Definitely not been my favorite of Dickens' books. It is very hard to stay with it in some parts as characters are abruptly abandoned for a time and more and more and more characters appear. It is a long book and not in a good way.I think the best way to approach this book would be with a dialectical journal to keep the immense character list straight. Many people seem to consider this to be the best of the Dickens' novels, but I completely disagree.

The complexities of English Law, the Chancery, the preoccupation of Ada Clare and Richard Carstone with the receipt of their 'inheritance, the forgiving warmness of John Jarndice....in short the characters are magnificent. The Masterpiece DVD of Bleak House is faithful to the book and very helpful in visualizing the rather rambling nature of this lengthy epic.

Masterpiece! ( )

By far the most entertaining of Charles Dickens' works, this mystery details the life of Hester and the unfair justice system of Victorian London. ( )

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. ( )