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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
This book is exactly as you’d expect it to be, but it is still an interesting read with a fascinating plot by one of the most renowned English authors on the planet.
Great Expectations is extremely well written with beautiful, deep descriptions and imagery that draw the audience into the world and life of Dickens’ 19th-century England. Dickens is known for his world and social commentary and while I have not read any other novels by him yet, I did find the morals of Great Expectations are incredibly on the nose.
The story follows the protagonist Pip from early childhood into adulthood through retrospective narration as Pip narrates life in his memories from the future. This narration style saves Pip’s character as it gives hope that he will improve and adds a sense of irony and foreshadowing throughout. During the novel, I found Pip could be very irritating and unlikeable in his ambitions; although this is on purpose, it makes the novel slightly more difficult to read.
The rest of the characters are overall very well portrayed and realistic; they all had good aspects and faults, fitting perfectly in their storyline. Estella is purposefully extremely unlikeable but fits her role well while Biddy acts as her polar opposite; sweet and kind but often suffering where Estella is in comfort. There are quite a fair few main characters, and most of the people Pip surrounds himself with are fascinating or pleasant. However, I will not discuss each one but say that Herbert and Joe are perhaps my favourite two characters and Miss Havisham is perhaps the most interesting and well-written character.
The plot is easy to follow despite plot twists and changes of scenery. It is easy to estimate what will occur on certain levels due to the heavily imbued foreshadowing. While it was very well written, I found the plot and writing of Dickens occasionally difficult to get through especially coupled with Pip’s irritating character. It was enjoyable but not to the level that I couldn’t put the book down, and I wasn’t very emotionally invested in the plot.
The narrative is very well finished and goes full circle. Almost all aspects of the ending are perfect except the reference to Estella and Pip at the very end, which I felt wasn’t necessarily the best way to end the story. Despite this, I greatly enjoyed the end of the plot.
Overall, this is definitely not my favourite classical read this year, but I enjoyed the experience and will certainly attempt further Dickens novels in the future. I understand why some people may find this read difficult, and I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone.
Great Expectations is extremely well written with beautiful, deep descriptions and imagery that draw the audience into the world and life of Dickens’ 19th-century England. Dickens is known for his world and social commentary and while I have not read any other novels by him yet, I did find the morals of Great Expectations are incredibly on the nose.
The story follows the protagonist Pip from early childhood into adulthood through retrospective narration as Pip narrates life in his memories from the future. This narration style saves Pip’s character as it gives hope that he will improve and adds a sense of irony and foreshadowing throughout. During the novel, I found Pip could be very irritating and unlikeable in his ambitions; although this is on purpose, it makes the novel slightly more difficult to read.
The rest of the characters are overall very well portrayed and realistic; they all had good aspects and faults, fitting perfectly in their storyline. Estella is purposefully extremely unlikeable but fits her role well while Biddy acts as her polar opposite; sweet and kind but often suffering where Estella is in comfort. There are quite a fair few main characters, and most of the people Pip surrounds himself with are fascinating or pleasant. However, I will not discuss each one but say that Herbert and Joe are perhaps my favourite two characters and Miss Havisham is perhaps the most interesting and well-written character.
The plot is easy to follow despite plot twists and changes of scenery. It is easy to estimate what will occur on certain levels due to the heavily imbued foreshadowing. While it was very well written, I found the plot and writing of Dickens occasionally difficult to get through especially coupled with Pip’s irritating character. It was enjoyable but not to the level that I couldn’t put the book down, and I wasn’t very emotionally invested in the plot.
The narrative is very well finished and goes full circle. Almost all aspects of the ending are perfect except the reference to Estella and Pip at the very end, which I felt wasn’t necessarily the best way to end the story. Despite this, I greatly enjoyed the end of the plot.
Overall, this is definitely not my favourite classical read this year, but I enjoyed the experience and will certainly attempt further Dickens novels in the future. I understand why some people may find this read difficult, and I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone.
Not the worst classic I have read but I definitely wasn’t in the best state of mind to enjoy this, mainly due to the fact that I have been reading other and more modern works that I enjoy a lot. It was good though. It has a honest message about the expectations we have tend to lead to our downfall. It isn’t my favorite classic so I gave it two stars.
It's been years since I read this. I really, really disliked it - Dickens doesn't do much for me. I'll probably give it another chance, someday.
Looking back, this rating is unnecessarily cruel. I'll prob give this another shot soon, I'm older now, and ... wiser ...
Looking back, this rating is unnecessarily cruel. I'll prob give this another shot soon, I'm older now, and ... wiser ...
adventurous
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't really enjoy reading this book, it's another one of those titles we were bludgeoned with in high school, long before any of us could even hope to follow Dickens' rambling prose. However, I love the story hidden under all the blathering. I really liked the 1998 movie, although it deviated from the book of course, because it succeeded in uncovering the unique saga of Great Expectations and sidestepped Dicken's cumbersome writing. For that reason, I give this 3 stars but can't really recommend it as an pleasurable read.
I enjoyed it! What an interesting character in Miss Havisham! And Wemmick and his aged parent are such a delight! Of all the crappy things some of the characters did, the one I can't get over is Pip telling Jaggers about Wemmick's carefree nature and his father. Dude, he specifically said to keep the two versions of his life separate! The ending is always so varied in the TV versions, which is why I wanted to read this. The book version seems more realistic.