Bleak House

Title: Bleak House

Author: Charles Dickens

Publication date: 1853

Book's setting: Early 19th century

Random facts: I read this book because of Gillian Anderson and Carey Mulligan. Also because I was bored.

Plot summary: So there is this massive court case over the fortune of a guy who has been dead for a really long time. The case is called Jarndyce and Jarndyce. In a way Bleak House has two plot lines, that don't come together till the very end. The first plot line is regarding three young orphaned wards of the court- Esther, Ada, and Richard. They are taken in by a Mr. Jarndyce, one who wants nothing to do with the case and discourages his young wards from getting involved. Romance and tragedy and inevitable entanglement with the case draw the three young adults together toward their uncertain futures. The other plot line centers around one Lady Dedlock. Lady Dedlock has a secret, one that her husband's lawyer is hellbent on uncovering. This second strand of story unfolds like a whodunit mystery, pulling in all manner of classic "Dickens" characters. By the end of the thousand page novel, the two stories are binded together in more way than one.

Favorite aspects: Ada and Richard. I stumbled and crawled and cried through the dull parts and the political parts and the massive chapters filled with old men yelling at each other for Ada and Richard's sake. I never thought Dickens could be capable of such a subtle, sweet romance. I want to buy my own copy and just highlight all the sweet Ada and Richard bits and read those alone over and over. (And just ignore their tragic end.) The other best part was Lady Dedlock. I'll go through the book with a different colored highlighter and cover all the amazing, tragic, heartbreaking thoughts of Lady Dedlock. Maybe the fact that I'd seen the miniseries helped bring these characters to life in a fully emotional way... or maybe Dickens is just capable of much more romantic subtlety than I had thought.

Least favorite aspects: Those stinking Smallweeds. I sort of glazed over those parts. I mean, "shake me up Judy!" gets boring after a while. I feel like I needed an index of characters and back stories and family secrets while reading Bleak House. Maybe I'm just a bit too lazy to give it the attention it desires. Oh well. Nothing regarding Snagsby or Jo will be highlighted or given too much thought.

Other works it reminded me of: Let's be honest. Dickens is only ever really like other Dickens.

Sadie's merciless break-down: So, remember two months ago when I begrudgingly had to admit I liked Little Dorrit, but was pretty certain I wouldn't be throwing myself into any more Dickens anytime soon? Well. I guess that plan fell through.
I took it out from the library because I was going on vacation and I needed something incredibly long and not too interesting to read on the plane, and in bed every night while in Germany. I needed something interesting enough that I'd actually read it, but nothing so good that I'd forsake enjoying myself for the book. So I read it on the plane and in bed and while my friends were napping before dinner was served. I read it while charging my mp3 player and while drinking a beer in the evening. I read it in fits and burst and skimmed the parts that bore me and read my favorite parts a couple of times over.
Basically, I read it incredibly badly. Then again, I don't really care. Usually I believe that all literature should be paid express attention to, that it needs to be, I guess, respected. But I read Bleak House the way one might read a romance novel while on a business trip. It relaxed me. Book critics and historians and all those people are probably crying right now, but I don't really care. I enjoyed it. Maybe the reason I have a hard time reading Dickens is because I try too hard. Maybe the secret to enjoying him is just letting yourself fall into the story and read it your way... even if that means you miss 89% of the political commentary. Whatever. Ada and Richard. The end.

Recommendation rate: I don't know. What do you think?