Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - 7th August



Teaser Tuesday

The rules are:
  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
In consequence of which she got into the habit of saying to me at meals, "Mr Snagsby, you haven't found Nimrod any work yet!" or "My Snagsby, why didn't you give that eight-and-thirty Chancery folio in Jarndyce, to Nimrod?" or suchlike. And that is the way he gradually fell into job-work at our place; and that is the most I know of him, except that he was a quick hand, and a hand not sparing of night-work; and that if you gave him, say five-and-forty folio on Wednesday night, you would have it brought in on the Thursday morning.
Sentences within sentences! Bleak House - Charles Dickens analysis of the intricacies of the 19th century English legal system. It's hard going - a very complex novel with lots of characters, I've never read it before and I dont think I saw any of the BBC adaptions - but it summons up an era. Look at that second sentence starting with 'And' together with a few more 'ands' in the rest of it - some of my English teachers would have had a seizure! The wikipedia plot summary may be helpful at the expense of a few spoilers!
(looks like I'm eventually back on the correct date for these postings!)

6 comments:

Preet said...

I would love to see a teacher today try to argue with Dickens about his writing. My money is on Dickens.

Preet @ A Written Rhapsody

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing, can't go past Dickens!

CarolynBrown-Books

Sandra Nachlinger said...

I've read other books by Dickens but never Bleak House. Maybe it's time to check it out!
My teaser is from Hot Issues, Cool Choices.

Anonymous said...

Saw a movie Bleak House,never read the book.

J.E. said...

It may be time to revisit good old Bleak House again...

here's my teaser:
http://wordsafterdark.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/teaser-tuesdays-the-historian-as-detective-essays-on-evidence/

rajm said...

The teaser is actually reported speech - so it could be viewed as Dickens quoting colloquialisms. It will be a long read I can't manage more than 20pages per day and there are nearly 700!