Great Expectations by Charles Dickens<br/><br/>
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked up Great Expectations by Charles Dickens over the holiday break, mostly because I hadn't ever read any works by Dickens and thought it was a good time to get started.
Compared to today's fast paced, page-turners, this was a slow read, particularly in the beginning and early middle, however, after that it picked up speed and was very compelling to me.
Pip only knows of his parents through their tombstone. He lives with his sister and her husband Joe. Joe is a blacksmith who takes to the boy as a mix between a confiding sibling and father.
Early on, while at the cemetery, Pip is confronted by an escaped convict, Magwitch. That evening, Pip takes some food and a file and returns to the convict to help him out, under threat the convict will hunt him down if he doesn't.
And so launches the story. Pip is introduced to an eccentric widow Mrs. Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella. Some time after, an attorney in the employ of Mrs. Havisham visits Pip and is told he has a secret benefactor who is going to support his becoming a gentleman as he is a man of great expectations.
The relationships between Pip and each of the interesting characters of Joe, Mrs. Havisham, Estella, the attorney, his clerk Wemmick, and Pip's tutor's son Herbert, are compelling and move the story. This is particularly so when the benefactor is revealed and decisions with significant consequences are forced upon Pip.
A slow read by today's standards, but the characters, their emotions and actions are timeless making this a very satisfying read.
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