Review: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

Summary:

In what may be Dickens's best novel, humble, orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman — and one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of "great expectations." In this gripping tale of crime and guilt, revenge and reward, the compelling characters include Magwitch, the fearful and fearsome convict; Estella, whose beauty is excelled only by her haughtiness; and the embittered Miss Havisham, an eccentric jilted bride.

 

My opinion:

The plot and last part were really great and I enjoyed reading them, but the second part was way too long with confusing and pointless characters. That's why it took me so long to finish it.

 

The ending was not what I expteced (that Biddy and Joe thing) and when I Googled about more information about the book I read there were two endings and it depends on your edition how that ending will look like. The original ending was an happy ending, but my edition got the unhappy one. If you'd like to know those reasons, here's a link that explains everything: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/dickens/ending.html

 

In general I liked this novel and I understand why it's such an important classic, because the morals are still very important and common.

 

There are many movie and tv show adaptations, but I'm the most curious for the BBC mini series. I've watched the first 25 minutes before I stated reading the book so I already knew the plot etc. but I'm definitely going to watch the entire mini series this month as well. Here's the trailer of that version:

 

 

What is your opinion about Great Expectations?