Comments (21)

What did you think about this title?
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Jul 11, 2023Evelyn_b0Ok_Reviews rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Bleak House was bleak.
Jan 12, 2023Anita_Dickey rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I read this book for the 52 books in 52 weeks reading challenge. I used the 2023 reading challenge prompt read a book featuring an inheritance. It is also on Listopia's 300 books every one should read once list. Like all of dickens works.…
May 31, 2022wyenotgo rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Unlike most of Dickens’ novels, the story of Bleak House is told by dual narrators — in first person by the protagonist, Esther and by the omniscient third person (i.e. Dickens himself). That enabled him to present us with a very personal…
Nov 29, 2020
Made it through 10 hours of 39. Not fun. Too many characters, don’t care about any of them. The reader sounds stuffy and pompous. There are better things out there to read while I’m fritting my life away on bleak writing.
Aug 08, 20204536o rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Dickens is known for his unforgettable characters, and Bleak House is loaded with them: about 20 main characters and twice as many who make a memorable appearance. With a thousand pages and densely interwoven plot, you will not experience…
Mar 31, 2020lukasevansherman rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
"Jarndyce and Jarndyce has passed into a joke. That is the only good that has ever come of it." One of Dickens's longest (Maybe the longest?) novels, jam-packed with colorful characters and subplots. As with a number of other Dickens…
Feb 10, 2020
I think it worth mentioning that it incorporates a detective into the larger story. Perhaps this was the influence of Wilkie Collins?
Oct 09, 2019InsJavert rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
A very long tragic epic. A reflection on life, unabashed and well stated, but way too long.
Jul 09, 2018rgally rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
My second reading. There are a few bleak things about Bleak House. The poor crossing sweeper boy, the horrible Tulkinghorn, the deaths... I've read several Dickens works and Bleak House is on the top of my list, Jarndyce and Jarndyce…
Jan 14, 2018RoyalJellyIII rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The work is a classic. The story unfolds virtually seamlessly. The characters are introduced and then maintained throughout the narrative. They are all part of a cohesive whole. They all have a role to play, and are integral to the…
Sep 24, 2015KTherese rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I am reading all the Dickens (in order) this year and this is one of my favorites!
Aug 01, 2015rswcove rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
I have trouble believing that anyone has ever finished this ponderous pendulous pile of detritus. The title is practically a perfect review. It is a bleak novel that spends thousands of pages trying to convince us the lawyers are evil…
patienceandfortitude
Jul 22, 2013patienceandfortitude rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This book all comes together in a truly wonderful fashion at the end. It has all the wonders of good Dickens including humor and empathy for the poor. But it is the most anti-attorney book I've ever read. So lawyers beware! :)
Jan 24, 2013leviathan1588 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Bleak House has long been considered one of Dickens' best works. Deservedly so. The intricate plot and vibrant characters make this a great work. Although the number of pages may seem daunting, it is well worth it.
jbaglieri
Jul 11, 2012
As with all Dicken's work that I've read, this book has survived for a reason. Filled with drama and intrigue, painted over the backdrop of an emerging industrial world being forced upon the resentful aristocracy. The only criticism I had…
melchep
Feb 25, 2012
I have always loved Dickens but have never read bleak house and so am looking forward to this book. With many of the classics, you must make an investment of time and then wait and see. His work is not a not "plug and play." I agree…
unreg_90079387
Jul 05, 2011
bleak, to say the least.
ColemanRidge
Jul 01, 2011ColemanRidge rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Stay with it. It pays off big at the end. Dickens sets up the characters and scene for five hundred pages or so, and then writes a two-hundred page fast-paced thriller, in which you are far more involved with the characters than in any…
Feb 10, 2011illusions_court rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Personally, I am a Dickens fan so anything he writes I generally like. However, Bleak House is my favorite of his novels and aside from the slower-than-modern pace that is characteristic of most of his novels I love all of the characters.…
Apr 22, 2010meaganpeters4 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
ONe of my all time favorite novels! It is as thick as the Bible but an incredible and interesting read! I could not put it down! The slew of characters are fabulous! A true testament to the talents and abilities of Dickens! Definitely a…
Oct 10, 2009KaitlynC rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This is the biggest book I've ever read - well, I haven't read it yet, so it'll be the biggest book I will read! Ai yi yi, I can't believe I'm going to be able to read the whole thing! Has anyone else read this, how long did it take you?