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Ulysse's Reviews > Bleak House

Bleak House by Charles Dickens
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it was amazing
bookshelves: novels, 19th-century, dickens, 2021, read-twice-or-more

In my younger, more innocent days I had no patience for the long-drawn affair of a Dickens novel. When I read Bleak House for the first time I devoured the first 200 pages and felt suddenly so full that the prospect of another 680 pages made me nauseous in anticipation. Each subsequent chapter went down painfully as though I were trying to swallow mud. I did manage to finish the book, however, and vowed thereupon never to read another Dickens novel again. The strange thing is, though, I digested the book—slowly and over the course of nineteen years, assimilating its girth as would, I imagine, the stomach of a whale. And before I knew it, the boredom had gradually crystallized and turned into the memory of pleasure. What? Am I nostalgic to the point of taking pleasure in the pains of yesteryear? Am I a retro-active masochist? No Ulysse, you are perfectly normal. You didn’t know it then, but what you read was a masterpiece. A novel essentially about waiting. Waiting for the fog to lift. Waiting for the sun to rise. Waiting for the rain to cease. Waiting for the streets to fill with people waiting for people to arrive. Waiting for the execution of a will. Waiting for an illness to subside. Waiting for your family’s forgiveness. Waiting for marriage. Waiting for death. Waiting for birth. Waiting, waiting, waiting. And you, Ulysse, you were waiting for the book to end. Bleak House that novel of endless deferment. Right from the start we are stuck in the mud. As much mud in the streets, as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth. Dogs, indistinguishable in mire, horses scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers. Foot passengers, jostling one another’s umbrellas, in a general infection of ill-temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if the day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest. Mud accumulating at compound interest. Here we are trapped in a big mud machine whose sole purpose is to get us inside its wheels, so that they will keep turning while we run around in circles and accumulate interest mud. And become mud ourselves. Words, so many words, too many words caught in the wheels of a story splashing over us, covering us in mud. One wants to get away—but one can’t run in mud. Mud-words stick to the soles of one’s feet. Everything has taken on the slowness of a nightmare. Oh fascinating slowness! Nothing really happens. A lot of people die, but somehow death seems tributary to the plot, which like a muddy river flows implacably on towards nothing. And yet, you get a feeling of satisfaction when you have reached the last sentence and shut the book with a thud (for me Dickens can only be read in hardcover—he requires that final thud. And, another thing, make sure you chose an edition with a typeface you like, for you’ll be spending a lot of time looking at that typeface). When I was twenty-two the feeling I had on finishing the book was one of relief. I had finally gotten myself out of the mud, rid myself of Dickens and his glutinous sentences. The young me hated waiting. The young me wanted thrills—to live life to the fullest. Bleak House continually frustrated my need for immediate pleasure. I wanted to grab this loose baggy monster by the scruff of the neck and shake it, just like one might want to grab Vholes, Kenge and Tulkinghorn by the scruff of the neck and shake them. This time around my thoughts went more along these lines: yes, life is a succession of waiting for things to happen, which more often than not do not happen, but instead of doing nothing while waiting I might as well look around the room I am waiting in, which may happen to be the whole wide universe. And the people I am waiting with, I should pay attention to them too and observe the way they dress and sit and say certain things and the way their hands talk and the way the sunlight plays in their hair and listen to their stories and laugh with them and empathize with them and perform little acts of kindness that will make their lives a little lighter, and mine too. And waiting, well, isn’t waiting just another word for living? For isn’t the ultimate thing we are waiting for simply the end of all waiting? The end of waiting, the end of living. So while we’re waiting why not pick up a copy of Bleak House by Charles Dickens (hard cover, please) and ever so patiently and passionately and with the mud of his words in our mouths wind our thoughts through the labyrinth of waiting he wrote for us all to enjoy?
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Reading Progress

February 4, 2016 – Shelved
March 8, 2017 – Shelved as: novels
October 5, 2019 – Shelved as: 19th-century
July 9, 2020 – Shelved as: dickens
January 5, 2021 – Started Reading
January 5, 2021 –
page 46
4.65%
January 5, 2021 –
page 46
4.65%
January 10, 2021 –
page 92
9.3%
January 21, 2021 –
page 138
13.95%
January 24, 2021 –
page 182
18.4%
February 1, 2021 –
page 227
22.95%
February 7, 2021 –
page 272
27.5%
February 15, 2021 –
page 318
32.15%
February 21, 2021 –
page 362
36.6%
February 28, 2021 –
page 410
41.46%
March 8, 2021 –
page 457
46.21%
March 16, 2021 –
page 503
50.86%
March 24, 2021 –
page 547
55.31%
April 3, 2021 –
page 590
59.66%
April 5, 2021 –
page 637
64.41%
April 15, 2021 –
page 680
68.76%
May 2, 2021 –
page 724
73.21%
May 13, 2021 –
page 800
80.89%
May 18, 2021 – Shelved as: 2021
May 18, 2021 – Shelved as: read-twice-or-more
May 18, 2021 – Finished Reading

Comments Showing 1-44 of 44 (44 new)

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message 1: by Carlos (new)

Carlos Great review Ulysse! A book as a mirror, that tells us more about ourselves than we could ever imagine that very first time we read it, many years ago. And I totally agree: with age we pay more attention to detail and people around us. Love your thoughts about waiting. Perhaps as we get older we get wiser, who knows. I've never read Bleak House, but the enthusiasm I get from your review is a great invitation to do so.

I totally agree about how crucial fonts are in a book. One thing I like about e-books is that you can change the font; actually you can have a whole collection of fonts in your device and decide which one is the best suited for the e-book you're reading (the equation certainly changes from book to book). That in my opinion gets us closer than we've ever been to good old Johannes Gutenberg.


message 2: by Prerna (new) - added it

Prerna You know, I have never attempted to read much of Dickens for the very reasons you mention. I always imagined I don't have the patience for him and so I decided to turn my nose up and ignore these 'classics' forever. But if I know anything about myself it's that I am all sorts of masochist and most definitely a retro-active masochist, so even if the reading experience is painful, years later I will look upon it fondly. Maybe it's my subconscious trying to convince me that it was actually pleasurable simply because I spent so much time on it. After all, who ever wants to think that they spent way too much time on a painful activity, especially when it completely consists of waiting. So I am definitely gonna give this book a try!

Great review, Ulysse.


Anne Wonderful poetic review, Ulysse. I am in a group called Dickensians. We read one chapter per day (and discuss) and take a day off between tracts. So there is much time to digest while reading. At the beginning of next year we will be reading Bleak House. :)) Thanks so much for the stunning introduction.


TBV (on hiatus) Superb review, Ulysse. Bleak House is a novel that I have yet to read.


message 5: by Fionnuala (new)

Fionnuala Reading your review while coffee drips through the filter paper into the pot was perfect, Ulysse, the combination of a good moment in the now with the anticipation of a good moment to come—here's to enjoyment while waiting!
And snap! for having read Bleak House twice.


message 6: by Ulysse (last edited May 19, 2021 10:17AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse Carlos wrote: "Great review Ulysse! A book as a mirror, that tells us more about ourselves than we could ever imagine that very first time we read it, many years ago. And I totally agree: with age we pay more att..."

You're right, Carlos, a book is a mirror. And each time we look into one we've read before we notice how much we have changed. I'm glad you see my enthusiasm as an invitation to read Bleak House. It's one of the best novels ever written and I will never abandon its author again!

You and I agree on pretty much everything, but the kindle...NEVER! :))


message 7: by Ulysse (last edited May 19, 2021 03:09AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse Prerna wrote: "You know, I have never attempted to read much of Dickens for the very reasons you mention. I always imagined I don't have the patience for him and so I decided to turn my nose up and ignore these '..."

Thanks for your lively comment, Prerna! I encourage you to read Bleak House now and in fifteen years. You will see that the boredom of youth easily becomes the pleasure of middle-age. Sigh...


Ulysse Anne (On semi-hiatus) wrote: "Wonderful poetic review, Ulysse. I am in a group called Dickensians. We read one chapter per day (and discuss) and take a day off between tracts. So there is much time to digest while reading. At t..."

Thanks, Anne. I'm sure you'll enjoy Bleak House, especially read with a group, snail-pace. Some things in life have to be savoured slowly.


message 9: by Ulysse (last edited May 19, 2021 03:11AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse TBV (on semi-hiatus) wrote: "Superb review, Ulysse. Bleak House is a novel that I have yet to read."

Thank you, TBV. Read it soon. I'm curious to read your thoughts on it. Dickens is an author that elicits as many different responses as there are readers, which is to say a gazillion.


message 10: by Ulysse (last edited May 19, 2021 03:21AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse Fionnuala wrote: "Reading your review while coffee drips through the filter paper into the pot was perfect, Ulysse, the combination of a good moment in the now with the anticipation of a good moment to come—here's t..."

"The sound of coffee dripping through the filter paper into the pot" is music to my ears! And the smell of fresh coffee in the morning is the smell of endless possibility.


TBV (on hiatus) Ah, another coffee lover - I am addicted to it!


Ulysse Without coffee I'm as useless as a glove without a hand.


Kenny A wonderful review of Dicken's greatest accomplishment as a writer.


Michael Perkins I came to Dickens late, for the reasons you mention. But I see it as a good thing because I could better appreciate his books.


Ulysse Kenny wrote: "A wonderful review of Dicken's greatest accomplishment as a writer."

Thanks, Kenny! It most definitely is a great achievement. I loved it but maybe not quite as much as I did Pickwick, which is pure delight all the way through.


Ulysse Michael wrote: "I came to Dickens late, for the reasons you mention. But I see it as a good thing because I could better appreciate his books."

I agree with you, Michael, there are things in life that require some maturity to be fully appreciated. But I do miss the passion I read with in my reckless, impatient, uncompromising youth :)


message 17: by Vartika (new)

Vartika Wonderful review, Ulysse!


message 18: by J. Sebastian (new)

J. Sebastian Wonderful review!

LOL. I shall remember to look for a hardback edition of this one, whenever I eventually build enough courage to attempt it, all for the delight of the final thud! :-)


message 19: by Julie (new)

Julie G . . . for me Dickens can only be read in hardcover—he requires that final thud.

I love it! Your first experience of this novel reminds me a bit of my first experience of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. I was so certain I had figured out how bad it was, in contrast to all of the experts who acknowledged it as a great work of literature. Turns out, the more we think we've figured out, the less we know.


Ulysse Vartika wrote: "Wonderful review, Ulysse!"

Thank you, Vartika!


message 21: by Ulysse (last edited May 23, 2021 10:00AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse J. Sebastian wrote: "Wonderful review!

LOL. I shall remember to look for a hardback edition of this one, whenever I eventually build enough courage to attempt it, all for the delight of the final thud! :-)"


Thank you very much! You don't need courage, J. Sebastian, just time, lots and lots of time. And the longer the time spent on this book, the more satisfying that final thud.


Ulysse Julie wrote: ". . . for me Dickens can only be read in hardcover—he requires that final thud.

I love it! Your first experience of this novel reminds me a bit of my first experience of Steinbeck's The Grapes of ..."


Thanks Julie.

Inexperience did make experts of us all, didn't it? And now that we've lived a little, we're not so sure anymore.


message 23: by Julie (new)

Julie G Yep. Now we just know less than ever.


message 24: by J. Sebastian (new)

J. Sebastian Ulysse wrote: "J. Sebastian wrote: "Wonderful review!

LOL. I shall remember to look for a hardback edition of this one, whenever I eventually build enough courage to attempt it, all for the delight of the final thud!"


Yeah, time is the question. I have too little left over, but perhaps, as you have mentioned, it should be read very slowly, with intentional mud-wallowing, taking a full year or more to complete. I got stuck in the early pages of Alexandre Dumas's Count of Monte Cristo because I found the individual sentences too dull to hold my attention, and because I had too little time. I need to finish that one first, because the story, if not the sentences, was good. I'm hoping Dickens writes more interesting prose or I'll never get out of the mud.


message 25: by Ulysse (last edited May 24, 2021 01:41AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse J. Sebastian wrote: "Ulysse wrote: "J. Sebastian wrote: "Wonderful review!

LOL. I shall remember to look for a hardback edition of this one, whenever I eventually build enough courage to attempt it, all for the delig..."


Oh yes, Dickens rewards slow reading much better than does Dumas. Dumas is a giant soufflé--takes up a lot of space, most of it air. Dickens, on the other hand, is a 64-course meal. You may not like every dish, but each one is succulent and should be ingested at a leisurely pace so as to avoid surfeit.


message 26: by Ken (new)

Ken Interesting evolution about the reading of this book. Although I've read my share of CD, this one remains the big outlier on my radar. Some day, just not soon.


message 27: by Violeta (new)

Violeta OF COURSE I should have known that your first (?) review in ages that isn’t a poem should feel like one. I’m saving this as one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve read here. Well-worth the wait!


message 28: by Ulysse (last edited May 24, 2021 08:35AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse Ken wrote: "Interesting evolution about the reading of this book. Although I've read my share of CD, this one remains the big outlier on my radar. Some day, just not soon."

Like sleep, this behemoth will certainly take a chunk out of one's life. But also like sleep, it'll fill one's cells with the right kind of protein.


message 29: by Ulysse (last edited May 24, 2021 08:36AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse Violeta wrote: "OF COURSE I should have known that your first (?) review in ages that isn’t a poem should feel like one. I’m saving this as one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve read here. Well-worth the wait!"

Thank you so much, Violeta, you are kindness incarnate--a ray of sunshine on this cloudy afternoon :)


message 30: by Georgia (new)

Georgia Scott I've never forgotten those opening words. Mud, of course, refers to the waste underfoot from horses that jammed the streets then as vehicles do now. Your nausea is thus understandable. So, is the feeling you had trudging through and trying to navigate this great novel.


message 31: by Nick (new)

Nick Grammos The long prose poem for a long book, Ulysse? Good to add new forms.

I enjoyed this one many many years ago as a student.


message 32: by Ulysse (last edited Oct 14, 2022 12:44PM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse Georgia wrote: "I've never forgotten those opening words. Mud, of course, refers to the waste underfoot from horses that jammed the streets then as vehicles do now. Your nausea is thus understandable. So, is the f..."

Mud is an acquired taste, for sure. But now I love the taste of Dickens' mud.


message 33: by Ulysse (last edited Oct 14, 2022 12:44PM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse Nick wrote: "The long prose poem for a long book, Ulysse? Good to add new forms.

I enjoyed this one many many years ago as a student."


This book, which I have read twice, has taken up a significant part of my life. I couldn't summarize that feeling in a limerick.


message 34: by Aziz (new)

Aziz Sudairi I’ve enjoyed reading your review! Thanks


Ulysse Aziz wrote: "I’ve enjoyed reading your review! Thanks"

Thank you very much for saying so, Aziz.


message 36: by Dave (new) - rated it 5 stars

Dave Schaafsma bravo! Really enjoyed your story! Like mine, in a way. Ony read it once and was impressed/bored/overwhelmed/pleased with myself for finishing it, all that. It's a great book, as I recall!


message 37: by Nick (new)

Nick Grammos Ulysse wrote: "Nick wrote: "The long prose poem for a long book, Ulysse? Good to add new forms.

I enjoyed this one many many years ago as a student."

This book, which I have read twice, has taken up a significa..."


Of course not!


message 38: by Ulysse (last edited Oct 14, 2022 11:52PM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse Dave wrote: "bravo! Really enjoyed your story! Like mine, in a way. Ony read it once and was impressed/bored/overwhelmed/pleased with myself for finishing it, all that. It's a great book, as I recall!"

Thanks, Dave! It is truly great book, exhausting and pleasurable in equal measure.


message 39: by Maryana (new) - added it

Maryana It’s quite fascinating to read about how your feelings towards this novel and reading in general have evolved, Ulysse. I like the idea that waiting is another word for living, actually I was just waiting for the right time to read a novel about waiting - what a fabulous incentive to finally enter Bleak House.


message 40: by Ulysse (last edited Oct 02, 2023 08:16AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ulysse Maryana wrote: "It’s quite fascinating to read about how your feelings towards this novel and reading in general have evolved, Ulysse. I like the idea that waiting is another word for living, actually I was just w..."

Wait no longer, Maryana, Bleak House has been waiting patiently for you to visit its mud-filled pages so you can tell us what you think about them, which, after wiping the mud off your hands, boots and Mackintosh is bound to be marvellous.


message 41: by David (new)

David Can you believe that I have never read Dickens? Why? Perhaps fearing a long depressing book but now that I am older, perhaps the waiting will be simply living and that I can appreciate. I must readdress this issue of not reading Dickens. Fine, fine words Ulysse.


Ulysse David wrote: "Can you believe that I have never read Dickens?"

I find that hard to believe, David, so well-read as you are! Well, Dickens ain't going nowhere. Though no longer among the living he's still waiting and will be doing so long after the last reader has left this room we call the world.


message 43: by J.C. (new)

J.C. Ulysse, you have surpassed yourself.
I too had decided not to read any more Dickens, but your metaphor and your exploration of waiting as life, and looking around while you're in it, were very moving.


Ulysse J.C. wrote: "Ulysse, you have surpassed yourself.
I too had decided not to read any more Dickens, but your metaphor and your exploration of waiting as life, and looking around while you're in it, were very moving."


Thank you for taking the time to read this (for me) uncharacteristically long review and for commenting, Jeanne :-)


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