying Great Expectations. It just wasn't the kind of book you can read while balancing three other reads, I guess - I'll focus harder, next time I pick it up.

    Congrats on finishing your first chunkster!!
    luvpumpkns said...
    thanks so much for highlighting this book. i've spent the last few years trying to convince people to read dickens, with little success.
    Anonymous said...
    I could hardly put "Bleak House" down. I thought the PBS film of the novel pretty good. My first Dickens was "The Pickwick Papers" which I still love. I was about twelve when I borrowed it from the bookmobile that was exciting too. My family had just moved to a new suburb and one morning I looked out and there was a bookmobile parked down the street!!. I rushed over as fast as I could and chose a very large impressive looking book bound in purple with gold letters on the spine. It was the Pickwick Papers and to my surprise it was very funny. I kept rushing out of my room to read passage to my mother and we'd both laugh together. Years later I got a good deal on eBay for the complete works of Dickens - I'll bet you could too.
    Sycorax Pine said...
    I too loved "Bleak House" even though I was reading it for my Ph.D. oral exams in a mad summer of frenzied studying. I am just beginning "David Copperfield" and am glad to say I like it just as well so far (it has a less ornate but no less odd tone).
    Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...
    I haven't read this "chunkster" by Dickens, but I did read "Our Mutual Friend" a few months ago and loved it. Its a little slow getting into, but Dickens creates the most colorful characters!

    Best wishes, Trish
    Anonymous said...
    Nice, succinct review. I just came across your blog and see it's been a while since you last posted... I hope to see more soon and have added you to my review blog's blogroll. :)
    Anonymous said...
    My father is a big Dickens fan, but I could just never get into it. The introductions always seemed so slow. Maybe I should give him a try again, now that I am a little older!
    Anonymous said...
    Hello Bookish Lore,

    First of all, great blog! I really digg it! Secondly, I would have to agree with you on the power of the classics. No matter how much I love contemporary fiction, I never stray far for the classics, and Dickens is a bit of a favourite. I've got quite a soft spot for Victorian novels, with their themes of moral uprightness and social justice.

    I have special Dickens classic/contemporary 'double-play' that I re-read every couple of years. It involves first reading Great Expectations, and then following it up with the contemporary novel "Jack Maggs" by Australian author Peter Carey, who takes the Dickens character and crafts a story that is both new, but whose narrative runs parallel to the original. Its a really interesting way to 're-imagine' Dickens!

Post a Comment



Newer Post Older Post Home