Bleak House

That's right.  I finished Bleak House.  It only took me a few months...but in my defense, I'm not a slow reader; I just got distracted by other reading while in the midst of Bleak House.  However, my distraction should not imply Bleak House wasn't a good novel because it was excellent.

I should admit the book was a bit intimidating at first; most books a few inches thick usually are (why is that, anyway?  I think one of my goals as a parent is to make sure my children don't miss out on great literature just because the length scares them away).  And as usual with Dickens, the first chapter or so left me yawning a bit and urging good ole' Charles to just get on with it and head straight to the meat of the book.  But once I actually allowed myself to simply read instead of rushing through the novel, I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Bleak House constructed around three themes: that of the murkiness and almost unethical institutions in England in the nineteenth century (namely, the court system), misplaced children, and mystery.  Each theme is developed fully with different stories intertwining to address them as they unfold the surrounding story.

Jarndyce and Jarndyce- one of the oldest cases in endless litigation in English law- is where the novel begins, and in a sense, where the novel ends.  Two wards- Richard and Ada- have some stake in the case, which follows the dispute of a will of a very wealthy man, but after Richard and Ada's custody is transferred to a kind relation after both sets of their parents die, their guardian urges them to flee from involvement in legal case as it seems nothing is ever resolved, procuring bitterness for all parties involved.  Their ward is Mr. Jarndyce, who determined after watching his father battle through the courts in hope that he might obtain some of the inheritance from the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case, hires Esther to be Ada's companion when Richard and Ada move to Bleak House to live with their guardian.

Esther, a kind and gentle young woman, had been raised as an orphan by her aunt but was never told of her parental lineage.  Throughout the novel, Esther wonders at just who her parents might have been, and in a most unexpected moment, the truth is revealed to her.  She can have no cause for celebration, however, as her newly-found knowledge must remain a secret.  And when a a high-profile murder occurs, it is difficult not to assume that Esther's mother is indeed the murderess, and her mother's involvement with the victim could lead to the downfall of one of the greatest English families.

Bleak House is often touted as Dicken's most beloved masterpiece (although, really, I'm sure most of his works are referred to in the same manner), and indeed, Bleak House is now probably higher on my list than Great Expectations.  The character development, the integration of each an every one of the characters, the plot and subplots, the little intricacies throughout the novel- all of those aspects make the book a delightful read.  Several parts of the novel read more like a suspense-thriller while other points feel as though the entire novel is a stately romance.  Honestly, my thought at several times throughout my Bleak House experience: "Dickens is a genius".  My thought at the end of my Bleak House experience: "Dickens is a bloody genius".  Seriously, I'm pretty sure I said that aloud to Isaac as I put down the book for a final time.  So, do yourself a favor, go check out Bleak House from the library, refuse to be intimidated by its thickness and small font, and jump right in.  Trust me, you'll thank me for it...and so will that soddingly brilliant genius Dickens.

And oh yes, the BBC adaptation was fairly accurate and very well-played.