Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #895 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Synopsis
A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor - these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pip's life forever, and he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman. Dickens' haunting late novel depicts Pip's education and development through adversity as he discovers thetrue nature of his 'great expectations'.

From the Publisher
Great Expectations opens unforgettably in a twilit and overgrown churchyard on the eerie Kent marshes.

There the orphan Pip is disturbed to meet an escaped convict, Magwitch, but gives him food, in an encounter that is to haunt both their lives. How Pip receives riches from a mysterious benefactor, snobbishly abandons his friends for London society and 'great expectations', and grows through misfortune and suffering to maturity is the theme of one of Dicken's best-loved novels.

In Great Expectations Dickens blends gripping drama with penetrating satire to give a compelling story rich in comedy and pathos: he has also created two of his finest, most haunting characters in Pip and Miss Havisham.

Customer Reviews

Simply a Classic
That I came to the novel fully aware of the storyline (through numerous TV and film adaptations) and still raced through the novel is an indication of the quality of the story and its characters.
What did surprise me, which having subsequently watched David Lean's adaptation may be down to selective memory, was what an awful individual Pip became during the course of the novel.
I would also have preferred Dickens originally conceived ending to the novel which appears much more in keeping with the general tone than the revised ending.

Expectations met
I am not fan of Dickens' novels or his prose, but recognise that his body of work is accepted as hugely impressive and influential.

The plot and principal characters of Great Expectations are well known. The introduction to the penguin paperback made much of Pip's sense of guilt at the fate that befell his sister and his neglect of Joe and Biddy. I was left mostly with the impression however, that one of the defining characteristics of Pip is that he feels a sense of self worthlessness. I attribute this to the fact of his being an orphan. Pip clings to Joe and even in the end, Magwitch, as something like father figures.

What is remarkable about the narrative is Pip's honesty with himself - he is really quite flawed and weak in many ways and does not shirk responsibility for how things turn out. But that he is also possessed of immense goodness and kindness, there is no doubt. The ending is intriguingly left slightly open, but on balance, you have to think that Pip will end up with his beloved Estella after all. Great Expectations is a dark novel and the characters are drawn by an author who like Shakespeare, had a deep insight in to human psychology. Great Expectations is not only unforgettable because of its basic story, but also because of its wonderful characters: the flawed hero Pip, the deranged and bitter Miss Havisham and the extraordinary creation that is Jaggers the solicitor.

One of the six truly great Dickens novels
Unforgettable - watch the great David Lean film, then read this, or vice versa - you will not be disappointed!