Great Expectations by Charles DickensMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I ADORE this book! So much to like about it for me and I am only sorry that I did not read it years ago.
Pip is a young man with little means who longs to be a proper gentleman. Through a series of mishaps, he does meet a number of characters who influence him a great deal, one of which is his unknown benefactor. He longs with love for Estella, the adopted daughter of the deranged Miss Havisham, who as a jilted bride raises her to be as cold and stony as possible to all suitors.
I loved Pips interactions with those who become his friends but yet was amazed at his turning a rather cold ear to Joe, his brother-in-law who had always been the best of friends to him.
Without giving away the various plot lines, I will say that although it came to a rather good ending, it was a bit anti-climatic for me. I wished for more to be done and said at the end.
Funny, sad, tender, poignant, instructive. For all of these reasons, I give this 5 stars.
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My favorite book of all!!! I read it for the first time in college and wondered where it had been all my life. I've read it many times since; I was always excited when it was on my teaching curriculum. I know it practically by heart. My favorite quote in the novel is the first line of chapter 3. Dickens is the master of the Victorian novel as far as I'm concerned. I've written a few things based on this wonderful book; one of them, Linda, is on my writing blog, a poem about Mrs. Joe. She has long fascinated me. By the way, there's a PBS Masterpiece Theater coming up April 1 and 8, a new production of Gr. Ex. Exciting! I was sorry to see Downton Abbey end for the season, but Dickens is still around - The Old Curiosity Shop is on tonight on PBS Masterpiece!
ReplyDelete(The first Gr. Ex. movie with John Mills as the older Pip was done in the 40's. Great old black and white!)