Thanks for your distillation of that because there is not a chance in hell I could get through that book 🤣. Seriously though, your last paragraph is something everyone needs to hear right now!
I think you did the right thing by not making "Bleak House" your first Dickens novel. It's a pretty formidable piece of work, and you need a big chunk of time and some persistence to get through it. As for my own thoughts on the book, I put them down somewhat indirectly, by analyzing Nabokov's lecture on it here:
It's interesting living in London. You're constantly walking by sites that Dickens used in his book. We did a walk yesterday near Saint Paul's and we walked by the graveyard mentioned in the Christmas Carol and also visited the George and Vulture, which is mentioned in the Pickwick Papers:
“Mr. Pickwick and Sam took up their present abode in very good, old-fashioned, and comfortable quarters, to wit, the George and Vulture Tavern and Hotel, George Yard, Lombard Street. Mr. Pickwick had dined, finished his second pint of particular port, pulled his silk handkerchief over his head, put his feet on the fender, and thrown himself back in an easy-chair, when the entrance of Mr. Weller with his carpet-bag, aroused him from his tranquil meditation.”
You definitely need to setup a trip here after you finish your year with Dickens!
In 2022 I set out to read all of Dickens’ completed novels in publication order. Some I had already read in the past, but I decided to read all of them again, partly because I wanted to see how Dickens’ writing style grew and changed during his writing career. It took a little over two years and it was a fascinating journey.
I love this. After I finish The Immortal Books, my plan is to do exactly this - spend a year reading the complete works of each of a certain set of authors. I'm really looking forward to it and Dickens will be one of those authors.
It was gratifying to me to read your saying that it can be a challenge to get Dickens on a first read. I'm reading Bleak House now for the first time and am finding it a challenge. It's my second Dickens novel, the first's being Great Expectations. With that first novel, I also struggled in parts and ended up watching a bunch of adaptations afterwards. I then knew that I'd be reading it again, and I will. Now that know that the first pass is the only path the second, I'm quite happy just to keep going and get what I get from the story, then follow up with some TV or movies and then read again.
1000 pages my gosh that’s a lot. I plan to read Great Expectations second half of the year and I am looking forward to that. I am also planning to do something similar with Austen.
I, too, have started my Dickens project. I will read 3 books a year, in chronological order when possible, until I’m done. Hope I live that long! I’ve started with Pickwick Papers and it’s nearly 900 pages so reading it in 100 pages/week increments. It’s his first work and really doesn’t have a storyline but is more a collection of vignettes about Pickwick and his pals roaming the countryside and getting into all sorts of mishaps. It’s amusing but not compelling. I do appreciate his peek into the urban and rural woof his times. Looking forward to Oliver Twist this summer.
Of course you are right about the follly of expecting “salvation” from the government but you seem to me to be over egging the pudding. It’s entirely possible that action by the government can change one’s life in a positive way, or a negative one, to be fair.
His description of London and the fog and mud at the beginning is my favorite piece of writing in literature.
Agreed! I LOVED the first few chapters.
Thanks for your distillation of that because there is not a chance in hell I could get through that book 🤣. Seriously though, your last paragraph is something everyone needs to hear right now!
Ha! Thanks for the kind words, Henny!
Krook spontaneously combusting floored me. I thought, "What the hell did he just do?"
Haha right?! Wild. He even defends it in the intro he wrote.
I think you did the right thing by not making "Bleak House" your first Dickens novel. It's a pretty formidable piece of work, and you need a big chunk of time and some persistence to get through it. As for my own thoughts on the book, I put them down somewhat indirectly, by analyzing Nabokov's lecture on it here:
https://lakefrontreview.substack.com/p/nabokov-on-dickens
Oh that's great, I'll check it out! Thanks Scott. :)
It's interesting living in London. You're constantly walking by sites that Dickens used in his book. We did a walk yesterday near Saint Paul's and we walked by the graveyard mentioned in the Christmas Carol and also visited the George and Vulture, which is mentioned in the Pickwick Papers:
“Mr. Pickwick and Sam took up their present abode in very good, old-fashioned, and comfortable quarters, to wit, the George and Vulture Tavern and Hotel, George Yard, Lombard Street. Mr. Pickwick had dined, finished his second pint of particular port, pulled his silk handkerchief over his head, put his feet on the fender, and thrown himself back in an easy-chair, when the entrance of Mr. Weller with his carpet-bag, aroused him from his tranquil meditation.”
You definitely need to setup a trip here after you finish your year with Dickens!
In 2022 I set out to read all of Dickens’ completed novels in publication order. Some I had already read in the past, but I decided to read all of them again, partly because I wanted to see how Dickens’ writing style grew and changed during his writing career. It took a little over two years and it was a fascinating journey.
Bleak House is my favorite Dickens book. So much to love!
I love this. After I finish The Immortal Books, my plan is to do exactly this - spend a year reading the complete works of each of a certain set of authors. I'm really looking forward to it and Dickens will be one of those authors.
It was gratifying to me to read your saying that it can be a challenge to get Dickens on a first read. I'm reading Bleak House now for the first time and am finding it a challenge. It's my second Dickens novel, the first's being Great Expectations. With that first novel, I also struggled in parts and ended up watching a bunch of adaptations afterwards. I then knew that I'd be reading it again, and I will. Now that know that the first pass is the only path the second, I'm quite happy just to keep going and get what I get from the story, then follow up with some TV or movies and then read again.
1000 pages my gosh that’s a lot. I plan to read Great Expectations second half of the year and I am looking forward to that. I am also planning to do something similar with Austen.
I also struggled with Bleak House in parts. Definitely not one to read at bedtime! 🤣 However I'm glad I stuck with it. It's a wonderful tale! Enjoy. 😃
I, too, have started my Dickens project. I will read 3 books a year, in chronological order when possible, until I’m done. Hope I live that long! I’ve started with Pickwick Papers and it’s nearly 900 pages so reading it in 100 pages/week increments. It’s his first work and really doesn’t have a storyline but is more a collection of vignettes about Pickwick and his pals roaming the countryside and getting into all sorts of mishaps. It’s amusing but not compelling. I do appreciate his peek into the urban and rural woof his times. Looking forward to Oliver Twist this summer.
Of course you are right about the follly of expecting “salvation” from the government but you seem to me to be over egging the pudding. It’s entirely possible that action by the government can change one’s life in a positive way, or a negative one, to be fair.
Thank you! Much appreciated!