The major issues
involved with reading the installment as it would have actually been published
rather than reading the brick-like beastly novel would include the physical
size aspect, the introductory pictures vs. illustrations as they are read, and
the relaxing advertisements throughout the book that help with
readability. After considering all of
the similarities and differences between the two styles of reading it is my
intention to choose which style best suit the reader.
The obvious difference between reading by installment
rather than by novel is sheer size alone. While reading the massive novel a
reader needs paper weights or possibly a pair of vice grips to keep the beast
open long enough to get through a paragraph. The size of the book thus
distracts the reader slightly from the sheer duty of keeping it open and having
to change pages. When reading from the slim installment the actual reading
process went by smoother with little distractions between pages than reading the
big novel. The reader doesn’t feel any overwhelming thoughts about reading the
installment because it is manageable and could fit into any portion of the day.
The Victorians were very busy throughout the days so sitting to read an
installment would not be as time consuming as getting their noses stuck in a
black hole of a novel that could entrap them for weeks on in.
Another difference between reading the installment versus
reading the novel lies on the part of the illustrations and where they are placed.
In the installment the pictures are all in the front of the chapters which
almost give the reader a preview of what is to come. The pictures don’t give it
all away however allows the reader to envision the story as they read and
allows for more imagination to occur. In the novel version the pictures are
directly next to the text that explains them. This almost completely eliminates
the opportunity for the reader to use their imagination of the vivid
descriptions throughout the book because the picture is the focus of the pages.
Thus it would be a better benefit to imaginations when reading the smaller
installment with the picture preview rather than having the pictures in the
installments as they occur in text.
Another interesting difference between reading the installment
deals with the invoking advertisements found throughout the pages. These
advertisements do not take away from the read however they allow the reader to
take brief breaks and find out what types of events are going on in the real
world. The nonfiction within the pages of the fiction is a great relaxer for
the reader as it helps the installment to be split and possibly thought about
during the break. These advertisements can be thought of commercials and seem
to be a great way to get products on display for the entire community of
readers. Sometime when reading from a huge novel the reader can get lost
without being provided with breaks and can cause them to lose track of
important details and may be making them miss plot points that change the face of
the story in question.
Overall I truly enjoyed reading the installment form of
the Bleak House serial because of the way it is presented to the reader. The
installment is small in size, places a picture preview before the text, and
even provides nonfiction advertisements for readers to notice as they read. If
I could read it all over again I would read the whole novel in the Rare Books
Room!
Josh Porter
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