Reading Again

I have started to read again. Haven't done so for months (books I mean), haven't been in the mood since I couldn't take any more of War and Peace, my mind was not following the story (I wasn't well at the time). So as "War and Peace" is currently elevating my Powerbook off the bed staving off over-heating (with the aid of some supports a la here, but with tape rolls instead of bottle lids.) I've been reading Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Suicide Club", and have just begun the monster that is "Bleak House".

The Suicide Club is not as I had imagined it might be a nihilistic text about the futility of everything, it is a collection of three short stories about a club for those who wish to end their lives. The whole Club is set up is run like a game it is never certain which of the Club members will die next, but that's all part of the fun of the story - finding out that it isn't quite as straight forward as you expect (no massive OMGs here but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting.) The whole thing does involve a prince as the hero, which put me off reading it for years, and there is a "what a privilege it would be to die for him", kind of vibe going on, but a lot of the time the king and his "man" are in disguise so... anyway. It's only short (in my Dover edition which has slightly larger pages than an ordinary paperback) it's about 60 pages long, but I must say it was fun.

Bleak House throws me right in there with that (often) jocular, (often) sentimental, anthropomorphising Dickens's narrator. I run upon Dickens's busy philanthropic women who are everything but caring especially in regard to their own families (vs. the Darling, kind, sweet, self effacing Esther). Here are "non-entity" men erased by the unthinking formidability of their wives. Which brings up all kinds about the man Dickens which I am too lazy go into now, but briefly Here are some issues that spring to mind.
...on the "proper nature" and place of women, and of the devastation these do-gooding bring about (dejected, ignorant and/spiteful and resentful children) the ideas about sorting your own house first before going fucking around with bringing enlightenment and aid to "savages" (get your own house in order first, and all that)
... -
like I said, won't expound on that now, could go on forever if started... so anyway maybe when I've finished the book... having said that, probably not. It's not anywhere as "Bleak" as the BBC drama (of which I only watched a few episodes) made it out to be.

Annnnnnnnyway (again) on to another post now so look above where I shall be saying -