Friday, April 13, 2012

Bleak House Readalong - Week Seven

Huzzah! Things are really starting to happen now, after only a 350 page buildup. Little surprises, big surprises, characters are coming together and I'm finally, finally really wanting to pick up this book and read!

What I Liked This Week:
No new characters to keep track of - 'nuff said.

Spontaneous combustion. Apparently this wasn't just an interesting way to kill off a character; Dickens actually believed that spontaneous combustion was possible. The descriptions of this - so vivid!

BBC's Krook - before he combusted!

What I Didn't Like This Week:
Is it possible that Dickens forgot that earlier in the book he had made a point to show Mrs. Woodcourt snubbing Esther then all of a sudden she is staying at Bleak House and making buddy-buddy with Esther. Okay, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a mistake and she's not necessarily trying to endear herself to Esther but still, it was strange.

FYI: 
Do not ever accidentally check the character list for a book in SparkNotes to be reminded who a character is. They totally spoil things in their explanations. So irritated do have found out some things I would far preferred to have had revealed to me much later!

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the sparknote tip! I'm in the 200's right now..need to get going!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So glad that the book is picking up for you! I am dying to see what you think as things continue to go further. This is one of those books that I really feel a strong need to read!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was wondering about that whole spontaneous combustion thing myself, and I think it's rare but entirely possible! Especially if the person is rarely mobile, drinks a ton of alcohol, is obese, and is near a cigarette. I can't recall - was he near one? (It's been a while since I read the book.) But I do recall he drank a lot and was obese and spent his time siting in the chair, so he qualifies on other counts.

    ReplyDelete