(Originally Published 1852, Mass Market Paperback 818 pages)
Based upon "Bleak House," it's safe to say that Mr. Dickens was not a big fan of the legal system and lawyers. Published in a monthly-series format between 1852 and 1853, "Bleak House" portrays London in all its sootiness. Mr. Dickens personal experiences of living as a boy while working his backside off in the city, barely eating and isolated clearly affected his literary work. His descriptions of soot-coated London and the slums are highly effective and upsetting. Mr. Dickens writes about a world where England had a distinct class system, abject poverty, debtor's prisons, a high mortality rate due to diseases and starvation, massive amounts of uneducated working class, a rigid upper-class moral code, and apparently, one heckuva parasitic legal system.
I was hesitant in reading "Bleak House" because of its title. I had imagined the 800plus-page book to be chock-full of misery and depression; the kind of stuff that gives critics and book snobs all sorts of orgasms. Granted, the story does have its fair share of such events, but Mr. Dickens also includes humor, mystery, adventure and romance. This is the third, large, Charles Dickens book I've read. The other two, the "Pickwick Papers" (1836-37) and "Oliver Twist" (1837,) were also highly entertaining. However, I found all three works took some getting used to in relating to Victorian sensibilities as compared to today's mores. What the folks in "Bleak House" sometimes consider huge crises in their time, wouldn't be a big deal today. Also, brevity isn't Dickens' strong suit. The author frequently rambles on and on and on... and, I swear to God, the guy had some form of Tourette's-metaphor Syndrome. In the 1800s, this overly-flamboyant writing style was all the rage. Today, however, an editor would likely have a field day marking up Dickens' stuff.
"Bleak House" is entertaining, but only if you can force yourself to relate to his times. The characters are given ample time to reflect their thoughts, but still are close to one-dimensional. The good characters are always good and the nasty people remain nasty. My word, the main protagonist, Esther Summerson, could give Mother Theresa a run for her money in the sainthood department. Others such as Harold Skimpole, are purely satirical figures because no person in real life would tolerate such a narcissistic leach without eventually hitting him on the side of the head with a shovel. Also, the lives of the various characters continually intersected so frequently that I began to think maybe London had a total population of 12.
I know, I know, to say anything critical of Charles Dickens' work is considered almost as bad as piddling on a Christmas Nativity scene, but his books aren't for everyone. Look, I enjoyed "Bleak House" despite the "flaws" that I mentioned above. It's entertaining and I'll certainly read more of Mr. Dickens' tomes. But be prepared for a looooong read.
I was hesitant in reading "Bleak House" because of its title. I had imagined the 800plus-page book to be chock-full of misery and depression; the kind of stuff that gives critics and book snobs all sorts of orgasms. Granted, the story does have its fair share of such events, but Mr. Dickens also includes humor, mystery, adventure and romance. This is the third, large, Charles Dickens book I've read. The other two, the "Pickwick Papers" (1836-37) and "Oliver Twist" (1837,) were also highly entertaining. However, I found all three works took some getting used to in relating to Victorian sensibilities as compared to today's mores. What the folks in "Bleak House" sometimes consider huge crises in their time, wouldn't be a big deal today. Also, brevity isn't Dickens' strong suit. The author frequently rambles on and on and on... and, I swear to God, the guy had some form of Tourette's-metaphor Syndrome. In the 1800s, this overly-flamboyant writing style was all the rage. Today, however, an editor would likely have a field day marking up Dickens' stuff.
"Bleak House" is entertaining, but only if you can force yourself to relate to his times. The characters are given ample time to reflect their thoughts, but still are close to one-dimensional. The good characters are always good and the nasty people remain nasty. My word, the main protagonist, Esther Summerson, could give Mother Theresa a run for her money in the sainthood department. Others such as Harold Skimpole, are purely satirical figures because no person in real life would tolerate such a narcissistic leach without eventually hitting him on the side of the head with a shovel. Also, the lives of the various characters continually intersected so frequently that I began to think maybe London had a total population of 12.
I know, I know, to say anything critical of Charles Dickens' work is considered almost as bad as piddling on a Christmas Nativity scene, but his books aren't for everyone. Look, I enjoyed "Bleak House" despite the "flaws" that I mentioned above. It's entertaining and I'll certainly read more of Mr. Dickens' tomes. But be prepared for a looooong read.
(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #389)
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