|
by: Charles Dickens
Amazon.com's Price: $4.95 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN: 9780553213423
ISBN: 0553213423
Label: Bantam Classics
Manufacturer: Bantam Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 560
Publication Date: September 01, 1982
Publisher: Bantam Classics
Release Date: August 01, 1982
Sales Rank: 193866
Studio: Bantam Classics
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
In the marshy mists of a village churchyard, a tiny orphan boy named Pip is suddenly terrified by a shivering, limping convict on the run. Years later, a supremely arrogant young Pip boards the coach to London where, by the grace of a mysterious benefactor, he will join the ranks of the idle rich and 'become a gentleman.' Finally, in the luminous mists of the village at evening, Pip the man meets Estella, his dazzingly beautiful tormentor, in a ruined garden--and lays to rest all the heartaches and illusions that his 'great expectations' have brought upon him. Dickens's biographer, Edgar H. Johnson, has said that--except for the author's last-minute tampering with his original ending--Great Expectations is 'the most perfectly constructed and perfectly written of all Dickens's works.' In John Irving's Introduction to this edition, the novelist takes the view that Dickens's revised ending is 'far more that mirror of the quality of trust in the novel as a whole.' Both versions of the ending are printed here.
Amazon.com Review:
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.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A work of lasting skill, value, and impact, truly a classic
It is astonishing to read literature this good, such that within the first few pages you know that no matter what the author does to the characters or how he concludes the story, and whether it suits my tastes in any specific direction, you realize that here is a work of lasting skill, value, and impact, truly a classic.
Now I came to this book with perhaps reduced expectations, not great ones, having only remembered reading The Christmas Carol by Dickens, a story so well known that ... Read More
Rating: - Dourly illustrated, it accurately represents the situation in London in the mid ninteenth century
"Great Expectations" is one of the few works by Charles Dickens that I had neither read nor had any contact with. Other than knowing title and author, I had no knowledge of the work before reading this book. After reading it, I can say that the effect was what one would hope the Classics Illustrated works would have on people. The contact generated a desire in me to read the original work.
The artwork is generally dour, reflecting the reality of London in Dickens' time. While there were ... Read More
Rating: - Love is...beautiful and heartbreaking.
Philip Pirrip, otherwise known as Pip, has great expectations. Given the opportunity to become 'a gentleman', his life becomes a quest fueled by his misguided and false hopes and dreams. And most of all: of unrequited love. All of which unravels.
There is something there for everyone: mystery, thriller, drama, comedy, social commentary, romance (in a twisted sort of way). GE is about human nature and love, forgiveness and hope; a perfect blending of all these gritty elements that make ... Read More
Rating:  - Slow Read
Great Expectations didn't meet my expectations. I was a little bored throughout the begining and middle of the story. I think what kept me reading on was the desire to read a "classic" (I usually read biography or history).
I continued reading because I wanted to find out if Magwitch would meet his daughter. In addition, I was interested in Pip's strong desire to be a gentleman. Other than help his friend in business and dawdle about thinking about an emotionally deadweight chic, ... Read More
Rating: - Delightful Read
Many people scoffed this book back in my freshman English class, because it was Dickens, and Dickens meant "boring" to them. However, shrug off the normal tendencies to stereotype an old-time classic to be a bore, one can find a true delight in this beautiful story of a young man struggling with an impossible love, the pressures of money and society, and, of course, himself. It is an excellent, absolutely enriching read.
|
