Just like he did in A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens emphasizes the importance of friends and family and the need to stay in touch with one's roots in the classic novel Great Expectations.
The story brilliantly depicts the evil side of money, how it changes a person. It is an extraordinary depiction of love, loyalty, and forgiveness, of false perceptions, and the derived sadness. The plot is slow at the beginning, but it picks up pace as the pages turn, only to keep the reader hooked to it.
As is always the case with Dickens' characters, they are vividly described in the prose. It is easy to fall in love with the positive ones, but the way he writes, makes one intricately understand the negative ones as well. And let's be honest, people are both good and bad, so there is always a gray area. Miss Havisham (a character in this book), for instance, is so eerily described that the reader is left unsure whether to love her or hate her - certainly can't just ignore her!
There is no doubting the genius that is Dickens. Few instances:
The subtlety by which he takes a jab at the way humans misuse religion is just wonderful:
"Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and some people do the same by their religion."
How life is nothing but a chain of connected events, remove any one and the result would have been different:
"That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."
"life is made of ever so many partings welded together"
How those who are affectionate are weak. Or are they?
"It’s a weakness to be so affectionate, but I can’t help it. No doubt my health would be much better if it was otherwise, still I wouldn’t change my disposition if I could. It’s the cause of much suffering, but it’s a consolation to know I possess it, when I wake up in the night."
On the importance of crying:
"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts."
The definition of real love:
“I’ll tell you,” said she, in the same hurried passionate whisper, “what real love is. It is blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the whole world, giving up your whole heart and soul to the smiter—as I did!”
How looks are deceiving:
"Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There’s no better rule."
Verdict: Highly recommended. Worth a re-read.
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Customer reviews
It is the first classic I ever read! And it is my favourite one till date and I could read it again and again without getting boredđź’ś Great Expectations really is very close to my heart. And about this Fingerprint! Classic edition, the cover gives you all vintage vibes and it's light-weight and the printing is great. And and and it is super affordable!
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Top reviews from India
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Reviewed in India on 28 February 2019
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It is the first classic I ever read! And it is my favourite one till date and I could read it again and again without getting boredđź’ś Great Expectations really is very close to my heart. And about this Fingerprint! Classic edition, the cover gives you all vintage vibes and it's light-weight and the printing is great. And and and it is super affordable!
Images in this review
Reviewed in India on 9 November 2020
One thing, I felt, is obvious though: When you're reading Dickens, there's no need to " READ BETWEEN THE LINES ". Because there will be nothing. And that's Dickens for you.
I have just ordered DAVID COPPERFIELD.
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Great Expectations is so much refreshing a book that it breaks your heart once it's over🙄
Reviewed in India on 9 November 2020
Great Expectations is the first of my Dickensian literature. This book is so so so dear to my heart. It made me feel each and every emotion 'in the book'. While reading this novel, sometimes my eyes are wet, sometimes gleaming, sometimes sober and most of the time smiling. The mutual feelings were so beautifully described as if they're plucked out from the heart and poured. And also there are certain chapters in which the author talks to himself laying bare his own feelings. Those are my most fav ones. I visit them over and over. Just going through those lines gives me some kind of ecstacy i can't quite put in words.Reviewed in India on 9 November 2020
One thing, I felt, is obvious though: When you're reading Dickens, there's no need to " READ BETWEEN THE LINES ". Because there will be nothing. And that's Dickens for you.
I have just ordered DAVID COPPERFIELD.
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Faye Sirs
Difficult
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I PREFERRED A TALE OF TWO CITIES
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A very rewarding read of an old classic.
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A Classic book of English Literature.
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David Bisset
A superb novel
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