Bleak House Review

               

  

               Have you ever read a book that you were determined to get through no matter what but weren’t really enjoying? Yeah, that’s happens to me frequently. Mostly because I’m stubborn and refuse to give up on a book unless it’s inherently disturbing or I’ve gone blind and can no longer read.

                My most recent case of book determination was while reading Bleak House by Charles Dickens. I know it’s a literary classic and everything, but honestly, I didn’t really enjoy it. To be fair, I kind of went into it with that mindset. What else are you supposed to think when you pick up an 800-page book called Bleak House? But alas, I stuck with it until the end and conquered the beast! It took a few extra cups of coffee to get through it, but I felt super accomplished when I finally turned that last page.

I think part of the problem for me is that Dickens writes the way that I tend to talk and it’s really annoying. Sometimes, when I try to describe something – it could be anything, from raindrops on roses to whiskers on kittens (speaking of that song, can anyone tell me why it’s considered a Christmas song? It doesn’t make any sense. Maybe it sounds like a Christmas wish list, but who wishes for raindrops?), but I get distracted by remembering something else and then start talking about that before finishing my original thought.

See what I did there? If you think that last paragraph was confusing, you should try reading Dickens! He interrupts himself like that all the time! Yikes! I find myself having to go back to the beginning of the sentence and skip the middle section so that I can see how it connects to the end of the sentence. It gets really old after awhile.

Keeping all that in mind, there were a few good things I enjoyed about the book. For example, at the very beginning when he spends about three pages doing nothing but describe the fog in London, there’s a really beautiful description that he uses.

“Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snowflakes – gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun.”

That line literally gave me chills when I first read it. What must the world have looked like in Dickens’ mind to think of a description like that? It makes our ordinary, dreary world sound like some kind of somber fairytale. I didn’t run across any other sentences that stuck out to me like that one, but it is descriptions like that that separate good writers from great, awe-inspiring, genius-freak writers. I can’t believe I’m fangirling about a sentence right now. I’ll stop.

My second favorite part actually surprised me, and not just because it was a twist that I didn’t see coming. It has to do with where the main character ends up calling her home and who she ends up with. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know what I’m talking about, but I found myself getting teary-eyed with delight when she found out what her guardian meant when he said that she was going to be the new mistress of Bleak House. At the beginning of the book, I associated the title ‘Bleak House’ with a gray and dismal feeling, but at the end I found myself overjoyed to see the name ‘Bleak House appear outside Esther’s cozy little cottage.

“This is Bleak House. This day I give this house its little mistress; and before God, it is the brightest day in all my life!”

Even though I wasn’t crazy about the book as a whole (hence the two Star Lord rating), Dickens reminded me that the power in a name lies in the meaning behind it. I started reading the book feeling depressed by the name ‘Bleak House’, but once I got to know the characters and stated rooting for Esther’s happiness, ‘Bleak House’ no longer represented misery and sadness for me. Instead, Bleak House felt like home. (Hopefully, I can keep this lesson in mind when I start to read Les Miserables.)

The Bookman's Tale Review

Rating:

  

     After reading the Earth’s Children series, it was weird to read such a short book. Weird, but still very refreshing. The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett was my consolation prize for having made it through my last reading adventure. I’d had my eye on this book for a while, and I’m glad I finally got a chance to read it.

     Peter Byerly is the main character in this book. He is an antiquarian bookseller who, while struggling with the loss of his wife, gets entangled in a web of conspiracies that dates back to the time of William Shakespeare. It all starts with Peter discovering a miniature portrait of a woman that dates back to the 1800s. The strange thing is, the woman in the photograph looks just like his wife.

     There were definitely some mysteries throughout this plot that made me want to keep reading and get to the end. I think what I enjoyed most, though, was the love and appreciation for books that many of the characters had. In fact, I’m pretty sure I want to be an antiquarian bookseller myself when I grow up. Actually, I would probably just want to keep all of the books for myself instead of making money off of them so that wouldn’t work. I think I’d rather be a wealthy book collector. J

     I gave The Bookman’s Tale a three because it’s one of those books where, once you’ve read it and you find out what happens, you don’t really feel the need to read it again. I definitely recommend reading it if you never have before, but I probably won’t pick it up a second time.

     One thing I enjoyed, though, is the way Lovett plotted out the story. He set the course of events up over three separate timelines that alternate between chapters. One timeline was set far back in the past, beginning with when Shakespeare was just starting to produce his plays. Another timeline was set in the recent past to show how Peter and his wife met and what happened over the course of their relationship. The third timeline was set in the present to show what was currently happening to Peter and how he was being affected by the events from the other two timelines.

     I don’t think I’ve seen a story plotted out quite that way before, and it always intrigues me to see how authors organize stories that take place over multiple periods of time. I’d love to write something that takes place in the past, and books like this one give me ideas for interesting ways to plot that out.

     If you enjoy reading novels about people who love reading as much as you do, add this one to your list. Another novel that has a bibliophile as the main character is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I absolutely loved this book, and I can’t wait to read it again someday!

    

     What are some great novels that you’ve read about people who love books? I’m always looking for recommendations in this category!