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Binding: Audio Download
Label: audible.com
Manufacturer: audible.com
Publisher: audible.com
Studio: audible.com
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Product Description:
An intricate blend of serious social commentary and novelistic virtuosity, Bleak House--part romance, part melodrama, and part detective story--is often regarded as Dickens' best book. Its comic vignettes, convoluted intrigues, and fortuitous coincidences are played out by a cast of characters as idiosyncratic and memorable as any Dickens ever created. 39 original drawings (c.1853) enhance this new edition.
Amazon.com Review:
Bleak House is a satirical look at the Byzantine legal system in London as it consumes the minds and talents of the greedy and nearly destroys the lives of innocents--a contemporary tale indeed. Dickens's tale takes us from the foggy dank streets of London and the maze of the Inns of Court to the peaceful countryside of England. Likewise, the characters run from murderous villains to virtuous girls, from a devoted lover to a 'fallen woman,' all of whom are affected by a legal suit in which there will, of course, be no winner. The first-person narrative related by the orphan Esther is particularly sweet. The articulate reading by the acclaimed British actor Paul Scofield, whose distinctive broad English accent lends just the right degree of sonority and humor to the text, brings out the color in this classic social commentary disguised as a Victorian drama. However, to abridge Dickens is, well, a Dickensian task, the results of which make for a story in which the author's convoluted plot lines and twists of fate play out in what seems to be a fast-forward format. Listeners must pay close attention in order to keep up with the multiple narratives and cast of curious characters, including the memorable Inspector Bucket and Mr. Guppy. Fortunately, the publisher provides a partial list of characters on the inside jacket. (Running time: 3 hours; 2 cassettes)
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Masterpiece or Simply Too Long and Wanders Too Much?
The Introduction by Bradbury in the Penguin version, which I would suggest not looking at until you read the novel, agrees with my point: the novel lacks focus and wanders with too many sub-plots. Bradbury calls it "competing plots." So, that point of view is not my imagination nor a unique perspective on Bleak House. This is a very slow moving 1000 page novel which is unlike any of Dickens's other works, i.e.: most of his novels are more entertaining than Bleak House. In fact, it takes 500 pages to get some direction in the story, and there is little in the way of action or suspense until beyond page 600.
Part of the problem is the protagonist, Esther Summerson, who has the potential to be an important character in the book, but (mostly) she is detached from the primary action, and is one of the narrators.
In Bleak House, Dickens tries to weave two or three social issues with a series of plots or sub-plots. Overall, it is a bit of a disappointment and is not his best effort. Clearly the writing is good, but the characters are not as interesting as some of his other novels and there is not much action. Some critics hail the work as his best, but I found it a bit dull: the plot is too diffuse, the story wanders, the characters lack colour and intensity, and the level of the suspense and mystery is low. The second half of the book is better than the first, which is almost a disaster, and the last 300 pages or so is the best part of the book and tends to save the book.
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Rating:  - Hard to get into
This dose of English culture was recommended to me as one of the finest in classic literature. Mysteriously the story moves along quite well, even with the aggravating English dialect, the multitude of characters, and the uninteresting, almost banal style.
We return to the simple life when the word gay meant joyous, not the corrupted word it is now. Written in first and third person, this drawn out, hard to follow telling of a lawsuit over an estate inheritance was a struggle to get through (contradicts "moves along quite well"?..................no). Any climactic moments are few and slowed, with subtle impact. Of course it would not be what it is if it was shortened----all 900 pages.
What brings such praise for this book over the years?: the eloquent and sometimes quotable passages are spotty; the only power I see is the improvement it may give to our writing, and that may be its only praise. There are a plethora of outstanding authors with more interesting stories without going through the pain of the "intellectual classics". I am not to say we are to rid them; it is more likely that Bleak House just left much to be desired. Who knows, maybe it has effected me in ways I will only discover later, for that is probably its mystique.
I expected the afterward to summarize my ineptness of understanding this difficult read. Instead it concentrated on the authors greatness and the resources used.
Wish you well
Scott
Rating: - An ironic title, to be so lovely
I, too, leave it to better reviewers to describe it in detail... but I feel that something must be said about these characters. They are ideal, yet complex enough to be real, all of them, in their kindness and intensity, their darkness and meanness, alike. They are absolutely more interesting than any people today... it makes you wonder if people were ever so thoughtful and contemplative - if we have lost something, or rather if Dickens was imaginative and wonderful beyond his experiences could have ever shown! A wonderful book told with care and modesty by two of the best narrators I've ever read.
Rating:  - Artfully crafted story from Dickens, but takes patience
There are several subplots rummaging throughout Dickens' lengthy Victorian novel Bleak House: 1) the mystery behind Esther Summerson's disgraceful birth and her subsequent arrival at Bleak House, 2) John Jarndyce's fatherly influence over Esther, Ada and Richard, and its eventual effects on the three, 3) Lady Dedlock's mysterious persona, and the secrets she keeps within herself and 4) the general seemingly never-ending process of the Jarndyce suit in the High Court of Chancery, its ill-effects on those who have an interminable will to prosper off of it, and the general dreary feeling it casts over the whole of society.
One of the interesting and yet sometimes tedious aspect of this work, and something to get used to while reading, is the various narrative voices used by Dickens. This can make the work a challenge to read, but helps to give the story a "series" or "drama" feel to it. Esther Summerson, the protagonist, narrates throughout the book at various times, and comes across fairly enough as a reliable narrator. The other two points of view are a bit more anonymous. One type has an element of stream of consciousness, where the narrator takes you quickly through random thoughts, observances and lists of various characters. In this point of view where Dickens attains the greatest amount of satire to this work, and usually makes the entire Jarndyce and Jarndyce case the butt of his joke, as well as the general scenes of the eccentric characters ... Read More
Rating: - The not so Bleak House
I purchased Bleak House after watching the PBS series recently. Having familiarity with only A Christmas Carol, I was eager to read such an engrossing, complex, but very entertaining story. Dickens' characters are gems, and the atmosphere of mid-19th century London are captured so beautifully. I recommend this title to anyone with the patience to savor the language, characters, and social criticism found in Bleak House.
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