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A review by elerireads
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
3.5
This is a teensy bit unhinged. Someone SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUSTS. There was this little defensive preface Dickens wrote claiming it was entirely realistic and banging on about all the evidence of other cases of spontaneous combustion. Obviously I then spent the first part of the book waiting to see who it would be 😂
Other than that, there was the classic brilliant writing, dry Dickens wit and set of comic characters. I do like how the characters seem to span the entire class spectrum and show how they all interact. As usual, a lot of the characters have specific traits exaggerated, but when you write that way you're walking a fine line with the believability of your characters and I did feel that line was crossed in a few places in this. It seemed like the main villain was supposed to be the courts themselves and the way they seduce people and destroy their lives for false hope etc., but honestly I was too preoccupied with Mr Skimpole to feel much antagonism towards the courts. He was the most abhorrent awful character and I hated him with a passion, and it just made no sense to me that the main characters who were mostly sensible, reasonable people continued to keep him around them. Eventually they started to see some reason but he was so intensely awful right from the start that their initial fond amusement was utterly baffling to me.
Other than that, there was the classic brilliant writing, dry Dickens wit and set of comic characters. I do like how the characters seem to span the entire class spectrum and show how they all interact. As usual, a lot of the characters have specific traits exaggerated, but when you write that way you're walking a fine line with the believability of your characters and I did feel that line was crossed in a few places in this. It seemed like the main villain was supposed to be the courts themselves and the way they seduce people and destroy their lives for false hope etc., but honestly I was too preoccupied with Mr Skimpole to feel much antagonism towards the courts. He was the most abhorrent awful character and I hated him with a passion, and it just made no sense to me that the main characters who were mostly sensible, reasonable people continued to keep him around them. Eventually they started to see some reason but he was so intensely awful right from the start that their initial fond amusement was utterly baffling to me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent