Bleak House Readalong: March 2018 - Sept 2019

[ScribblyGum]

Some of us are doing this on the 50 books thread so I thought I would start a separate discussion thread.

Inspired by Books and Things on YouTube, aim is to read Bleak House in the time frame in which it was published, so reading 3-4 chapters per month starting in March this year and finishing in September of next.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=W-DYX4lyw1M

I’ve linked the original YouTube video (she is really really excited about Bleak House ), Katie also has chapter discussion threads on her good reads page, and a picture of the chapters and the months in which they are to be read.

I am back from hol. I hope for happy endings for Esther and Lady D. But I suspect Lady D too, sadly. Hortense has become too obvious?

I do hope Katie will get round to finishing this - such a shame to get so far and then give up, especially as it was all getting very interesting!

I hope so , too. I keep checking in on her and nothing on YouTube. Boo.

I am quite excited to read my August chaps soon though!!

Hallelujah and a fanfare!

Lots of watching to do!

Yaaayyyy!!!!

There must be a way to get his not to fall off the Threads I'm On thing.

Read August yesterday. Gosh, things are cranking up to quite the denouement. Poor Lady D!

I started rewatching the TV series again, too. I didn't recall much of it other than Gillian Anderson and Johnny Vegas. And Burn Gorman, who is brilliant. Andrew Davies has no truck with the minor characters : they often last one episode (Mrs Jellyby , for example) but he expands the role of Nemo.

I enjoyed the part with Mr Skimpole (Nathanael Parker is great!) talking about his children which is also great in the book. It reminded me somewhat of our esteemed PM!!

I love Denis Lawson, but I think he is too young and potentially attractive for us to think 'Esther noooooooooooooooooo'.

Although I know I watched it in 2005, I still don't remember what happens at the end. How odd.

I'VE FINISHED!!!

No spoilers - it was a good ending although a little contrived/unrealistic for one of the storylines.

I have enjoyed the book and this read along gave me a push to finally read this book which has been sitting on my shelf for a long time but I am not sure if I would read another book in the same way. There were a few time when I forgot who some of the characters were as it had been several months since they last appeared. Also I enjoyed the book while I was reading it but I sometimes struggled to pick the book up again once I had put it down which meant that I read several of the chapters late and had to catch up.

Forgot to say that Katie's August video is up - early this month

Piggy I agree poor lady Deadlock, I was hoping that her and Ester would live happily ever after as mother and daughter but knew that was unlikely to happen. The August chapters were some of my favourites.

I will have to look up the TV series - I have not watched it as I always prefer to read the book first. Mr Jarndyce is described as being in his 60s in the character list - I am not sure how old Dennis Lawson is/was when it was filmed.

Wow, that was a sudden bout of efficiency from Katie!

I think the TV series will annoy you for a range of reasons. Mr Jarndyce in particular!

And Mr Woodcourt and Mr Jarndyce don't look very far apart in age.

They suggest form the start that Jarndyce is in love with Esther and is jealous of Woodcourt. I swear he is oblivious to that in the book?

They have just found all the great British character actors, suited them to a role and then made that a bigger part of the narrative. Gridley is completely different. But Charles Dance is, of course, wonderful.

Book is always better! This has been my favourite Dickens (haven't read many tbf) and I am glad I have now read it (nearly!)

Denis Lawson would have been 58 when the programme was made but Anna Maxwell Martin looks older than she is and he is handsome 58...

Richard Harrington (Woodcourt) was allegedly 30 ! Wow, he didn't age well...

It's looks like quite a long series and I don't watch much TV. I will give the first couple of episodes a go and then decide.
This might be a spoiler but Mr Jarndyce being jealous of Mr Woodcourt does not fit in with the ending of the book.

Apologies crashing out of the thread. Life has thrown a few curve balls and I have entirely failed in keeping up with the book. Hoping to catch up this weekend and finish it.

Thanks for updating the Katie videos . Totally behind on them as well.

The final video is up:

Thanks Princess, I'm only about half way through it as it’s a long one.

Finished the book on Sunday and thought it was a good if butter sweet ending. Glad it didn’t end all rosy for Richard and Ada, that would have made no sense at all given everything Dickens had intimidated regarding his distance for the legal system. Poor Ada though. Liked the touch with Miss Flite's birds.

I'm not racing to read another Dickens any time soon, not sure if that's because of the peaks and troughs pleasure I got from this one or because of the nature of reading it over such a long period of time. Some of the storylines just completely passed me by, still really not sure what the Mr George plot was about and how he related to the main story.

Bitter sweet. Grr

Fucks sake that first post is full of bloody typos.

I , too, have finished. I actually eventually really liked the 18 month approach. I felt it worked best in bite size chunks, partly because it is an intense book. As I said on t'other thread the intro in the Wordsworth edition is really good , and the writer's comments on structure are particularly thought provoking.

I found the Richard/Ada plot a bit dull but got that they needed to be there for the whole futile Jarndyce thing. Various of the minor characters passed me by,as they always have done in Oliver Twist and Great Expectations. But he has such a way of bringing certain characters alive : Tulkinghorn is an amazing creation of brooding malevolence, and I shan't forget the Krook demise in a hurry!

I gave up on the TV adaptation : I wen to uni with Hugo Speer but he is annoying me a bit, and the lovely Dennis Lawson is too handsome ,and too young.

Thanks for final vid princess. Will watch later.

Am really glad I read Bleak house, all in all.

I do like the idea of a butter sweet ending!

Sort of greasy and yet also pleasant.

OMG the Krook demise, yes that was completely shocking and supremely random. I had NO idea that was coming and had a proper delicious WTF reading moment.

Interesting what she says at the end about not doing another Victorian style readalong and how labour intensive it was! the poor dear seems to be quite exhausted by it.

I,m not surprised, what with the new job and getting married.

I'm going to miss my monthly lesson with Katie though.

Photo from my Bleak House themed dinner party. Went so well we’re going to have a repeat for New Years. Turns out I love a bonnet.