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renardthefox's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
emleemay's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very clever book because the main issue with it is exactly the point Dickens is making: it is so long and dragged out.
[b:Bleak House|31242|Bleak House|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1280113147s/31242.jpg|2960365] is quite the achievement. It's a 900+ page monster made up a thousand different subplots with a large cast of characters. It also fanned the flames that led to a huge overhaul of the legal system in England. Buried beneath and entwined with the many subplots is the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce - Dickens's parody of the Chancery Court system (because the case is dragged out over many years).
I like Dickens, and I can appreciate what [b:Bleak House|31242|Bleak House|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1280113147s/31242.jpg|2960365] does, but I'm sorry to say I won't be joining the ranks who consider this their favourite. His best work objectively? Maybe. Who even knows what that means? But definitely not my favourite. That would be [b:Great Expectations|2623|Great Expectations|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327920219s/2623.jpg|2612809]-- a novel that just rips my heart out and stomps all over it.
I really do understand that this is the whole point, but so many chapters and events in this book were extended needlessly, padded out with waffle and meanderings that seemed to have nothing to do with the novel at large. That's very clever and all - given that this is a critique of a court system that extends everything needlessly and gets nothing done - but it's a bit of a chore to read. It's a shorter book than [b:Les Misérables|24280|Les Misérables|Victor Hugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411852091s/24280.jpg|3208463], [b:The Count of Monte Cristo|7126|The Count of Monte Cristo|Alexandre Dumas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309203605s/7126.jpg|391568] and [b:War and Peace|656|War and Peace|Leo Tolstoy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413215930s/656.jpg|4912783], but it truly doesn't feel like it.
The characters, too, were not as memorable as many of Dickens others. Having read it, I can now see why the [b:Bleak House|31242|Bleak House|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1280113147s/31242.jpg|2960365] characters are not household names like Miss Havisham or Bill Sykes. I found them bland in comparison. I also think it was a mistake to have the simpering "I'm so modest and unintelligent" Esther Summerson as a narrator (Dickens's only female narrator). It's unfortunate because I think Dickens usually excels at first person narration, but Esther's constant need to reiterate her modesty and lack of intelligence is frustrating.
If I were rating this book based on how well it achieved what it set out to do, it would be an easy five stars. If you believe classics are not there for enjoyment but for self-flagellation, this is an easy five stars. Dickens successfully wrote a long and slow book to show how the legal system is so long and slow. Some of the subplots and character dramas were interesting; many were not.
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[b:Bleak House|31242|Bleak House|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1280113147s/31242.jpg|2960365] is quite the achievement. It's a 900+ page monster made up a thousand different subplots with a large cast of characters. It also fanned the flames that led to a huge overhaul of the legal system in England. Buried beneath and entwined with the many subplots is the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce - Dickens's parody of the Chancery Court system (because the case is dragged out over many years).
I like Dickens, and I can appreciate what [b:Bleak House|31242|Bleak House|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1280113147s/31242.jpg|2960365] does, but I'm sorry to say I won't be joining the ranks who consider this their favourite. His best work objectively? Maybe. Who even knows what that means? But definitely not my favourite. That would be [b:Great Expectations|2623|Great Expectations|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327920219s/2623.jpg|2612809]-- a novel that just rips my heart out and stomps all over it.
I really do understand that this is the whole point, but so many chapters and events in this book were extended needlessly, padded out with waffle and meanderings that seemed to have nothing to do with the novel at large. That's very clever and all - given that this is a critique of a court system that extends everything needlessly and gets nothing done - but it's a bit of a chore to read. It's a shorter book than [b:Les Misérables|24280|Les Misérables|Victor Hugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411852091s/24280.jpg|3208463], [b:The Count of Monte Cristo|7126|The Count of Monte Cristo|Alexandre Dumas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309203605s/7126.jpg|391568] and [b:War and Peace|656|War and Peace|Leo Tolstoy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413215930s/656.jpg|4912783], but it truly doesn't feel like it.
The characters, too, were not as memorable as many of Dickens others. Having read it, I can now see why the [b:Bleak House|31242|Bleak House|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1280113147s/31242.jpg|2960365] characters are not household names like Miss Havisham or Bill Sykes. I found them bland in comparison. I also think it was a mistake to have the simpering "I'm so modest and unintelligent" Esther Summerson as a narrator (Dickens's only female narrator). It's unfortunate because I think Dickens usually excels at first person narration, but Esther's constant need to reiterate her modesty and lack of intelligence is frustrating.
If I were rating this book based on how well it achieved what it set out to do, it would be an easy five stars. If you believe classics are not there for enjoyment but for self-flagellation, this is an easy five stars. Dickens successfully wrote a long and slow book to show how the legal system is so long and slow. Some of the subplots and character dramas were interesting; many were not.
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notesfromthebookdrop's review against another edition
Got distracted by other things...
notartgarfunkel's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hungerford's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
shona_reads_in_devon's review against another edition
3.0
Oh my good god I've finally finished it. It wasn't as hard as 'a tale of two cities'.
The characters in this one are both brilliant and insufferable. As with most Dickens, his best women are fallen. Lady Dedlock is brilliant. Esther is miserable. Ada is dull. I adore Miss Flite.
Bucket is fab, laugh out loud funny. It's refreshing to actually find Dickens funny! The clerks too.
As always, I struggle through the endless meandering descriptive passages. I know, why read Dickens? I'm a glutton for punishment.
The (pre) ending of this one is a bit odd. But setting up to marry your father figure, only for him to (trick) surprise you into marrying someone else instead is a bit much even for Dickens.
David Copperfield is still my favourite.
The characters in this one are both brilliant and insufferable. As with most Dickens, his best women are fallen. Lady Dedlock is brilliant. Esther is miserable. Ada is dull. I adore Miss Flite.
Bucket is fab, laugh out loud funny. It's refreshing to actually find Dickens funny! The clerks too.
As always, I struggle through the endless meandering descriptive passages. I know, why read Dickens? I'm a glutton for punishment.
The (pre) ending of this one is a bit odd. But setting up to marry your father figure, only for him to (trick) surprise you into marrying someone else instead is a bit much even for Dickens.
David Copperfield is still my favourite.
josqmo's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
chaosetc's review against another edition
3.0
People who enjoy Dickens are, I suppose, accustomed to how his characters tend to be caricatures. I've accepted that as his chosen style, but it was particularly heavy handed in this book. The constant repetition of set personality traits made me wish this book was shorter. I followed along quite eagerly, wanting to know what would happen, or how it would happen given the foreshadowing, but by the end it wasn't quite satisfying. That might have something to do with the ick factor surrounding a certain marriage proposal. Or perhaps because the main character had no resistance at all to other people manipulating and planning out her life. I wonder if the woman we met was really just Dickens's fantasy wife - placid, problem free, and ever at your service. Whatever the case, it did not make for a memorable story. The potentially interesting stuff, such as the unbelievably real corruption within the chancery, was mere plot device.