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pinkmooon 's review for:
Bleak House
by Charles Dickens
Too much house, not enough bleak, that's one thing. I am sorry to say I didn't enjoy this, overall, as much as I did in parts, as there are many really great parts I enjoyed very much. Failings lie with the reader and with expectations, mostly.
I've got no problem with plotless stories, but I was lead to believe this novel had a plot, and it doesn't. It's all subplots - or, at least, it appears to be all subplots. I had been lead to believe that the novel had a slow start, and really got moving after 200, 300, 400, 500 pages. It never gets going; if you're not interested in these characters from the beginning, you won't be later. And you really have to care about all of the characters - get mixed up about the narrative differences between a stray Rouncewell, Snagsby and Smallweed and a subplot will become mired in obscurity, and suddenly you'll get to page 800, enjoying most of the story, realising you have no idea who these people are, or who's happening.
I really enjoyed bits and pieces here, but the central story is not really what it should've been - Richard's story re: Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which is brilliant - but the Dedlock story I never really got into. There were too many moving parts, and I never got drawn into the novel as a whole, as opposed to enjoying a subplot here and there. It reminded me a lot of reading The Pickwick Papers, but since this book is not merely a comedy, the reader can't be afforded the luxury of not taking certain bits so seriously, or forgetting who a particular character is. I would've loved to be part of a Dickens reading community, as reading in groups would've really helped this all cohere, but I'll have to settle for the 2005 BBC adaptation to really help everything sink in.
So do I recommend Bleak House? If the reader is on the whole more attentive than I was, yes. Making notes re: the characters and their nearest relations will help a lot. People like Skimpole and Boythorn and Mrs. Jellyby, like Jo and Krook and the brilliant minor character Mr. Gridley -- some of these people will jump to life immediately. Some will disappear into London fog, then turn out to be particularly important -- Lady Dedlock herself and Mr Tulkinghorn made no impression on me until it was far too late, and keeping track of this tangled web is crucial. Prose wise, Dickens is wonderful, and if you can juggle everything, the resolutions are poignant and satisfying. Just be ready and willing to re-read, even if you feel afraid of losing yourself to the breadth of 1200 pages, like Jarndyce and Jarndyce itself.
I've got no problem with plotless stories, but I was lead to believe this novel had a plot, and it doesn't. It's all subplots - or, at least, it appears to be all subplots. I had been lead to believe that the novel had a slow start, and really got moving after 200, 300, 400, 500 pages. It never gets going; if you're not interested in these characters from the beginning, you won't be later. And you really have to care about all of the characters - get mixed up about the narrative differences between a stray Rouncewell, Snagsby and Smallweed and a subplot will become mired in obscurity, and suddenly you'll get to page 800, enjoying most of the story, realising you have no idea who these people are, or who's happening.
I really enjoyed bits and pieces here, but the central story is not really what it should've been - Richard's story re: Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which is brilliant - but the Dedlock story I never really got into. There were too many moving parts, and I never got drawn into the novel as a whole, as opposed to enjoying a subplot here and there. It reminded me a lot of reading The Pickwick Papers, but since this book is not merely a comedy, the reader can't be afforded the luxury of not taking certain bits so seriously, or forgetting who a particular character is. I would've loved to be part of a Dickens reading community, as reading in groups would've really helped this all cohere, but I'll have to settle for the 2005 BBC adaptation to really help everything sink in.
So do I recommend Bleak House? If the reader is on the whole more attentive than I was, yes. Making notes re: the characters and their nearest relations will help a lot. People like Skimpole and Boythorn and Mrs. Jellyby, like Jo and Krook and the brilliant minor character Mr. Gridley -- some of these people will jump to life immediately. Some will disappear into London fog, then turn out to be particularly important -- Lady Dedlock herself and Mr Tulkinghorn made no impression on me until it was far too late, and keeping track of this tangled web is crucial. Prose wise, Dickens is wonderful, and if you can juggle everything, the resolutions are poignant and satisfying. Just be ready and willing to re-read, even if you feel afraid of losing yourself to the breadth of 1200 pages, like Jarndyce and Jarndyce itself.