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Tonight is the first event for the new book, and I've spent most of the afternoon at home with curlers in my hair and cucumber circles on the eyes... Continue »

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What We Talk About When We Talk about Anne Frank: Stories
Nathan EnglanderNathan Englander 9780307958709

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Other titles in the Modern Library Classics series:

Bleak House (Modern Library Classics)

by Charles Dickens

ISBN13: 9780375760051
ISBN10: 0375760059
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Widely regarded as Dickenss masterpiece, Bleak House centers on the generations-long lawsuit Jarndyce and Jarndyce, through which “whole families have inherited legendary hatreds.” Focusing on Esther Summerson, a ward of John Jarndyce, the novel traces Esthers romantic coming-of-age and, in classic Dickensian style, the gradual revelation of long-buried secrets, all set against the foggy backdrop of the Court of Chancery. Mixing romance, mystery, comedy, and satire, Bleak House limns the suffering caused by the intricate inefficiency of the law.

The text of this Modern Library Paperback Classic was set from the first single-volume edition, published by Bradbury & Evans in 1853, and reproduces thirty-nine of H. K. Brownes original illustrations for the book.

Synopsis:

Dickens's most complex novel, mixing romance, mystery, comedy, and satire. In brilliant detail, Bleak House limns the suffering caused by the inefficiency of the law. Taken from the 1853 single-volume Bradbury and Evans edition, this edition includes newly commisioned notes and thirty-nine illustrations by H. K. Browne.

About the Author

Mary Gaitskill is the author of a novel, Two Girls, Fat and Thin, and two collections of stories, Bad Behavior and Because They Wanted To. She lives in New York.

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:

: JRo, September 4, 2011 (view all comments by JRo)
Yes, "bleak" is in the title, and yes, you may associate Dickens with high school English, and yes, it's a long-haul read. Try it out anyhow. You'll find a murder mystery, portraits of addiction, a first-person narrative woven together with an omniscient third, charming and chilling eccentrics, and--lest I forget--spontaneous combustion. Dickens's first readers received his novels serially. Try setting the book aside for a few weeks between sections to heighten your anticipation.
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: Kristen M, May 26, 2010 (view all comments by Kristen M)
If any book title seemed designed to detract readers from approaching a book, I believe it would have to be Bleak House. However, it turns out that Bleak House has some amazing characters, a mysterious plot and relatively little of Dickens' legendary long and tedious descriptions.

The first two chapters of this book are difficult to get through but you become completely engaged in the story in the third chapter when Esther begins her narration. As in all other Dickens stories, we receive his social commentary, discover kindness and dignity among the lower classes and shamefully bad behaviour by some who could afford to act better. I'm glad that I finally read this novel and would suggest it to anyone who enjoys Dickens and has a couple of weeks of free reading time.
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Product Details

ISBN:: 9780375760051
Introduction:: Browne, H. K.
Author:: Gaitskill, Mary
Illustrator:: Browne, H. K.
Author:: Browne, H. K.
Author:: Dickens, Charles
Publisher:: Modern Library
Location:: New York
Subject:: Classics
Subject:: London
Subject:: Young women
Subject:: Inheritance and succession
Subject:: Legal stories
Subject:: Domestic fiction
Subject:: Guardian and ward
Subject:: Illegitimate children
Subject:: Bildungsromans
Subject:: Literature-A to Z
Edition Number:: 2002
Edition Description:: Trade paper
Series:: Modern Library Classics
Series Volume:: issue 8
Publication Date:: 20020731
Binding:: TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:: General/trade
Language:: English
Illustrations:: 40 LINE DRAWINGS
Pages:: 928
Dimensions:: 7.1 x 5.15 x 1.3 in 1.4 lb

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