And the characters! Where do you start? Mr Tulkinghorn, the lawyer so shifty and slimy that you can almost hear him slithering when he walks, Mr Guppy the chancer, the vile Smallweed family, the strong but haunted Lady Dedlock, the terminally selfish Harold Stimpole, ready to excuse all his sponging off his friends on the grounds that he's so innocent of life he can't be held responsible for his actions, the iexhaustible do-gooder Mrs Jellaby, so busy being bountiful to strangers that she chronically neglects her own family, the young man Richard Carstone who becomes obsessed with the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, the beer-drinking housewives witnessing all that happens at Krook's shop, and the great Inspector Bucket, with his collection of handcuffs ready to snap on at a moment's notice. Bucket is like a Victorian version of Detective Columbo, even down to Columbo's famous trick of pausing at the door for one final word, his knack for buttering up his witnesses with an affable exterior, and frequent references to an unseen wife!

This is a hugely satisfying read. There isn't a scene in the whole 1000 pages that Dickens doesn't make fully-rounded and colourful. We know the names of all Miss Flite's birds, the painting on the ceiling of Mr Tulkinghorn's office, the layout of Bleak House itself, and what Inspector Bucket has for breakfast just before setting off for a climatic showdown (two mutton chops as it happens). It's also a satirical swipe at the law courts. Whole hordes of characters are born, get married and die, as the interminable case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce grinds on. This must surely be contender for one of the greatest English novels ever written, and if it isn't then there is truly no justice to be had!


An often overlooked classic   April 1, 2003
 7 out of 9 found this review helpful

Bleak House is perhaps one of Dickens' least well appreciated novels, but having studied it at university, i struggle to understand why. The book is a wonderful journey through 'Dickensian London' with a cast of hundreds of wonderfully described characters. Unlike other sprawling novels of the time, however, Dickens' focus on the plot means that the reader never feels overwhelmed - indeed, Bleak House contains one of the first ever detectives in literary fiction, and the latter stages of the story mean that the book becomes unputdownable.

FOr those who always thought Dickens was dull, give Bleak House a try and i promise you'll change your mind.


Truly great literature.   February 5, 2002
 15 out of 16 found this review helpful

If the tags of "classic" and "victorian" have given you the impression that Dickens is a stuffy old duffer, then please read this book. It will totally blow your preconceptions apart.
Dickens, it seems to me, was a genuine humanitarian and a rebel at heart. His contmept for the ruling classes, and his anger at the suffering of the poor would on their own make this a worthwhile read. But add to that his mastery of the language, and his comic genius, and you have here one of the most compelling stories ever written.
Occasionally his heroine, and some other characters, are so saintly you could scream. Similarly, his villains are so grotesquely despicable, you might think that the man had no grasp of human subtleties. But this is his style - he paints in broad brushstrokes. Reading Dickens is like listening to a tall tale spun by a master storyteller who can't help but exaggerate, so anxious is he that you can see what he sees.
With so many of the so-called "greats" of English literature, you need a classical education to understand the work. With Dickens, all one needs is a love of stories, of laughter and of language. And if you have a healthy contempt of the rich and powerful, then all the better.
Since we are still ruled over by pompous lawyers, I recommend this as a novel which maintains its relevance and its wit.


Don't be put off by the length   April 13, 2001
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I can't stress that enough; do not be put off by the length. When you get to the end you will wish it was even longer. What makes this such an excellent book is the various polts going on at the same time. It has everything- romance, death, a murder mystery, humour, bag loads of satire and an enourmous cast of wondeful characters. Better than A Tale of Two Cities but not quite as good as the absolut masterpiece reat Expectations.


Wonderful plot, brilliant characters, .....PERFECT !!   February 15, 2001
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

The Court of Chancery takes the full brunt of Dickens' sharply comic wit as it grinds up human fodder to feed itself. This is still as relevant (maybe more so) today in our obscenely litigious society with its compensation claims and pre-nuptial contracts which make rich pickings for legal vultures. Dickens' characters in Bleak House are, even by his standards, the most memorable, the good the bad and the ugly - each has a significant and symbolic role to play in the absorbing drama and there is a gorgeous mix of pathos and melodrama, humour and despair. Don't be put off by the length of the volume - it never flags and ends too soon. Utterly mesmerising and along with Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend the best of Dicken' darker (final) period.