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  <title><![CDATA[Great Expectations (Enriched Classics)]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[ <p>&lt;CENTER&gt;<strong>ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED<p>BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP<p>Dickens's timeless tale of an orphan boy's extraordinary journey through life.<p><strong>&lt;CENTER&gt;EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:</strong><p>&#149; A concise introduction that gives readers important background information<p>&#149; A chronology of the author's life and work<p>&#149; A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context<p>&#149; An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations<p>&#149; Detailed explanatory notes<p>&#149; Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work<p>&#149; Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction<p>&#149; A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience<p>&lt;CENTER&gt;Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.<p>SERIES EDITED BY CYNTHIA BRANTLEY JOHNSON<p> </p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></strong></p>]]></description>
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    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
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  <read_at>Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 1996</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jul 04 08:11:29 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jul 14 11:24:52 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[My students (and some of my friends) can't ever figure out why I love this novel so much. I explain how the characters are thoroughly original and yet timeless, how the symbolism is rich and tasty, and how the narrative itself is juicy and chock-full of complexity, but they just shake their heads at...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26289748">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Mercedes]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <date_added>Sun Oct 07 09:38:16 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Oct 08 20:48:12 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Interview with Pip<br/><br/>Q: Pip, what's you're real name?<br/>A: Philip Pirrip<br/><br/>Q: Who did you live with at the begining of the story?<br/>A: My sister and her husband, Mrs. and Mr. Joe Gragery<br/><br/>Q: Where were your parents?<br/>A: Both my mother and father were dead, alone...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7381297">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Chicklet]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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    <![CDATA[Dickens considered <em>Great Expectations</em> one of his &quot;little pieces,&quot; and indeed, it <em>is</em> slim compared to such weighty novels as <em>David Copperfield</em> or <em>Nicholas Nickleby</em>. But what this cautionary tale of a young man raised high above his station by a mysterious benefactor lacks in length, it more than makes up for in its remarkable characters and compelling story. The novel begins with young orphaned Philip Pirrip--Pip--running afoul of an escaped convict in a cemetery. This terrifying personage bullies Pip into stealing food and a file for him, threatening that if he tells a soul &quot;your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate.&quot; The boy does as he's asked, but the convict is captured anyway, and transported to the penal colonies in Australia. Having started his novel in a cemetery, Dickens then ups the stakes and introduces his hero into the decaying household of Miss Havisham, a wealthy, half-mad woman who was jilted on her wedding day many years before and has never recovered.  Pip is brought there to play with Miss Havisham's ward, Estella, a little girl who delights in tormenting Pip about his rough hands and future as a blacksmith's apprentice.  <blockquote> I had never thought of being ashamed of my hands before; but I began to consider them a very indifferent pair. Her contempt for me was so strong, that it became infectious, and I caught it. </blockquote> It is an infection that Pip never quite recovers from; as he spends more time with Miss Havisham and the tantalizing Estella, he becomes more and more discontented with his guardian, the kindhearted blacksmith, Joe, and his childhood friend Biddy. When, after several years, Pip becomes the heir of an unknown benefactor, he leaps at the chance to leave his home and friends behind to go to London and become a gentleman. But having expectations, as Pip soon learns, is a two-edged sword, and nothing is as he thought it would be. Like that other &quot;little piece,&quot;  <em>A Tale of Two Cities</em>, <em>Great Expectations</em> is different from the usual Dickensian fare: the story is dark, almost surreal at times, and you'll find few of the author's patented comic characters and no comic set pieces. And yet this is arguably the most compelling of Dickens's novels for, unlike David Copperfield or Martin Chuzzlewit, the reader can never be sure that things <em>will</em> work out for Pip. Even Dickens apparently had his doubts--he wrote two endings for this novel. <em>--Alix Wilber</em>]]>
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  <published>1861</published>
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    <rating>1</rating>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Aug 19 18:33:47 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 05:57:31 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[  Boring, dull, lifeless, and flat.  This is so drawn out and boring I kept having to remind myself what the plot was.<br/>  Best to get someone else to sum up the story rather than undergo the torture of reading it.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4785773]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4785773]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>15772268</id>
    <user>
    <id>243542</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tiza]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Bandung, Indonesia]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>42843</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>6</votes>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Feb 19 03:18:28 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Apr 18 07:32:54 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Whew, it took me an incredibly long time to finish this book. Actually, this book kind of fell somewhere between 3 and 4 stars but I rounded it up because I liked it better than <em>David Copperfield</em>. While it's true that this book can be somewhat tiresome and contrived at parts, Dickens' dry humour, be...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15772268">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15772268]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15772268]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>12304230</id>
    <user>
    <id>377085</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Debbie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Beloit, WI]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/377085-debbie]]></link>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">194</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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  <average_rating>3.67</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3287</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[ Dickens's magnificent novel of guilt, desire, and redemption<br/> The orphan Pip’s terrifying encounter with an escaped convict on the Kent marshes, and his mysterious summons to the house of Miss Havisham and her cold, beautiful ward Estella, form the prelude to his “great expectations.” How Pip comes into a fortune, what he does with it, and what he discovers through his secret benefactor are the ingredients of his struggle for moral redemption.<br/>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>6</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[fans of wordy prose]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 1984</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 11 21:49:53 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jan 21 20:22:58 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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!<br/><br/>Pip, an orphan, meets an escaped convict and treats him kindly.  This simple action will change Pip's life forever.  P...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12304230">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12304230]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12304230]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>62423320</id>
    <user>
    <id>1719730</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Laurele]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Ferndale, WA]]></location>
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    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>42843</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
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    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jul 06 20:06:21 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Sep 29 18:16:01 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I see more in this book each time I read it.  Class distinctions, friendships, character development, sin, repentance, forgiveness, redemption--all are explored and charted in this thirteenth novel of Dickens.<br/><br/>My favorite characters are Joe Gargery, the gentle and loving blacksmith;  the ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62423320">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62423320]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Laurel]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Tucson, AZ]]></location>
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    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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  <ratings_count>42843</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[Dickens considered <em>Great Expectations</em> one of his &quot;little pieces,&quot; and indeed, it <em>is</em> slim compared to such weighty novels as <em>David Copperfield</em> or <em>Nicholas Nickleby</em>. But what this cautionary tale of a young man raised high above his station by a mysterious benefactor lacks in length, it more than makes up for in its remarkable characters and compelling story. The novel begins with young orphaned Philip Pirrip--Pip--running afoul of an escaped convict in a cemetery. This terrifying personage bullies Pip into stealing food and a file for him, threatening that if he tells a soul &quot;your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate.&quot; The boy does as he's asked, but the convict is captured anyway, and transported to the penal colonies in Australia. Having started his novel in a cemetery, Dickens then ups the stakes and introduces his hero into the decaying household of Miss Havisham, a wealthy, half-mad woman who was jilted on her wedding day many years before and has never recovered.  Pip is brought there to play with Miss Havisham's ward, Estella, a little girl who delights in tormenting Pip about his rough hands and future as a blacksmith's apprentice.  <blockquote> I had never thought of being ashamed of my hands before; but I began to consider them a very indifferent pair. Her contempt for me was so strong, that it became infectious, and I caught it. </blockquote> It is an infection that Pip never quite recovers from; as he spends more time with Miss Havisham and the tantalizing Estella, he becomes more and more discontented with his guardian, the kindhearted blacksmith, Joe, and his childhood friend Biddy. When, after several years, Pip becomes the heir of an unknown benefactor, he leaps at the chance to leave his home and friends behind to go to London and become a gentleman. But having expectations, as Pip soon learns, is a two-edged sword, and nothing is as he thought it would be. Like that other &quot;little piece,&quot;  <em>A Tale of Two Cities</em>, <em>Great Expectations</em> is different from the usual Dickensian fare: the story is dark, almost surreal at times, and you'll find few of the author's patented comic characters and no comic set pieces. And yet this is arguably the most compelling of Dickens's novels for, unlike David Copperfield or Martin Chuzzlewit, the reader can never be sure that things <em>will</em> work out for Pip. Even Dickens apparently had his doubts--he wrote two endings for this novel. <em>--Alix Wilber</em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>4</votes>
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  <read_at>Mon Nov 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Apr 07 06:40:14 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 16 05:27:38 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I think this book may have made it official for me: I'm just not much of a Dickens fan. <br/><br/>My first introduction to Dickens was <em>A Tale of Two Cities,</em> which we were required to read in HS. It was also my first introduction to Cliff's Notes. :) <br/><br/>I tried Dickens again with <em>Oliver Tw...</em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51795409">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51795409]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>35954275</id>
    <user>
    <id>395599</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Shannon]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Toronto, Canada]]></location>
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  <isbn>0199219761</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780199219766</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">3</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.65</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>17</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA['you are to understand, Mr. Pip, that the name of the person who is your liberal benefactor remains a profound secret...'  <br/><br/>Young Pip lives with his sister and her husband the blacksmith, with few prospects for advancement until a mysterious benefaction takes him from the Kent marshes to London.  Pip is haunted by figures from his past - the escaped convict Magwitch, the time-withered Miss Havisham and her proud and beautiful ward, Estella - and in time uncovers not just the origins of his great expectations but the mystery of his own heart.  <br/><br/>A powerful and moving novel, Great Expectations is suffused with Dickens's memories of the past and its grip on the present, and it raises disturbing questions about the extent to which individuals affect each other's lives. This edition includes a lively introduction, Dickens's working notes, the novel's original ending, and an extract from an early theatrical adaptation. It reprints the definitive Clarendon text.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Dec 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 22 12:16:17 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 10 17:46:19 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Even if you haven't read this or seen any of the many movie or tv adaptations, you would know something of the story. This is the one about Pip, an escaped convict, a beautiful but cruel girl called Estella, and the corpse-like Miss Havisham. It's about a little boy called Pip who was raised by his ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35954275">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35954275]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35954275]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>2870597</id>
    <user>
    <id>147289</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jason]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>
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  <isbn>0141439564</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780141439563</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">194</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>42843</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[ Dickens's magnificent novel of guilt, desire, and redemption<br/> The orphan Pip’s terrifying encounter with an escaped convict on the Kent marshes, and his mysterious summons to the house of Miss Havisham and her cold, beautiful ward Estella, form the prelude to his “great expectations.” How Pip comes into a fortune, what he does with it, and what he discovers through his secret benefactor are the ingredients of his struggle for moral redemption.<br/>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jul 09 13:08:48 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 00:03:46 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Credited by many as the inventor of the modern novel, there are actually a number of books by Dickens I've read and enjoyed over the years; this one, however, is the latest I've re-read, which is why I'm doing a review of it and not the others. A master storyteller of the Victorian Age, someone immi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2870597">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2870597]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2870597]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>16154519</id>
    <user>
    <id>935278</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Gr8grendel]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Lakeland, FL]]></location>
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  <isbn13>9780192833594</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1819</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations</link>
  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>42843</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>4</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Feb 23 02:34:25 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Feb 23 05:26:12 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Is there a way to give negative stars?<br/><br/>Let's see, hmmmm, boy is poor. Boy falls in love with well-to-do girl. Boy reforms well. Girl is manipulated to dump boy in a predictable fashion. Lot's of words in between. Boy is chopped up by a meat cleaver and his cadaver is launched into space b...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16154519">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16154519]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16154519]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>57947387</id>
    <user>
    <id>2021251</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lauren]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Kent, H9, The United Kingdom]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2021251-lauren]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">18251</id>
  <isbn>0140620168</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780140620160</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166893690m/18251.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166893690s/18251.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18251.Great_Expectations</link>
  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>307</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[An absorbing mystery as well as a morality tale, the story of Pip, a poor village  lad, and his expectations of wealth is Dickens at his most deliciously readable. The cast of  characters includes kindly Joe Gargery, the loyal convict Abel Magwitch and the haunting  Miss Havisham. If you have heartstrings, count on them being tugged.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun May 31 08:57:40 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jul 18 01:58:09 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A much-loved novel, a favourite of many people - what a shame I couldn't warm to it. To be perfectly honest, I found the characters trite and unbelievable, the plot clunky, the descriptions overdone. I realise everything about Dickens was a bit overdone, with frills and bells on, and perhaps that is...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57947387">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57947387]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57947387]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>37777266</id>
    <user>
    <id>21854</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Hannah]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Norwich, The United Kingdom]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/21854-hannah]]></link>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166893690s/18251.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18251.Great_Expectations</link>
  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>42843</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[An absorbing mystery as well as a morality tale, the story of Pip, a poor village  lad, and his expectations of wealth is Dickens at his most deliciously readable. The cast of  characters includes kindly Joe Gargery, the loyal convict Abel Magwitch and the haunting  Miss Havisham. If you have heartstrings, count on them being tugged.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Nov 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Nov 15 02:19:56 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Nov 18 03:51:39 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA['Great Expectations' was a strange read, and I'm not sure if I enjoyed it or not. The writing I loved - the narrative is full of sinister comedy, witty dialogue and striking imagery and observations from the word go, and the majority of characters (from the ridiculous to terrifying) are hard not to ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37777266">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37777266]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37777266]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>41852193</id>
    <user>
    <id>1232712</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Matt]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Omaha, NE]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1232712-matt]]></link>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1819</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563s/2623.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations</link>
  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>42843</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jan 04 11:57:07 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 04 12:19:33 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[<em>Great Expectations</em> is prototypical Dickens: resoundingly lame central character; over-eccentric supporting characters; a labyrinth of a plot; endless digressions; and a crappy ending. <br/><br/>The central lame-o in this story is Pip, an orphan (what a surprise! an orphan in a Dickens novel!). Pip...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41852193">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41852193]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41852193]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>24842914</id>
    <user>
    <id>924202</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sneha]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Modesto, CA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0192833596</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780192833594</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1819</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563s/2623.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations</link>
  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>42843</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[nobody who likes easy reads]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[my high school ]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Aug 29 23:17:29 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 18 15:53:01 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Aug 29 23:17:29 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[alright, well i'm still reading this.... but one thing i'd have to say is that this book would be so much better if Dickens wasnt paid by the word, and if we didnt have to read it for school.<br/><br/>the plot, if you read it, is actually interesting.. just the giganto amount of words that are unn...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24842914">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24842914]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24842914]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>14512690</id>
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    <id>651821</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Adam]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Zambia]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/651821-adam]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1861</published>
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    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <read_at>Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Feb 04 06:45:08 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Mar 20 12:09:32 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Stuffy, dry and full of useless adjective-ridden garbage.  Characters would be hard to identify with even if I was born in the time period.  If you are thinking that I am not intellectually advanced enough to appreciate this fine art, then you are a follower.  Try to think for yourself sometimes.  B...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14512690">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14512690]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Anne]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at>Thu Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Dec 19 12:42:20 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 19 19:01:37 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I finished! it's really good, a lot more humorous than I expected. I loved the story, and many of the characters are unforgettable, like Miss Havisham and Aged P. and Wemmick. And it confirms my philosophy of life, which I can't put into words, but Dickens has.]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
  </description>
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  <read_at>Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1995</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jan 14 13:27:41 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jan 14 13:27:41 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book should be renamed &quot;Unrealized Expectations&quot;.  It's hard to live up to the hype with a title like &quot;Great Expectations&quot;.  I chose this book to read for a book report assignment in high school.  Unfortunately, my choice was based on my fondness of &quot;A Christmas Carol&quot;...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43041598">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43041598]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Anyone having trouble getting into Victorian literature]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jan 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Aug 18 21:25:39 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 20 20:04:27 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I have a confession to make. It's shameful and disgraceful and I barely want to own up to it. But I just can't hide it no more! *sob*<br/><br/>I thought Dickens was boring.<br/><br/>And worst of all, I based this assumption on... nothing. I'd read not a single word of his prose. I don't think I'...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30514063">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30514063]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>19610127</id>
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    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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  <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[With a new introduction and notes, this edition of Great Expectations offers new insights into one of Dickens's most fascinating and disturbing novels. Charting the progess of Pip from childhood to adulthood, Dickens shows the dangers of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. As Pip moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering many extraordinary characters--from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, a woman locked up with her past--he is confronted with the challenge of establishing a sense of his own identity and values contrary to the plans others have for him.]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[My english teacher]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Apr 06 19:53:45 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue May 27 22:27:27 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[We read this book as a class for English, and one of my friends who had already read it prepared us by saying it was a boring, depressing book (&quot;confusing&quot; might've been in there too). I found this to be partially true. The vocabulary/writing style was definitely confusing, but reading it ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19610127">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19610127]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19610127]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>18302930</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Katie]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Great Expectations]]>
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    <![CDATA[ Dickens's magnificent novel of guilt, desire, and redemption<br/> The orphan Pip’s terrifying encounter with an escaped convict on the Kent marshes, and his mysterious summons to the house of Miss Havisham and her cold, beautiful ward Estella, form the prelude to his “great expectations.” How Pip comes into a fortune, what he does with it, and what he discovers through his secret benefactor are the ingredients of his struggle for moral redemption.<br/>]]>
  </description>
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  <read_at>Sat Jan 24 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Mar 21 11:35:12 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 27 11:53:41 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I think this is my favorite Dickens novel so far. One reason for this might be that it's more streamlined - not so elaborate with multiple character points-of-view plus narrator commentary. This is just &quot;Pip,&quot; telling us his story. There are still the over-the-top caricatures, minor charac...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18302930">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18302930]]></url>
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