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5.48k reviews for:
Great Expectations (Wisehouse Classics - with the original Illustrations by John McLenan 1860)
Charles Dickens
3.54 AVERAGE
5.48k reviews for:
Great Expectations (Wisehouse Classics - with the original Illustrations by John McLenan 1860)
Charles Dickens
3.54 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Something must be wrong with me because I am giving this classic 3 whole stars!!! I think it's the fact that I've read some pretty crappy fiction, full of all kinds of liberal political agendas lately, that this step back into society was a welcome relief. I could just turn it on in the car and I didn't have to worry about filtering any of it. Plus, now I know I am aged and Mr. Pip lucked out in life, completely. He did nothing for any of it. I guess it's all about having Great Expectations!
I love Dickens' language. His characters are so lush, and just so damn human. I loved having the alternate endings -- the originally written and the published versions -- and being able to contrast them and ultimately choose which I prefer. I also love Dickens' way of always bringing characters and situations back from the beginning of the novel. Almost nothing is left behind.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read it for my college and didn't like it at all.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Charles Dickens has a whole adjective named after him, which seemed like a good sign for the power of his prose. If anything, he exceeded my Expectations (if Dickens could randomly capitalize things in his novel for emphasis, I can too). This is one of the rare books I feel drawn to read again in the future, partly because the author's unbelievable mastery of the English language is second to none and requires some parsing and partly because some of the critical plot elements are simply hinted at or casually referred to which begs for some reexamination of the story.
This book revolves around "Pip," so named because he was unable to pronounce either "Phillip" or "Pirrip" as a child, these being his first and last names, respectively. Pip is raised by a blacksmith and his wife in a rural town several hours' walk from London until his early teens, when his fortunes change for the better (or do they?). Great Expectations are placed upon Pip as a mysterious benefactor shines his or her conditional and mysterious light on Pip's future prospects. Pip suspects he knows who this benefactor is and makes grand plans for himself and those in his life, learns some realities of life as a wealthy scion and of life in general, and grows throughout some very unique and well-crafted sets of circumstances. While the reader will not find much in the way of overt, action-filled or revelrous scenes there is a richness to the narration and to the details baked into each setting that adds life to this novel until it's bursting at the seams.
Charles Dickens is a legend for good reason. This book contains some truly atmospheric prose combined with some unique turns of phrase and some very precise use of English grammar to a multitude of purposes. Dickens' work is considered literature for good reason, and I happily recommend this to anyone who is interested in literature or Britain in the 1800s.
This book revolves around "Pip," so named because he was unable to pronounce either "Phillip" or "Pirrip" as a child, these being his first and last names, respectively. Pip is raised by a blacksmith and his wife in a rural town several hours' walk from London until his early teens, when his fortunes change for the better (or do they?). Great Expectations are placed upon Pip as a mysterious benefactor shines his or her conditional and mysterious light on Pip's future prospects. Pip suspects he knows who this benefactor is and makes grand plans for himself and those in his life, learns some realities of life as a wealthy scion and of life in general, and grows throughout some very unique and well-crafted sets of circumstances. While the reader will not find much in the way of overt, action-filled or revelrous scenes there is a richness to the narration and to the details baked into each setting that adds life to this novel until it's bursting at the seams.
Charles Dickens is a legend for good reason. This book contains some truly atmospheric prose combined with some unique turns of phrase and some very precise use of English grammar to a multitude of purposes. Dickens' work is considered literature for good reason, and I happily recommend this to anyone who is interested in literature or Britain in the 1800s.