Bleak House (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

"Bleak House" is truly Dicken's masterpiece!

Take it from a person who has read alot of Dickens: "Bleak House" is Dickens at his finest. From the sweeping Chancery case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce and the epic struggle of all of those blighted by the case's corrupting touch to the shocking revelation of Esther's true pedigree, this novel entertains, enlightens, engrosses, and enriches the reader. Deeply evocative, this hefty novel, like so many other gargantuan tomes (e.g. War and Peace, Atlas Shrugged, The Brothers Karamazov, etc) has wisely been kept, surviving the ages for new generations to enjoy and revere. I highly recommend "Bleak House!"

P.S. My review was kind enough to leave out major plot points - why can't other people do that? - but this is really a slammer towards Barnes and Noble. To my great dismay, the back cover of your edition ruined the climax and denouement of several major plot lines in this book. Maybe next time you should actually increase intrigue in the book - like a good cover synopsis is supposed to do - instead of telling the story. Everyone who reads this novel has read books before, and I think 99% of the population can pretty much figure out one major plot line given away by the synopsis - or should I say spoiler - you have so fittingly placed on the back cover. If I wanted to find the plot line to "Bleak House" in three seconds, I would have bought your Sparknotes product for this book and not spent 4 weeks arduously reading, yet savoring, every one of Dickens well-placed, well-selected words!

9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

Unreadable

Bleak house is a masterful mystery but this version has nonsense words not in the original. I will delete it because it is unreadable in this format.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A most 'Dickensian' Dickens novel

'Bleak House' is, alas, one of those books by Dickens that few people ever read because of its great length, which is certainly a metaphor for the interminable estate lawsuit that forms one of the major themes. However, Dickens' fluid writing style makes it quite an easy read (one day I was able to cover almost 100 pages), full of rich description, wonderful humor, pointed opinion about the English social and legal systems, and of course a myriad of those dotty denizens with imaginatively colorful names that Dickens is so famous for (Lord and Lady Dedlock, Mr. Krook, Mr. Turveydrop, Miss Flite). There are elements of a number of his other works here -- the distressed 'Oliver Twist' children, the 'David Copperfield' transplanted orphans, the hopes for good fortune of 'Great Expectations'. The reader also needs to be patient with the atmosphere of fog and murk, both within the setting in the Court of Chancery (among other places) and also concealing the secrets of plot and character that lurk in shadow for a while (shadows, some with symbolic color, play a role all their own) and pop up suddenly into the light at different times throughout the book. If you would know the mature Dickens, this is a definitive book. This fine Barnes & Noble edition is a great advantage to modern American readers because of the many excerpts of early newpaper reviews and of literary criticism, as well as a large number of footnotes and endnotes, so the reader should have at least two bookmarks handy. The average reader who is not a proofreader (as this reviewer is) should be able to overlook the numerous typos and loose periods scattered about in the middle of sentences.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

An Excellent Edition of a Timeless Classic

There are many editions of this classic Dickensian work, but if you're interested in reading BLEAK HOUSE¿in fact, if you're interested in reading any of the classics of the 18th and 19th centuries¿I strongly recommend looking at the Barnes & Noble Classics Series. Physically, the covers are heavy with a satin finish for a good grip, the bindings are strong, the paper is of a good weight, and the quality of the typesetting is excellent (no noted typos in 800+ pages). For editorial content, I give them top marks the introduction was educational, the footnotes provide immediate explanation of the odd Victorian word or phrase, the end-notes add a great deal of context for the more curious reader, the period woodcuts are clear and often humorous, and this title also has a London map, a Dickensian timeline, and a Dramatis Personae. My only wish is that it had a couple of ribbon bookmarks, though I've supplied my own without trouble. As for the novel itself, it's one of Dickens' darkest books, if not the darkest. The satire is sharp, the humor is dry, the characters are exceedingly memorable. Some might find the character of Esther Summerson a bit too Pollyannish, but I think her first-person narrative brings a welcome change from the starker tone of the third-person/present-tense omniscient who relates the other parts of the story. Moreover, I find that while Esther starts out quite too good to be true, she undergoes a subtle but consistently discernable transformation from girl to woman, precipitated by her situation, an illness, and the discovery of her own personal history. Long? Yes, it's a long book. And if you haven't read any Victorian fiction, you might want to start with something a little shorter. However, though there is a good bit of bleakness in Bleak House, it's far and away a brighter, more cheerful book than Thomas Hardy's works, so take that into account.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Riveting!!!!!!!!!!

Could not lay this book down....Dickens was a writing genius!!!!!!! Not for the faint of heart.... a pretty accurate depiction of humanity......not to far off the mark of life in todays world....just the fashions have changed...and some of the living conditions.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

OCR terrible

From the first page this is unreadable

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

My first Dickens

Bleak House by Charles Dickens is one of the BBC's top 100 books to read.I am glad I waited till now to read this novel, because I think I would have been lost if I attempted this book in middle school or high school. There are many major characters; Harold Skimpole is my favorite. However, there are many more minor characters throughout the novel; therefore, it can be difficult for a reader to keep a grasp on everyone. Esther Summerson is the main character of the novel and the mystery that surrounds her life and identity is the meat of this story. Definitely another long book that I had to put down and pick up again several times while I was reading this novel. Readers are thrown into copious amounts of storylines that link together to main conflict of the book whicj is the investigation into Lady Dedlock's past. This is a novel that has a combination of murder, compassion and mystery that can keep readers engaged for the 880 pages of the story (with only a few lulls). I probably would never read this book again, but would definitely recommend it to those whom can appreciate tons of foreshadowing that makes a reader postulate about the storylines and the characters past and their futures.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of Dickens' Finest

This is one of my favorite books of all time! It tells the incredible story of a lawsuit hung up for so long in the Victorian English court system that in the end - well, you will have to read it to find out! The characters are beautifully conveyed, and the writing is so rich it's like a literary dessert. Highly recommended.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I highly recommend this outstanding work of fiction

I have acquired the habit of reading a classic every third or fourth novel I read. Bleak House was the best novel that I have read in a long time, beating out Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner which I liked immensely. I liked the subtle humor in it as well as the outrageous depiction of some of the key characters that were undoubtedly based on people that Dickens knew. The original illustrations were marvelous.
My only negative comment has to do with the introduction written by a scholar who is an expert in Victorian literature, and I would recommend skipping it because it is largley incoherent.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

An Excellent Novel--But Not Dickens Best

I've undertaken to read all of Dickens' major works, from 'Oliver Twist' to 'Our Mutual Friend'. Having recently finished 'Bleak House' I can give it a hardy recommendation with one caveat: the character of Esther is the best example of the worst aspects of Victorian morality. The intrigue, the murder, and the mysteries, are all examples of Dickens at his best; but how can one be sympathetic with a heroine whose annoying, self-effacing, yet self-aggrandizing, modesty causes the novel to continually grind to a halt? If not for this highly disagreeable character this would be Dickens' best. When there are hidden and underrated treasures like 'Barnaby Rudge' in the Dickens canon, I think 'Bleak House' can be put aside and read another day.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Dont bother trying thr sample

Just a title page, nothing to read.

This Google library book is an Awful digitized version!

While the story is a classic and a wonderful read - this digitized version stinks! If I could have given it zero stars I would have. This version looks like it was scanned in via OCR and no one bothered to see if it actually scanned right. Every other word has extra characters and other garbage making it impossible to read. I have found this with quite a few other Google versions of Charles Dickens books available for free here. guess you get what you pay for!

recommend

one of the great classics. a good read.

Amazing book!!!!!!!!!

A wonderful version with beautiful pictures. I doubt there is a better version of Bleak House.

Don't Download the Free Version

This Google version of the book is poorly scanned. I am going to delete it from my Nook library as soon as possible, as it barely even looks like it's in English.

Highly recommended!

Dickens is a master at painting his descriptions and characters with the written word. My new favorite Dickens story. Could not put it down.

Excellent

Just brilliant.

POOR Book Quality

When I received the book, the cover, and some of the back pages of the book, were already crinkled and bent. Furthermore, once I reached page 463, the pages of the book started falling out. Now, I have to carry around a paper-clipped packet of pages 464 to 521. I have always been pleased with my purchases from BN; however, I was very disappointed this time.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great Novel

My Highschool class was required to read this book and do a paper analysing something Dicken's critiques in this book. I was not thrilled to read it, but as I got into it, I could not wait to see what the next chapter would reveal about the links between characters. The characters in the book are all unique, with good-hearted John Jarndyce and Esther Summerson, who is not a true person, but is an excellent mediator without the story. Also are those trapped by the courts, and those who are like vampires, such as Vholes and Tulkinghorn. This book is definitely worth reading, because Dickens uses individualized characters to critique England's society and customs of his day. An enjoyable read, especially if you pay attention to hints about how characters are connected and how the plot will close throughout the book. I recommend trying to put things together before finishing to see if you are close. It adds a bit more flavor to the reading!

A Masterpiece

Bleak House is a great read. It fuses all of Dickens's greatest talents: caricature, humor, pathos, the list goes on. It is also exceptional for its biting satire and criticism. The theme of the Court of Chancery is a prime example of Dickens's concern with the law. All associated with it are leeches (Vholes, Tulkinghorn) and others are destroyed by it. (Miss Flite, Gridley, Richard Carstone) The romantic plot involving the mystery of Lady Dedlock is also complicated and engaging. One of the biggest (and probably strangest) flaws in this novel is the fact that these two themes never intersect. I say strange because Dickens tends to crave unity in his novels. The characters are wonderful, as might be expected with Dickens. One reviewer has remarked that Esther Summerson is too modest and self-effacing. This is true. Virtuous characters such as Esther Summerson and Ada Clare, however, are needed in novels like Bleak House. If they are not present, the novel becomes too dark. In other words, they provide much-needed contrast. Readers cannot afford to overlook Bleak House.