I've been working on reading Bleak House in my spare time. It's a surprisingly angry novel: Dickens at his sarcastic best. What drew me to the book is that (if the Masterpiece Theater show I saw didn't change it) it doesn't have a happy ending. Well, it kind of does. But not a true Dickens ending where you know "everything will be all right" [insert kind pat on head from author].
So far, it's also a good example of how an author can break the rules and should break the rules of writing. He flows effortlessly from third person to first, takes caricatures and somehow turns them into characters, weaving their lives together around a single civil suit.
Not that I enjoy all the book. I'm not very fond of Mr. Jarndyce so far. He seems too nervous and jumpy though there are small moments where he says something that belies a greater wisdom than he usually shows. I hope to see more of those moments as I continue reading.
On a different note: my tomato plants, in spite of my neglect, have somehow managed to live in the hideous Texas heat. We'll see how long that lasts. [evil laugh]
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