Bleak House

Charles Dickens

Up to about one-quarter to one-third through Seán was already getting sick of the book and its verbosity. It felt very much like it was written in instalments (which it probably was). The characters are all extreme - extremely good/bad/angelic/corrupt and not at all naturalistic. By about halfway through the story suddenly bucked up though the various parallel stories didn't come together until the very end of a long 1000 pages. The writing was very good but Seán wasn't always in the mood for the style. Dickens' irony was very heavy-handed and tended to "beat the reader over the head."
Seán 20/4/00

By the same author

Great Expectations
Sketches by Boz
The Battle of Life
The Chimes
The Cricket on the Hearth
The Haunted Man
The Mystery of Edwin Drood

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