Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Genre: Classics
Blurb (on back of book): Great Expectations charts the progress of Pip from childhood through often painful experiences to adulthood, as he moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering a variety of extraordinary characters ranging from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, locked up with her unhappy past and living with her ward, the arrogant, beautiful Estella.
Pip must discover his true self, and his own set of values and priorities. Whether such values allow one to prosper in the complex world of early Victorian England is the major question posed by Great Expectations, one of Dickens's most fascinating, and disturbing, novels.
MY OPINION: ***
I've now read a sufficient number of Charles Dickens's novels to know that he is not really my cup of tea. I can see the literary merit behind his work and I am an adorer of classic literature but I personally do not mesh well with his style. I want to reread this book in the future when I know more about the world but right now, as a college student, I did not really find a lot of enjoyment from this go around.
The story follows the orphan boy Pip who lives with his abusive sister and her husband, Joe (a kind man also abused by his wife). I enjoyed reading about Pip's adventures. It was gritty and realistic and raw and I saw the character development throughout the book. He clearly has had a poor childhood and that reflects on his poorly-made decisions later in the novel, and I enjoyed seeing that spectrum of decision-making and naïveté.
The book centers around the idea of class and social strata, as many of Dickens's novels do. I found it especially interesting to see the contrast in Pip from his orphaned, abused, poor state to his rich, gentlemanly, top-hat-wearing aristocratic state and seeing how wealth can change a person in unthinkable ways. I found this to be a very interesting social commentary on London in this time period and seeing how Pip, who we initially love and sympathize with, becomes vulnerable to the downsides of wealth (i.e. greed).
It had interesting themes and messages. You should always treasure what you have. Sometimes having too much isn't enough. Sometimes wealth isn't as perfect as it seems. I enjoyed that.
However, my main issue with this book was its length. Many critiques of Dickens state that he has no actual distinctive style of writing. He seems to dictate lengthy paragraphs of descriptions of things to you without ever utilizing the show-not-tell function. I honestly have to say I agree with some of these critiques, especially in this lengthy novel. I felt at times that it DRAGGED on and I would start praying for it to end at certain points. There were so many scenes that could have done with some flavor, some spice, some seasoning.
Miss Havisham and Estella are complex characters who I strongly disliked but also simultaneously respected and understood. Both of them have their own issues and you can see why they act the way they do but from the perspective of Pip, they're painted out to be so much worse than they probably actually are. Well, Estella certainly has her moments.
I will say that the overall plots of Dickens's novels never fail to be complex, twisty, and surprising. I was definitely a little surprised at the end when he started tying up all the loose ends and helping us come to an end. I really enjoyed the ending of this book.
Overall, I will say that I've definitely read "better" or "more interesting" classics before but I wouldn't necessarily disregard Dickens. This novel is definitely more interesting than some of the others of his that I've read so in that respect, I'd recommend trying this one out even if you already are not a Dickens fan. However, I have to say that this is not my cup of tea and I will continue on with the Dickens novels solely for the purpose of saying I've read them all. I think because I read it on audiobook, that's the only reason I actually got through it but at the same time, I feel as if I've missed something that everyone else seems to have caught who loves this novel.
Main Character: Pip
Sidekick(s): Joe, Estella(?), Miss Havisham(?), etc
Villain(s): Wealth, society, etc
Classics Elements: This is a classic piece of British literature.
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