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What are readers saying about Penguin Classics Great Expectations?
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-27 09:27:45.
(Language: English)
 
Your expectations when approaching this book will be more than fulfilled. As close to perfection as Dickens ever got, IMHO. For me, only rivalled by Bleak House for the title of best Dickens, this is much more streamlined than that book, and most of his other ones. This makes this great, great novel (surely one of the best ever written) a perfect introduction to Dickens. For once, the lead character has depth - Pip narrates the story of his rise through mysterious means from humble origins to high society, and details how he gradually loses his innate snobbery along the way. Characters such as Magwitch, Miss Havisham, Estella, Jaggers the lawyer, Joe Gargery and Pip himself are immortal. It's funny, dark, touching, dramatic, sad - perfect. A book to make you go running through the streets clutching a copy, screaming "Read this!" If I haven't made myself clear, I LOVE IT and cannot recommend it enough.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-11-19 06:48:52.
(Language: English)
What a fantastic book. Not a word, scene or character is wasted. Perfectly plotted and highly detailed, with all the sub-plots having a purpose and resolution. The main theme of the book is the growth of Pip's character from his teenage years as a working class boy to a gentleman in his adulthood. He experiences love, understands the meaning of true friendship, respect, honour, trust and all the things that make a man. He makes many mistakes in his life but these are all addressed and through Pip's development he begins to realise what is most important to him. Its a real coming of age story and something that has made me appreciate writing to a new level. Nothing I have read in the past compares to the quality of this book. I find it hard to believe that there is anything that would come this close to perfect. I will definately be reading the rest of Dicken's work in hope of finding something equally as thought-provoking, heartwarming and moving.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-04 09:10:43.
(Language: English)
Hey, it's Dickens! What can I say? True to his usual form, he starts off slowly, very dry and almost boring, but things get more and more intense, and about 2/3 of the way through you can't put it down. The ending was a bit on the sad side, but not depressing. I've always found Dickens to do some very strange things with his characters - very uncharacteristic for a great writer in my opinion - he uses 'cheap gimmicks' to individualize his characters. For example, the "aged parent" begins most of his sentences with "All right, John!" and his son always talks about 'portable property,' while Joe begins most of his sentences with "which I mean to say..." It seems like a rather cheap and simple way to keep his characters separate, but it works and when the book is read aloud by a good reader who uses different voices for different characters, (I must confess I listened to this one rather than read it myself), it really brings it all to life.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-03 06:52:24.
(Language: English)
I suspect that any bad reviews about Dickens being "dry" or overly verbose come from people who haven't actually read his books, or they were forced to read a few chapters in high school. I once thought this way about Dickens until I actually picked up one of his books. What many people seem to miss is that Dickens was a very popular writer of his time, he was the Dan Brown or J.K. Rowling of Victorian England. His books are filled with humor, suspense, betrayal, history, intrigue, adventure and all of the elements of superb fiction. Dickens is a master of character. Great Expectations is one of Dickens best studies of character. Look out for his depiction of Mrs. Havisham, the old maid who was left on her wedding day and still wears the tattered gown. Give Dickens a shot, you won't be disappointed.
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Lii posted a review at 2010-09-01 08:45:53.
(Language: English)
The story is about a boy, named Pip, who is raised by his evil sister and Joe her kindhearted husband. They lived in poverty. So when Miss Havisham a rich eccentric woman asks Pip to come to her house just to see him playing and offers some money for it, his family is more than willing to fulfill Miss Havisham’s wish. She is disillusioned in love; her beautiful stepdaughter, who was raised to break men’s hearts, is selfish and unable to love anyone. She is a cold-hearted master manipulator. So when Pip sees the girl for the first time he falls in love with her. He doesn’t hope that she will love him back because he is poor and uneducated, he doesn’t think he is good enough for her. About the same time there were two escaped convicts from the jail and Pip happens to meet one of them named Magwitch. Pip was frightened after such a meeting and was forced into helping Magwitch to get some food. After Pip helps him, a few days later he finds out that Magwitch is back in jail again. Years later after trying to forget this encounter, an attorney appears at his family’s house. He introduces himself as the legal representative of a wealthy person who wants to remain anonymous. That person wants to make a gentleman out of Pip, by educate him and leaving him a fortune. Everyone in Pip’s family is thankful and excited, but wondering who that person could be. The only person they can think of is Miss Havisham, but what a shock when they discover who that person is…This is quite a thick book, so I needed some time to get the courage to start reading it. I had heard it could be long and boring, but was happy to find it enjoyable and easy to read. I know many people might disagree with me on that, but I think Dickens lovers will appreciate this great novel.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-05-31 06:08:38.
(Language: English)
I may not be possessed of a particular expertise regarding 'Classic Literature', but there are certain allowances to be made for common taste. This book is often chosen as a piece of required reading for schools. I'm sure that, once, this was an understandable choice. I'm also fairly sure that Charles Dickens was fresh in the grave when that time was present. Forcing teenagers who are, for the most part, filled with dread at the mention of reading a single paragraph to read 200 + pages of pure, meaningless Dickensian dribble is what we in the business of bookwork refer to as a 'Bad Idea'. The man was paid by the word. There's a certain ill omen provided by this little fact as, suppose, a modern author under the same circumstances would be SHREDDED by the reading populace. But Dickens' work is old, so, of course, it's okay. Such sentiments are vaguely reminiscent of what our teachers told us after reading Hatchet. "It's okay for this author that we in the school English department worship to use run-on sentences, but if you do it, I'm giving you an 'F'. Go ahead, kid, try me." Riiiiight. Pull the other one. In short, Plot? What plot? I thought this was about the English landscape! Brain killed dead. Thank you, Mr. Dickens.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-02-03 05:21:22.
(Language: English)
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book: despite woeful tales of forced readings in schools inflicted on generations of students, I found Great Expectations to be a surprisingly fresh, candid, sincere and powerful tale of unique characters (for which Dickens is of course famous) and 19th century London (once again, well known for this). The possibly arguable melodrama and verbosity (both unsurprising characteristics of a serialised book written for a mass audience) I expected, but not the unique frankness and idiosyncrasies of the characters and the nature of the prose. Dickens’s writing style in this book is very different to other well known 19th century works in that he does not appear to write to dazzle or seek the intellectual acceptance of his readers through his controlled deployment of words and syntax. Rather, it is fluid and, I would say, daring in its flow between description and random but fitting metaphor and poetic expression, and odd observations and behaviours of the characters. It almost seems that much of the book could have easily been written today, and I was often amazed with the twists and turns the prose could take within the self-imposed confines of a tale of (engaging) melodrama. If one has read the book and thought indifferently of it, I would recommend a reconsideration.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-09 09:05:30.
(Language: English)
Considered one of the most popular and finest novels of Charles Dickens, ‘Great Expectations’ is a novel in which the author expounds upon the story of a young boy’s life. In the novel, Dickens unravels the actual truth Hidden behind the great expectations of Pip who is the protagonist of the story. In his quest of becoming a gentleman, Pip discovers the things that are of ulterior importance in life. The other main characters in the story besides Pip are Joe Gargery- Pip’s brother in law and best friend, Mrs. Joe Gargery- Pip’s sister, Mr. Pumblechook- Joe’s uncle whom Pip despises, Miss Havisham- a wealthy lady who is isolated from the world, Estella- who is Miss Havisham’s adopted ward and whom Pip loves and Herbert Pocket- Pip’s roommate. This book is a typical Dickens’ novel. It exhibits his supreme capability of playing with language and words while telling the story in an unparalleled manner. Like in other Dickens’ novels, in this one also I could feel like I am a part of the scenes which were being narrated. The story is told in first person by the protagonist – Pip. The sentences were not too long which is strange as far as Dickens’ novels are concerned. In the novel Dickens has also tried to illustrate the nature of society present in those times. This novel is an epitome of emotional and social characteristics of humanity. The phases of life through which Pip goes are illustrated in such a way that I could go through the emotions that Pip felt. Besides Pip’s love for Estella, a lot more relations to which Pip was emotionally connected are shown singularly. It is a really thought provoking novel and would help you to slow down the fast paced life of modern days and make you realize what you really want in life and what is the thing that can bring happiness and satisfaction in life. I would recommend this book to everyone as it would bring a pleasant change in today’s fast paced life.
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Wendy posted a review at 2010-11-21 06:33:08.
(Language: English)
I read this book many, many years ago when I was in high school. However, when I recently read Mister Pip, which is about a school on a tropical island that is reading Great Expectations because there are no other school books, I realized that I did not remember a lot of the detail about the book. So I decided to download it to my Dell Axim to listen to it at times when a book cannot be read. The story of Pip and his Great Expectations is certainly dramatic, from his encountering the prisoner in the graveyard to meeting Miss Haversham in her mouldering old house to his love for Estella to his life in London when his great expectations start and then when everything is dashed in the end. I really loved Pip's brother-in-law, Joe, and I was happy that he is rewarded with some happiness in the end. I also got a kick out of the "Aged Parent" and I loved how the narrator rendered his speech. As always Dickens is great to listen to and I'm very happy that's how I revisited this classic.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-02 04:51:37.
(Language: English)
I thought this book would require reading stamina and initially it did. A young boy brought up by his tartar of a sister and her kind, caring husband. He steals food from his siter's larder to give to a convict on the marshes and later on is rewarded for his kindness in an unexpected manner. It was at this point that I found the book stormed on and I couldn't wait to pick it up again. On receiving news of his great expectations Pip moves to London to be educated and receive an allowance until he is of age. He learns to spend money eventually getting into debt. His mysterious benefactor turns up and he is both shocked and alarmed to find the owner's true identity. However, Pip has bestowed kindness on all and is suitably helped out of debt and given work by those who both love him and those he has helped. Dickens shows the true harsh realities of human nature in Victorian times and the divide between the poor and rich. The book has wit and is funny when it could be quite tragic. An excellent read and well recommended.
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A Reader posted a review at 2012-02-22 01:06:53.
(Language: English)
2012 being Charles Dickens year I felt compelled to read 'Great Expectations' which is considered by many as his masterpiece. Charles Dickens uses a very eloquent vocabulary. His absolute mastery of English makes his book interesting yet difficult to read but I really enjoyed it. The story is about Pip: raised by his tyrannical sister and her kind, doting husband Joe, Pip is contented enough to become a blacksmith and live out his life by the misty Kent marshlands. That is until he is unexpectedly thrown into the path of two extraordinary people. The first is a convict, escaped from the prison barges offshore, a terrifying man who coerces the young Pip into stealing him some supplies from his sister's larder. Stricken by guilt and terror, Pip complies. The second is the mysterious Miss Havisham, a spinster woman who employs Pip as a playmate for her young ward, the beautiful Estella. Estella is regal, snobbish and cold - naturally, Pip falls head over heels in love with her, despite the realization that she's far beyond his status. Wretchedly aware of his own shortcomings, Pip yearns for a chance to make a gentleman of himself, and win the hand of fair Estella. And then, just as unexpectedly, fortune is thrown his way. He is informed by Miss Havisham's lawyer that a secret benefactor has endowed him with great expectations, and that he is to travel to London in order to prepare for his future. The only catch is that Pip is forbidden from investigating the origins of his newfound fortune, although logic dictates that it must be Miss Havisham, who surely has designs for both Pip and Estella. Locked up in a house full of bitter memories after she was jilted by her lover, Miss Havisham is certainly one of Dickens's most famous creations, with her own disturbing brand of revenge against mankind: to unleash her protégée Estella out upon the world, to break hearts wherever she goes. Great and original characters, universal themes and wonderful language make this book a classic. Not an easy read for non-native readers but I really enjoyed it.
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-08-08 12:11:11.
(Language: English)
This book was my first introduction to Dickens. Since this is such a highly regarded classic, I was expecting something much weightier, more serious, and challenging. But the prose here is witty, engaging, and accessible. Dickens was a master storyteller and a master plotter; in the end, everything wraps up nicely, the main character learns a lesson, and all the loose ends are resolved. This gives it a bit of a "novel in a box" feel, but also makes it an example of a perfectly executed novel.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-20 06:17:49.
(Language: English)
It's the book that turned me off of Dickens. I still shudder when I think of being forced to read it in high school. The descriptions just go on forever...make it stop! Pip, an orphan, meets an escaped convict and treats him kindly. This simple action will change Pip's life forever. Pip falls in love with Estella, a cold-hearted girl, who, thanks to bitter Miss Havisham, has been well-trained as a heartbreaker. She is wealthy and looks down on Pip, a poor boy with no expectations. When a mysterious benefactor gives Pip a fortune, Pip is sure that becoming a gentleman is the way to win Estella's heart. Pip spends most of the novel feeling ashamed of the people who love him and sacrifices everything to pursue Estella, who couldn't care less for him. I have never been brave enough to pick this one up again, even though I may well appreciate it now. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy a writer who uses twenty words when one will do!
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-04 10:55:20.
(Language: English)
Like any classic, this one took a bit more concentration to really get into... but oh the clever twists and turns of the story! The clear moral Dickens is trying to teach, and how it hits your gut the way Pip himself has to learn it!--it breaks your heart, but in a good way. Dickens fully convinced me of the "goodness" of his main character, despite his initial mistakes and apparent flaws--mostly because of the beautiful friendship that arises between him and Herbert, and of what he does to try to save Magwitch. Dickens is a master of description: Wemmick and his castle is one of my favorite character/settings of all time. That and the depressing scene he sets up in Miss Havisham's house are both done SO WELL. What originality! How soul-wrenchingly believable, despite its apparent unbelievability. I mean, really: a bride who wastes away in her bridal clothes, and lets her wedding cake rot? Are you kidding?? But this story is "true" in a deeper sense of the word.
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A Reader posted a review at 2012-11-18 08:45:08.
(Language: English)
High school
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-08 10:35:00.
(Language: English)
Very well written and comical book that addresses several social issues, how life's trials and tribulations can shape even the most rock hard people, and self-depreciating love. The first half of the book is a light and charming read with some of the most amusing characterizations and excerpts I've read in literature (Mrs. Pocket's short role is absolutely hilarious). The second half takes on a much more somber undertone to it and shows that a "happy ending" doesn't necessarily have to be a *happy* ending. The story is a bit far-fetched in trying to tie knots, and the Pip's benefactor, when revealed, doesn't have any impressive motive for doing what he's doing. All said, this book is a very good read and I highly recommend it.
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Ankur posted a review at 2011-09-03 12:07:14.
(Language: English)
The book is meant for children, I think, for in this book telling a lie has been shown as one of the sin perpetrated by human beings and apart from that the characters shown are either good or bad. That is they exist on either of these two ends and there is no in-between to avoid any confusions. The story is about a boy, Pip, who is taken care off by his sister and sister's husband and they are shown to be quite poor. The boy meets Estella who is touted as a princess in the book, extremely beautiful, intelligent and wealthy. The boy is scolded by this princess and thereafter he envisages great expectations for himself. In the turn of events it is shown that those expectations are met with the help of a known stranger due to which Pip forgos all his relations with his loved ones and doesn't ever wants to return back to them. A nice story, with a happy ending, as always.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-06-09 07:50:12.
(Language: English)
I was forced to read this novel for my A level. It gripped me...took me into Victorian London with its crime, grime and seedy ways of life. As a social commentary it is wonderful but it is also beautifully drawn characters that Dickens painted so well. No, Fagin isnt in this one.....Magwitch is the main man. You can still find him in most of our prisons today - either that or he is that guy on the Apprentice (Sugar??). A crook but he has a heart. When he dies (oops given it away) it made me cry. Dont think of Dickens as "that boring stuff they make you read at school "...think of him more as a clever writer who could make you see, smell, hear and almost touch characters for yourself. What did happen to Pip???
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-01 02:30:09.
(Language: English)
Ah, it’s like meeting up with an old friend again. Great Expectations was the January ’09 book club book. This is unusual for my book club (at the Homer Township Library) since we tend to stick to contemporary fiction, but I guess someone thought it would be a good idea to read this after reading Mr. Pip a couple months ago. (And no one complained!) Charles Dickens has been one of my favorite novelists since I was a kid, and I had a good time rereading this novel (actually listening to it on my MP3 player). This time I came into it remembering, for the most part, who turns out to be whom at the end. Rather than spoiling anything, it made it quite interesting to read Pip’s conversations with Miss Havisham, for example, when he was assuming her to be his anonymous benefactor. Every first encounter with a character, in fact, was more interesting to me, knowing much more about each character as I did. It was said in the book club meeting that Charles Dickens was paid by the word, so I found it rather surprising that his descriptive writing was still so good—long perhaps, by today’s standards, but not really tedious or superfluous. And so I checked on the internet and found that he was NOT paid by the word: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Was_Charles_Dickens_paid_by_the_word . This is an excellent book, one of Dickens’s most accessible, and it has all the good stuff he does so well—a host of fabulously described and memorable quirky characters who all turn to be tied together somehow in the end. And the main character, Pip, makes a great narrator who develops as he grows and keenly observes others about him in the middle and upper classes of mid-19th century England. Two other books I’d recommend by Dickens are Oliver Twist and the Tale of Two Cities.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-12-08 02:52:46.
(Language: English)
Great Expectations is the first Dickens novel I have read. I was vaguely familiar with the story from a movie adaptation done in the 1990s starring with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow. I found the story quite captivating and feel it at least in a way mirrors my own experiences. Although the prose was a little heavy, it took me several weeks to finish the book. The main character, Pip, is an orphan who grows up in the home of his sister and her husband, Joe. Ip's sister is not the nicest person and makes life difficult for Pip and Joe. She makes a lot of bringing Pip up "by hand." Joe is a blacksmith so their life is comfortable but by no means glamorous. The "family" lives is a small town upstream on the thanks from London. Two major events of Pip's boyhood are recounted. The first is his encounter with an escaped convict. Pip brings him food and a file to remove his manacles. Later Pip and Joe accompany an army search party which looks for and recaptures that convict and a second one. The second, and probably more life changing, is his visits to Miss Havisham and his meeting Estella. Miss Havisham wants a boy to come and play with her adopted daughter and to entertain he. This open's Pip's eyes to the world of wealthy so it becomes difficult for him to appreciate the life he has. Pip also falls in love with Estella, a fate he will find hard to overcome. Over the course of Pip's growing up his sister first becomes mentally instable, following an attack by an unknown assailant, then dies. Pip continues to visit Estella and Miss Havisham unitl he becomes an apprentice with Joe. One day a London lawyer comes to visit him and presents him with a gift from an unknown benefactor. Pip is to move to London lawyer comes to visit him and presents him with a gift from an unknown benefactor. Pip is to move to London and to be instructed in the ways of becoming a gentleman. He is to get a certain allowance until he is 21 then he will receive his "expectation." The benefactor is to remain unknown but Pip assumes it is Miss Havisham. At first, leaving Joe and the blacksmith shop behind seem great to Pip. He enjoys new pursuits with new friends and continuous to visit Estella and Miss Havisham. All is well until Pip's benefactor presents himself, he is the convict Pip helped as a boy. The convict has become very preposterous in New Zealand. After this realization pip knows his life is not as he thought. He realizes that he is not intended to be with Estella. There is the memorable scene where he pleads for her love but is rejected. He also realizes how good and wishes for his former life. This spoke to me in terms of my own great expectation out of life. In terms of my career, I seem to have gotten what I wanted but my benefactor - big oil - is almost as repulsive as Pip's convict.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-14 07:34:51.
(Language: English)
this novel is all about pip ,orphan, he lived with his abusive sis and her husband, his life started to chnage since the first time he met the thief then he moved to London and he was introduced to Miss Havisham, an eccentric old woman, and her charge, Estella, with whom Pip falls in love. Estella has been taught by Miss Havisham to break men's hearts , there pip was ashamed so that he wanred to change his bahaviors, pip was dreaming to be a gentelman and part of the mysterious circumstances of his great expectations Pip is told that he is not to try to discover who his benefactor is. Pip continues and finishes his education and secretly sets Herbert up in business. He becomes Estella's escort in London and continues to adore her as she continues to torment him.Pip leaves England to take a clerk's position in Herbert's firm. After many years he returns to visit Joe and Biddy at the forge and finds a copy of himself, Joe and Biddy's son, sitting in his old corner in the kitchen firelight.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-11 07:06:05.
(Language: English)
The power of money and wealth and what these do to human beings is what Dickens quarrels against in this masterpiece. Pip struggles with his fortune only to be changed completely from Joe with his human rustic type of life. Mingled with this plot is Ms. Havisham's revenge against all men because of what they have made her go through. Estella is supposed to do that for her. In the long run, all the characters realise how much they have failed. Dickens weaves a plot worth any reading experience, themes close to our times and characters funny, humourous yet with a terrible tragic flaw about all of them. Only Joe and Biddy survive this craze about being a man or woman of fortune. They remain pure, humble and strongly appealing characters.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-09-09 12:45:55.
(Language: English)
You can tell Dickens wrote this as a serial release. King's "The Green Mile" feels the same way. The story is SUPERB. I mean, Dickens not only spins a wonderful tale, but show the high degree of perception change and development of Pip, especially in his friendship to Joe Gargery (basically his Dad). Miss Havisham had her heart CRUSHED, and looks to create a New and Uncrushable version of herself in Estella. When all is said and done, Pip and Estella end up together, but NOTHING like the children they started off as. Oh the character development, oh the richness of the story!
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-01-18 06:19:51.
(Language: English)
I had never read much Dickens and had never read this book before although it's a set text on A210 and therefore I "had" to read it rather than choosing to read it I enjoyed it as a reader as well as looking at it like a student. This edition has a long introduction with extensive commentary on the text and techniques Dickens used along with contextual information which I chose to read as an afterword since the book does have a third volume shock on which the plot relies and I didn't want to spoil the surprise. I find it hard to describe Dickens' works as comedic, I simply don't share that sense of humour (although I will giggle when reading Austen - so it's not a historical novel thing as far as I can see) I see Pip as a tragic hero and the novel follows the requirements of true tragedy. However I have found that reading the commentary on the text opened up some things to me that I had not realised fully on reading and hope that further study of the text will deepen my understanding (and perhaps allow me to enjoy the humour?)
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-11 05:08:42.
(Language: English)
Honestly I don't know what all the fuss is about. I can see the depth and the moral lessons in the story, but I found it disappointing. If I had to describe the book in one word it would be "Dark". After hearing about "Great Expectations" all my life and finally reading the classic.... I wasn't really impressed. I wanted to read this because it's a classic, and I've always heard so much about it. I found some of the language unfamiliar and since the version I read didn't come with footnotes some of the archaic terms were lost on me. I liked the story, and the morals behind it, but would have liked it better if the ending was happier. However, true to life...endings can't always be happy.
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