Bleak House (Bantam Classics)

mass market paperback, 848 pages

English language

Published Nov. 1, 1985 by Bantam Classics.

ISBN:
978-0-553-21223-5
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As the interminable case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce grinds its way through the Court of Chancery, it draws together a disparate group of people: Ada and Richard Clare, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a ward of court, whose parentage is a source of deepening mystery; the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn; the determined sleuth Inspector Bucket; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. A savage, but often comic, indictment of a society that is rotten to the core, Bleak House is one of Dickens's most ambitious novels, with a range that extends from the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to the poorest of London slums.

132 editions

Névoa, justiça e destino – Minha travessia por Casa Soturna de Charles Dickens

Ler Casa Soturna foi como entrar em uma Londres envolta em neblina – uma neblina não só física, mas moral e social. Desde as primeiras páginas, senti o peso do labirinto judicial que Charles Dickens constrói em torno do processo interminável de Jarndyce contra Jarndyce. A leitura me fez perceber que o verdadeiro protagonista do romance talvez não seja um personagem, mas o próprio sistema legal, símbolo de uma burocracia que consome vidas e esperanças.

Entre os muitos rostos que cruzam essa história, foi Esther Summerson quem mais me tocou. Sua voz calma, humilde e atenta aos outros parece oferecer um refúgio de humanidade em meio ao caos. Ao acompanhar sua jornada, senti ternura e admiração: Esther é, de certo modo, a luz que tenta atravessar a escuridão densa de uma sociedade corrompida.

Dickens tece uma rede de histórias paralelas, e eu me via perdido e fascinado por …

Begin the world

This book made me a fan of Dickens. His bewildering style is not my cup of tea, but I have finally come to respect and appreciate his talent. Don't try to write like him. I cried at the end.

Review of 'Bleak House' on 'Goodreads'

This is a Dickens 4/5 which is any other authors 6/5.

Big, bold, intentionally meandering, I personally prefer Dickens when the lens is more focussed on one individual but I can still appreciate what he's done here in terms of stretching his craft plus taking on societies ills directly.

Can't believe how little the legal system has changed in 180 years.

Review of 'Bleak House' on 'Goodreads'

Cathartic and grandiose, though I spent the first 75% bored, struggling to make it to the end. And then I spent the last 25% rereading the first 75% to see how cleverly the plots had been engineered for me. It felt great to finish, though I'm not sure how much of that was due to the merits of the book. I'd recommend reading it more as a study on story-weaving than as a novel in its own right. Would probably have made a KILLER weekly serial.

Review of 'Bleak House' on 'Goodreads'

I wished I'd liked this more than I did. It is well written, and has a few good characters, but it did not generate enthusiasm in me for it as much I could wish.

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Subjects

  • Literature - Classics / Criticism
  • Literature: Classics
  • Classics
  • Fiction / Classics

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