Bleak House

Again, I bought another book from among the Alma Classics editions. And, as usual, this is a sturdy one with a good binding. However, the really pitiful packaging took its toll on the book, leaving some visible dents around the corners; also, there were some spots somewhat dirty.Still, I'd say I received my copy of Bleak House in a pretty good condition, all thanks to the good binding, and no thanks to the poor packaging whatsoever.Another thing I'd like to mention is that, in the description of this edition, it's mentioned that there are 992 pages; however, this edition has around 800 pages, with the text ending in pp. 786. So the book ended up being a little less thicker than I expected it to be. 😅

Nice story and the little ending twist is quite good

Cotent is awesome but I request amazon to give a bookmark while they are sellling books especially a thick book.

The cover is absolutely tattered. This is surely not what one expects after buying a book. Can't return since the delivery already took so long that cannot afford to lose more.

Great bookBut bookmark missing

Interesting story ☺️ . Good delivery.Cheap book . All pages are of good quality.Book in good condition. Good printing quality

Such a narrative which spans across ages, across people, across societies and classes and yet bound so tightly with a story that doesn't leave you for a moment. Dickens was really outstanding in his narrative which was so mature that one would really feel the depth of writing as one goes deeper into the text. An amazing book.

A good book and an easy read with the illustrations.

I must admit that I have always had a certain preference for 19th Century fiction, and when you are looking for something a bit chunky and enjoyable to read then you cannot really go wrong with Dickens. Like most people I have read this before and have seen dramatic adaptations, but it is always great to re-read. Here we have the third person narrative style mixed with the first-person narrative, from Esther Summerson, the heroine of the tale.With numerous memorable characters, a tale that takes in the richest to the poorest, a satire on the legal profession, incorporating secrets, suicide and murder, along with other elements, so there is more than enough to get your teeth into with the number of sub-plots. Although perhaps a little slow in the earlier chapters, we can see Dickens setting his characters out and moving them around rather like a chess player, placing them in the correct place for them to continue the tale. At the heart of this though is the legendary case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which has been going on for decades, with very few people knowing the origins and problems that have arisen over the period.With those awaiting to see if there will ever be an ending to the famous case, so there are those who sponge off others and try to profit by nefarious means, and of course the lawyers, who manage to get as much as they can financially from the case as it very slowly makes its way through Chancery. With Esther, so we see that she does not have any knowledge of her mother, but as this progresses, so we find out who the woman really is, as she is taken in by John Jarndyce, who an unwilling family member of the case also takes in two wards from it, Ada Clare and Richard Carstone.Dickens really weaves a great and memorable tale as he brings to life the period he is writing of, not only giving us some great characters, such as Mrs Jellyby, who is more interested in her ‘good works’ than her husband and children, who all suffer, Krook, who once his time is up Dickens kills off by spontaneous combustion (as only he could do), Inspector Bucket, one of the first proper detectives to appear in English literature, the spongers Skimpole and Turveydrop, and of course the lawyer, Tulkinghorn.This book with its biting satire of the law did help as part of the cause to bring about reform, and we can see how people suffer at the hands of the law, with the monies needed to fight certain cases through to the bitter end. By giving us two narrative styles here so we see what is happening, and how Esther feels and reacts. Really this story has a little bit of everything in it thus giving a lot of satisfaction to the reader as you work your way through this long novel.

Bleak House was one of the books we studied for English A Level so, 40 years later, I thought it would be good to read it again. Well, let's just say that it's taken an awful long time to get through it. The book is set in fog and the plot is permanently bogged down in a way that is meant to represent the endlessly impenetrable workings of the Court of Chancery in the case of Jarndyce vs Jarndyce. The last quarter of the book is livened up by the introduction of Inspector Bucket, in what is arguably the earliest example of a Dective Story in English Literature (as I seem to remember from my A Level notes). But a rattling good yarn (like Nicholas Nickelby or A Tale of Two Cities) it ain't, and the cast of characters is so long and bewildering that it was almost impossible to remember where and when they had been previously encountered in the story - never mind being able to follow the plot. However, let's just say that it was absorbing (of time as much as anything) and provided a feast of Charles Dickens - for anyone who likes that sort of thing.

For some reason I had never read this novel. I am now not surprised that many scholars consider it to be the greatest of all Dickens' novels. It has a myriad of characters: a complex plot; an impassioned attack upon the whole Chancery system; magnificent descriptive passages - and language which reached the heights of eloquence. Reading this book is a memorable experience!

I had been thoroughly put off Dickens by being made to read David Copperfield all through from begining to end in my first term at secondary school.Recently, ie forty years later, a friend suggested that I should read Bleak House as a way into Dickens, and she was absolutely right.I found the begining very atmospheric and felt drawn in, I found the lead character, Esther, a very pleasant companion and although some parts of the plot are a little odd (one of the minor characters spontaneously combusts!) the main thrust of it holds the attention.Oh, I should mention that this is the novel about the famous case of Jarndyce v Jarndyce, the interminable suit in Chancery that fastens on the Jarndyce family like a greedy leach and sucks away their life blood. Dickens always protests about something, and in this novel the wrongs of legal delays and sharp lawyer's practice are to the fore.And always, there is London, like a huge beast over which the characters move like insects on its back. Vividly portrayed, I really would pass on my friend's recommendation: if you feel your education is lacking because you have not read through any of Dicken's full length works, try this one.

I read this book a few years back on paper and was completely enthralled throughout. (The kindle version is just to carry around with me on my travels.) It's Dickens, so be ready for long descriptive sections where he paints a scene without much of anything seeming to happen. But the way he does his descriptive writing! This was, I believe, one of his later works and you really see his mastery of the language coming through. I defy anyone to read the first chapter, set in a Court of Law on a murky autumn day, and not start to experience the lethargy, inertia and coseness of the atmosphere in the room.If you've seen any of the TV versions (the most recent BBC version was exceptional), you probably know the story - sorry, those spoilers are going to ruin some of the twists and turns of the novel as Dickens presents them. But don't let that put you off. This is a masterpiece, very long but completely worth the effort.