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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pip is really easily ensnared by the idea of being a gentleman, and of being worthy of Estella. Much to his own detriment. I found it frustrating how he looked down upon Joe & Biddy (mostly Joe 😭). Especially considering how much Joe loved Pip and only wanted him to be happy. That being said, this ending with Joe marrying Biddy was sick & twisted. Like I’m glad they seemed really happy together but it does send a chill down my spine considering how young I assumed Biddy was when she first met Joe. Different times I know 😭 like I guess for those times it would’ve been a relief for Biddy to marry Joe and not have to deal with the Orlick’s of the world sniffing around her
I like that Pip really grew to see how much he was taking people for granted and stopped looking down at them. And honestly I ate up how wild Miss Havisham was. Like raising Estella to spite men is crazy. But I did feel for her.
The best characters here were Biddy & Herbert 💕
I like that Pip really grew to see how much he was taking people for granted and stopped looking down at them. And honestly I ate up how wild Miss Havisham was. Like raising Estella to spite men is crazy. But I did feel for her.
The best characters here were Biddy & Herbert 💕
This was so insanely boring oh my god. Sadly had to read it for a Victorian literature module and got about 3/4 of the way through it and physically could not continue. I just found the writing so dull (maybe that's done on purpose to match the setting and the characters life? If so i appreciate that more). Though it felt like I was forcing myself to read the entire time. I was not immersed at all basically.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-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
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This is my third Charles Dickens novel and unfortunately it was once again for the most part meh.
Just like Stephen King, I feel like Dickens’ tales can be great stories; but as adaptations rather than books.
His characters are big in emotions and dramatic flair, Dickens performed in amateur plays, did dramatic readings of his work and his biggest influence was William Shakespeare after all.
But as a novel, I find his meandering storytelling style with its many indirectly related subplots and scenes bloating the story a lot. Which makes the actual engaging, dramatic moments and twists feel stretched out over way too many pages.
I seriously believe Charles Dickens’ novels can be shortened by a few hundred pages each.
I think, just like King, I will once in a while be in the mood for one of his novels but consistently bump against these issues.
Stephen Fry as the narrator is great (as always) though.
Just like Stephen King, I feel like Dickens’ tales can be great stories; but as adaptations rather than books.
His characters are big in emotions and dramatic flair, Dickens performed in amateur plays, did dramatic readings of his work and his biggest influence was William Shakespeare after all.
But as a novel, I find his meandering storytelling style with its many indirectly related subplots and scenes bloating the story a lot. Which makes the actual engaging, dramatic moments and twists feel stretched out over way too many pages.
I seriously believe Charles Dickens’ novels can be shortened by a few hundred pages each.
I think, just like King, I will once in a while be in the mood for one of his novels but consistently bump against these issues.
Stephen Fry as the narrator is great (as always) though.
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
An excellent book with complicated characters. It would seem that there’s two ways to make a good book; simple plot and complex characters, or complex plot and simple characters. This book has a fairly simple plot, but the characters are the important part. Each one has layers and layers and is developed to the point of often doing 180’s or even 360’s. The characters Magwich and Miss Haversham were my favorites in terms of complexity and interesting symbolism. The book was written as a periodical, released slowly over time, so nearly every chapter has something important happen - in order to maintain reader interest. I will be teaching a literature class in the fall and this is one of the books, so I will probably be updating this review as I go.
challenging
slow-paced
It was certainly a book