Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Charles Dickens ~Great Expectations~

Read: On Kindle
Paid:  For complete collection of Dickens Books
Reason I choose it: I think this one was recommended to me a long time ago.

Summary
The story is about a child called Pip who is being raised by his sister and her husband. One day on the marshes he meets an escaped prisoner who threatens him in order to bring him food and a tool to remove a cast on his leg. Pip does as asked but it never really leaves him.

Some years later Mr Pumblechook arrives at Pips home to tell him that there has been a request made for him to attend Miss Havishams home which he obliges and meets the great Estella who he falls in love with. There comes  a time when Miss Havisham feels he is too old to be attending her home so requests for him not to come anymore. Pip decides to disregard this requests and goes to visit her one day which results in him going to see her every year on his birthday.

Eventually Mr Jaggers turns up with the request of Pip going to London to become a Gentlemen but he is not to ask the question of who is providing for him... eventually when Pip is 21 years old he is responsible for his own estate. Some years later he finds out who is providing for him which opens up a whole new adventure...

My Opinion
I'm wondering if I'm reading a completely different version to everyone else as I really do not understand what the hype is about this book... it is so dull, wordy and boring. I read the first half almost word for word, the 2nd half I couldn't help but skip/skim whole chapters. Imagine someone picking the topic of a 'table' and rambling on for a chapter about it, what was said at the beginning was more of less said at the end so you missed nothing.

When Pip was a child there was a little bit of excitement with the runaway jailers which when that passed it was a bit bland but it resulted in an invite from Miss Havisham... I thought the story would turn in to something like the Secret Garden where he brings along a little something to her life for her to change her way and bring the brewery back from the dead but that didn't happen at all. She stayed the spoilt brat that she was, stopping time in the hope that the ditching groom would return (possibly as is never actually said) but surely she knew he was in jail and had no chance of returning so she should just get on with her life. Thanks to her Estella ended up in the gutter but maybe just maybe she may end up being pulled back up by her and Pip finally getting back together.

Then Pip has the chance to become a gentleman, did he take this opportunity and do something with his life? No way he ran himself in to debt and almost ended up dying. Then came the secret of who was paying/providing for him to become a gentleman.... by the end there was a little bit of action but I didn't care as I just wanted the story to end as it managed to drag out to a crazy 57 chapters.

As for Joe and Biddy, they choose to push Pip away by making him feel he was above them now to be associated with them but he didn't need all that much encouragement. I did think maybe Pip and Biddy may get together but once Pip's sister dies you could see where the story would leads them.... Joe was a hard working man but one without a backbone.

This is the 3rd Dickens book I have read and the other 2 I enjoyed so he hasn't completely put me off reading anymore just yet.

The only part of the book I really enjoyed was when Mr Jaggers, Mr Wemmick The Aged Parent and the Castle were written about. It would have been better to have a story about them and all their customers.
 
My Rating

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Quote
"I am afraid, but because it was very slow, very dreary, very up-hill and down-hill, and very unlike any way in which any man in any natural circumstances of life or death ever expressed himself about anything." Charles Dickens
 
What more can one say? Sums the book up for me nicely

4 comments:

  1. this is one of those great books that never get old reading

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    1. Its why I don't understand why I don't like it as everyone keeps telling me how great it is :(

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  2. I think there are even better books by Dickens (even if I love them all equally), I suggest you read Little Dorrit or Oliver Twist if you have never gone through them two before. They are really worth reading!!!

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    1. Oliver Twist was the first book I read when I got the collection, I always loved the musical so had to read it and it was nice to read all the extra bits. It was long but there was always something happening in order for it not to be so dull. I've heard Little Dorrit is good so I'll give that a try next :)

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