One of my favorite Charles Dickens novels - I have a deep love for Dickens and I like almost all of his novels, but Bleak House ranks in the top three (along with A Tale of Two Cities and Our Mutual Friend). Dickens is the ultimate master of plot (since he wrote in serial format, each chapter has its own climax and denouement - he had to keep readers hooked!). His main characters are deep, complex and interesting; his side characters are funny, memorable, and marvelous. Villains are not wholly villainous, but have a spark of hope; likewise, the good characters are challenged to confront the darker elements of their personalities - desires, greed, illicit loves. However, the very best thing about reading Dickens - you know that you will leave the book with a renewed hope in humanity, because the better parts of mankind will triumph in the end. ( )

1053 Bleak House, by Charles Dickens (read 27 May 1970) On June 9, 1970, Dickens will have been dead 100 years. I thought it only fitting that I note the upcoming anniversary by reading something of his. So I have just finished Bleak House. I am impressed. Long, I at times merely plodded along, not liking it. But in probably the second half of the book it became much more enjoyable. One came to see the much-vaunted array of Dickensian characters, some of whom one liked, others of whom irritated. I enjoyed Smallwood, the crippled mean man, but was repelled by Mrs. Jellyby, who concerned herself with Africa and ignored her family. Turveydrop I thought an ass--an example of Deportment. His son, the self-effacing dancing master, likewise. These are all minor characters, but so much point was spent developing them! Esther Summerson, the partial narrator, was so saccharine good as to repel. And the switch by which her guardian, John Jarndyce, hands her from himself to Allan Woodcourt is illustrative of her impossible submissiveness. Leicester Dedlock is the husband of Esther's mother and the principal story is woven around this. Jarndyce v. Jarndyce is an impossible case, and as a lawyer I resent the anti-lawyer talk, although old procedures certainly left much to be desired. Dickens is great, but others can write better stories. This is the fifth Dickens book I have read, having read A Tale of Two Cities on Dec 12, 1946; Great Expectations on Mar 18, 1948; Pickwick on May 13, 1959, and David Copperfield on June 14, 1959. I don't know but what I may read more Dickens--some day. {I did.] ( )

Picked this up in London - had been promising myself to spend a bit of time on Dickens over the next few months. ( )

Ok. So, this is good. But it is long and it takes a LONG time to get going. And it's pretty archaic in its treatment of point of view (read: everyone has a point of view, even the houses). But it's worth it in the end. And it's super interesting to see what people were willing to go through for a marriage plot and a legal intrigue back in the day. Today, I think it would be edited down to just Esther's point of view and would be 200 pages...but that would be a shame, no? ( )

I finally made it through Bleak House! Its been a long time since a book was such a struggle. I love the story, but hate the writing. Boy, can Dickens use a lot of words to say very little. ( )