false 555297 476 Dickens considered <I>Great Expectations</I> one of his "little pieces," and indeed, it <I>is</I> slim compared to such weighty novels as <I>David Copperfield</I> or <I>Nicholas Nickleby</I>. 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 "your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate." 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 "little piece," <I>A Tale of Two Cities</I>, <I>Great Expectations</I> 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 <I>will</I> work out for Pip. Even Dickens apparently had his doubts--he wrote two endings for this novel. <I>--Alix Wilber</I> 2612809 book 1861 Great Expectations total:42042|5:9964|4:14379|3:11475|2:4308|1:1916| 42042 152293 52360 2429 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 5 13 false Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 1996 Fri Jul 04 08:11:29 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 11:24:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 3 6 false Sun Oct 07 09:38:16 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 08 20:48:12 -0700 2007
Q: Pip, what's you're real name?
A: Philip Pirrip

Q: Who did you live with at the begining of the story?
A: My sister and her husband, Mrs. and Mr. Joe Gragery

Q: Where were your parents?
A: Both my mother and father were dead, alone...more...]]> 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 4 6 false Wed Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Feb 19 03:18:28 -0800 2008 Fri Apr 18 07:32:54 -0700 2008 David Copperfield. While it's true that this book can be somewhat tiresome and contrived at parts, Dickens' dry humour, be...more...]]> 2619 0141439564 9780141439563 3270 192 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110557m/2619.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2619.Great_Expectations 2 6 false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 1984 Fri Jan 11 21:49:53 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 21 20:22:58 -0800 2008
Pip, an orphan, meets an escaped convict and treats him kindly. This simple action will change Pip's life forever. P...more...]]> 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 5 3 false Sat Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 20:06:21 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 18:16:01 -0700 2009
My favorite characters are Joe Gargery, the gentle and loving blacksmith; the ...more...]]> 1402903 1855494310 9781855494312 207 11 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183326550m/1402903.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1402903.Great_Expectations 2 4 false Mon Nov 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Apr 07 06:40:14 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 16 05:27:38 -0800 2009
My first introduction to Dickens was A Tale of Two Cities, which we were required to read in HS. It was also my first introduction to Cliff's Notes. :)

I tried Dickens again with Oliver Tw...more...]]> 2705546 0199219761 9780199219766 16 3 3.62 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2705546.Great_Expectations 4 3 false Tue Dec 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Oct 22 12:16:17 -0700 2008 Wed Dec 10 17:46:19 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1402903 1855494310 9781855494312 207 11 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183326550m/1402903.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1402903.Great_Expectations 1 5 false Sun Aug 19 18:33:47 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 00:56:36 -0700 2007 Best to get someone else to sum up the story rather than undergo the torture of reading it.]]> 2619 0141439564 9780141439563 3270 192 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110557m/2619.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2619.Great_Expectations 4 3 false Mon Jul 09 13:08:48 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 09 13:22:22 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 0 4 false Sat Feb 23 02:34:25 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 23 05:26:12 -0800 2008
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...more...]]> 18251 0140620168 9780140620160 306 19 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166893690m/18251.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18251.Great_Expectations 2 2 false Sun May 31 08:57:40 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 01:58:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 18251 0140620168 9780140620160 306 19 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166893690m/18251.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18251.Great_Expectations 3 2 false Tue Nov 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 15 02:19:56 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 03:51:39 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 3 1 false Sun Jan 04 11:57:07 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 12:19:33 -0800 2009 Great Expectations is prototypical Dickens: resoundingly lame central character; over-eccentric supporting characters; a labyrinth of a plot; endless digressions; and a crappy ending.

The central lame-o in this story is Pip, an orphan (what a surprise! an orphan in a Dickens novel!). Pip...more...]]> 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 3 3 false Fri Aug 29 23:17:29 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 15:53:01 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 23:17:29 -0700 2008
the plot, if you read it, is actually interesting.. just the giganto amount of words that are unn...more...]]> 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 1 2 true Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Mon Feb 04 06:45:08 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 20 12:09:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 5 2 false Thu Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Dec 19 12:42:20 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 19 19:01:37 -0700 2009 1 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 2 1 false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1995 Wed Jan 14 13:27:41 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 13:27:41 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 4 1 false Wed Jan 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Aug 18 21:25:39 -0700 2008 Tue Jan 20 20:04:27 -0800 2009 1
I thought Dickens was boring.

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'...more...]]> 2623 0192833596 9780192833594 32760 1799 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110563m/2623.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2623.Great_Expectations 3 1 false Wed Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 06 19:53:45 -0700 2008 Tue May 27 22:27:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2619 0141439564 9780141439563 3270 192 3.62 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161110557m/2619.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2619.Great_Expectations 5 1 true Sat Jan 24 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 21 11:35:12 -0700 2008 Tue Jan 27 11:53:41 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4906085