Karen's Group Read - Great Expectations

Setting this group thread for dear Karen (Karenmarie) whom I suspect is a little anxious about posting pictures of books covers and so on. After these few posts - she'll be taking over.

Janet, Larry, Karen (of course) and myself are up for a read or a re-read of this much loved classic. All are free to join us.

Book Covers of Great Expectations

My cover :



Others

Paul - Thank you!!!! I'm anxious about the whole thing, to tell the truth, and today's the first day I really started looking around. And thus I found this thread.

I have two copies of Great Expectations.





The top one is from a 19-edition set given to me by my neighbors Harold and Louise - their children didn't want them and they asked me before sending them to the thrift store. Of course I said yes! I think this is the one I'm going to read.

We'll start this read in September.

Thanks for the invite! I read Great Expectations may 4-5 years ago, but it was a good read and I'm sure the 2nd time through I will get a lot more than the first time through.

Sadly, my book has no cover because I got it free as an ebook from Gutenberg.

When Karen first started talking about this, I bought myself this lovely hardbound Penguin Classics Edition



I just flipped through to the introduction which is prefaced with:

"New readers are advised that this Introduction makes the detail of the plot explicit"

What an elegant way of saying "Includes spoilers"!

But I'm very glad for the heads-up. I haven't seen this in a book before, and usually start with the introduction and am dismayed at the spoilers.

>5 Tess_W: Hi Tess! Welcome. Reading it as an e-book is just as valid. I also count my audio books, although when I first started listening to them I thought they shouldn't count..... Silly me.

>6 streamsong: Hi Janet! Excellent. Beautiful edition, by the way.

I don't remember reading David Copperfield except the generalized feeling that it was a slog. I do remember reading and loving A Christmas Carol. That's the extent of my Dickens. And I'm an avowed Janeite, yet here I am.

There are 59 chapters in Great Expectations, and I've just gotten off to a nice start! Chapters 1 and 2 read.

I'll have to figure out how often to post, and I will definitely put spoilerish things within spoiler brackets if necessary.

Chapter One finds our young hero is ruminating on the graves of his father, mother, and 5 dead brothers. It's darned good writing. You laugh, but I'm surprised. Here's a description that is vivid and complete, of a man Pip meets in the cemetery:

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.

Chapter Two introduces us to his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery and her husband Joe and Life in the Gargery household.

I've started reading, too, and I'm also being caught up in the story, I agree that the writing is much easier and more entertaining than expected.

From Wikipedia: "the novel was first published as a serial in Dickens's weekly periodical 'All the Year Round', from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. In October 1861, Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes."

Aha! I thought this might have been a serial since each chapter ends with a bit of high note/cliff hanger.

And from the notes in my book: "(Jerome Meckier) concludes that the novel begins in December 1812 .... and the last page in 1840. Whether or not this precision is appropriate, Dickens' emphasis is usually not on the exact date, but, as here, on the gulf between the time at which he is writing and the way things used to be in his childhood."

Hi Janet! Interesting about its being serialized - it never occurred to me that the chapters could end in such a way as to be a cliffhanger fo the next installation. And it's nice to know about the time frame - 1812 to 1840.

Away we go!

I've read through chapter 9. Pip's comments and descriptions are vivid and complex. Pip has been saved from having to admit that he stole Joe's file and the food in the pantry for "his" escaped convict. I've now met Miss Havisham in her yellowed and decayed wedding finery although I haven't learned yet why she's wearing it. She was obviously jilted, but the story of it, if there, has yet to be told. Pip sees her ghost in the brewery although she is still alive. Pip is supposed to go back to her to 'play', meaning cards with Estella, in 6 days time.

I am going to read the first 2 chapters tonight when I lay down to go to bed. I've read quite a bit of Dickens and except for Bleak House they were.....average, dare I say it! I have read: David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Bleak House, A Christmas Carol, The Old Curiosity Shop, Great Expectations, and The Celebrated Frog of Calaveras County (short story).

>9 streamsong: Yes, this was serialized and there was such a public outcry at the way the book ended, Dickens went back and rewrote the ending; hence 2 endings. I think most books would carry the 2nd ending at the very back of the book and make a note of it. Dickens was paid by the word and many critics believe this was the reason he was so "wordy"!

>12 Tess_W: I have GE sitting here next to my computer and have been reading first thing every morning. I'm now through Chapter 10 and thoroughly enjoying it.

>13 Tess_W: two endings? Hmm..... didn't know that. I don't dare read anything about it so I can avoid spoilers. Time will tell.

Here's a non-spoilerish bit that I found I could relate to:

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 of one memorable day. end of chapter 9

>12 Tess_W: Tess, I think that last title was actually by Mark Twain. I do remember something about Dickens and a frog, but I haven't read it.

>13 Tess_W: Thank you. I love learning a bit about the book as I read, but also am trying to avoid spoilers. Your comment met that perfectly.

>14 karenmarie: That is a really nice passage, Karen.

Here's one from Chapter 15 that I also liked: "...we think the feelings that are very serious in a man are quite comical in a boy..."

Silly comment for the day: I was quite glad to meet Miss Havisham, since my only 'acquaintance' with her was in Jasper Fforde's Tuesday Next series. I'm glad Jasper gave her an interesting job to do. :-)

Here is a note on a bit of history from my edition from chapter two since the escaped prisoner theme seems to be recurring in Chapter 15: " Hulks. From 1776 (when the American War of Independence prevented the transportation of convicts to the American colonies) hulks, or dismantled ships unfit for service, were moored in the Thames off Woolwich and at other ports around Britain and used to provide extra prison accommodation. From 1810 ships were also moored in the Medway off Sheerness. Such prisoners were usually set to work in the naval dockyards. After transportation to Australia began in 1787 it was normal for prisoners to serve a term of imprisonment with hard labour in the hulks before being transported. The system underwent various reforms and was run down from about 1840 (partly because several Australian colonies refused to receive more convicts); the last hulk in Britain was burnt at Woolwich in 1857."

I did not know any of this.

I have starred this thread, and may jump in reading, but I am not sure. Over the past year, I saw two theater adaptations of the book, which makes me want to read and see what I missed, but at the same time, makes reading it a little redundant.

>15 streamsong: Hi Janet! Interesting about the hulks - I knew about them but not any detail.

>16 banjo123: Hey Rhonda! We're happy to have you, but certainly understand if you've got GE overload.

I've read through chapter 13. I don't know if Dickens exaggerates eccentricity to make a point or whether the characters he describes and has interact with Pip were really saying and doing those things. There is some very weird stuff, for sure, especially with Miss Havisham.

I'm in! I bought my used Penguin copy this weekend. I haven't read any, but did look at the first few pages. Pip's ruminating on the graves of his parents and brothers, then 'whammo!' some frightful escaped convict is threatening to cut his throat. Talk about a jump start! I thought, 'This is heady stuff, and must have delivered thrills to the public with knobs on when it came out.'

I have it with me in Scotland and it is one of four books I am presently enjoying. It is a reread for me but still a very pleasant experience.

I'm going to follow along but I've got to go to the library and get a copy of GE.

>18 SomeGuyInVirginia: Yay Larry! So glad you're participating and I agree with the beginning. Boom! Away it goes.

>19 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. I'm glad you're in and once again thank you for setting this thread up and prodding me to actually do this!

>20 luvamystery65: The more the merrier! Thank you.

A shock in chapter 15!

I just happened to spot this thread in passing and, by coincidence, I am currently reading Great Expectations, so I thought I would drop in and say, "Hi!"

I am about page 250 and am enjoying the yarn.

Hello Peter! Welcome!

Serendipity.

I'm page 127 of my Books. Inc. edition, just getting ready to start Chapter 18. I'm enjoying it too, very much so. To me it's a very dense read - the sentences are complex, the action almost buried in the prose. I try to read first thing in the morning, 2-4 chapters, depending. Since I've never seen a movie version or read the book before, this is all new territory.

>23 karenmarie: I am in Chapter 7 of Volume 2, and enjoying it very much.

I have only read a couple of Dickens's books (Christmas Carol and The Mystery of Edwin Drood) but enjoyed them immensely. I am enjoying Great Expectations in the same way.

The language is part of the fun, especially when he uses deliberate malapropisms or mispronunciations to convey the nature of his characters. I have a French friend who cannot stand Dickens novels because of the language, but that is understandable as some of the words are so archaic that they would not be found in a modern language text and someone reading them in their second language could be forgiven for giving up on them.

I constantly think of Dickens novels as the TV of the time. With no television to absorb the spare time of the reading classes the fiction magazines would have been in great demand. It is the only way to explain the thousands of copies of the magazines bought at the time.

>24 pgmcc: Good day, Peter! I have finished Chapter 19, wherein we learn of Pip's Great Expectations and change of fortune. This is the End of the First Stage of Pip's Expectations.

I do agree that the language is part of the fun. I am enjoying Pip's alternate strong understanding of himself and his actions, both good and bad.

I also just discovered that the copy of the book I'm reading has the original woodcut illustrations by Marcus Stone. The other copy of the book I have, a Book-of-the-Month Club edition, has illustrations by Charles Green.

>25 karenmarie: just discovered that the copy of the book I'm reading has the original woodcut illustrations by Marcus Stone.

Jealous!

My copy is a cheap Penquin copy that does not even have chapter titles other than, Chapter One, Chapter Two...

I feel so deprived.

;-)

I've been reading part of this on Project Gutenberg (when I have free time with no book handy). It has wonderful illustrations, but no indication as to who did them. Anyone recognize them? http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1400/1400-h/1400-h.htm Warning- I suppose the first illustration may be a spoiler, although I 'm reading this for the first time, so it's only my guess.

I'm in section II and bogging down a bit with Pip in London. I hope the storyline picks up again soon - although I do love Wemmick's house in Chapter 25!

>26 pgmcc: Hello Peter! Neither of my copies has chapter titles, either. However, the Book of the Month Club edition has a descriptive phrase or sentence at the top of every right-hand page that is not the start of a new chapter. Every left-hand page except new chapters says "Great Expectations".

So, for example, Chapter XXIV is on page 228 with nothing at the top of the page, yet page 229 has "Pecuniary and Other Arrangements." Page 230 has "Great Expectations", but page 231 has "I Look Over the Establishment."

I'm not reading that edition. I like the font of the older edition and the fact that the book itself is physically smaller.

>27 streamsong: I'm bogging down a bit in London, too, Janet! This also being my first time reading Great Expectations, I don't want any spoilers. However, here's one of Stone's illustrations, not spoilerish, so you can compare.



I'm on chapter XXIV and need to catch up. I'm behind on my two chapters per day schedule. Every chapter has some interesting thought or quotable - Chapter XXIV's for me is '...my guiding-star always is, Get hold of portable property.'

>27 streamsong: & >28 karenmarie:

So, it's not just me that is being bogged down in London. That's a relief.

I think I have managed to push through London and have had one excursion out of the city. I still love the writing and the language but I have not reached the point of reaching for the book at every free moment.

My reading has, however, taken a slight step backwards. There is a bus strike in Dublin and as I do most of my reading on the commute to and from work my natural reading slots have been replaced with driving or being driven by someone who would think my reading while she drives rude. (Yes, my wife.)

>29 pgmcc: Hi Peter!

When I was still working I adored my alone time commutes, 40 minutes each way. I listened to quite a few audiobooks.

I'm sorry about the reading disruption, and hope the strike is over soon.

My husband and I went to a family reunion on Saturday. I read some of the way out on the 2 1/2 hour drive. We spent the night in town at a hotel, then I did some more reading on the way home. As long as I didn't read too much, it was okay with my husband. I would have liked to have read the whole time.....

I don't reach for this book during any free moment. I do best with it with my first cup of coffee in the morning before my husband is up so that it's nice and quiet and I can concentrate.

>28 karenmarie: Yup, Karen the illustration you posted is the same as on the Gutenberg site. They are wonderful and now I know who the artist was.

I really agree when with your comment Every chapter has some interesting thought or quotable

Years ago, when my daughter took a creative writing class, the instructor told her that a character either needs to be sympathetic/likeable or interesting in order for a reader to be engaged.

Unfortunately, I don't find Pip either likeable or interesting

But like >18 SomeGuyInVirginia: said, I can see the Victorians tut-tutting over Pip's behavior - "ooh that Pip - what's he thinking acting that way?"

I've soldiered through Part two and onto Part three. Things are picking up.

I think I need to look at Spark Notes or similar site because I can't help but feel I'm missing something.

>29 pgmcc: I'm glad you are with us - I hope your reading picks up soon.

OK, I take back what I said yesterday. Push through Pip's London experience and into Part 3 and the novel becomes quite interesting again.

Never, never, never give up!

>22 pgmcc:

I too am reading Great Expectations at the moment, but ever so slowly. It is my current bedtime read and I am up to page 210. Is it too late to join in? I am just now coming up on Chapter 30.

>33 rainpebble: Hi Belva! It's absolutely not too late to join! Coincidentally, I've just started chapter 30. I would like to get it read in September, but there's no time constraint. A couple of us are slow readers and so we'll mosey along at our own paces and discuss things as we wish. Probably by the end of the month we'll check to see where everybody is.

Interesting end to the second stage of Pip's expectations. I've read through chapter 39.

I found Great expectations in Dutch translation today at the library, I think I will start tomorrow :-)

Hi Anita! Welcome. I'm glad you're joining us.

>33 rainpebble:
Hi, rainpebble. I am quite a slow reader myself, but I have succeeded in reaching the final 100 pages of the book. I am finding it good fun.

I normally read on the bus but the bus drivers are having two day strikes each week and this is taking big chunks out of my reading time. They are just so inconsiderate. :-)

>35 karenmarie: I am coming to the end of the book and the action is speeding up. I have left the book at a cliffhanger and am keen to get back to it.

My version of the book is a cheap Penguin edition with no illustrations but it does have a critic of the novel by George Bernard Shaw at the back.

>39 pgmcc:
Peter, I love ALL Penguin editions & find myself frequently buying used ratty ones. I just like how they look on my shelves & I like the smell of old books.
How way cool that George Bernard Shaw did a criticism for your edition.

>40 rainpebble: I have finished Great Expectations and have only a few pages left to read of George Bernard Shaw's commentary. It transpires that Shaw's review is more a review of Dickens's politics, or inferred politics, than being specifically about "Great Expectations". Shaw compare's Dickens's work with that of Thackeray and Trollope. He then points out that Dickens was the first author to spot and write about the failings of the British parliamentary system and how it favours the well off and ensnares the poor. Marx even gets a mention.

Shaw's commentary is more of a political statement than a review of "Great Expectations" but it is fascinating.

I really enjoyed "Great Expectations", but I will not comment in detail until others have reached the end.

Good day, Peter and Belva!

I'd trade the illustrations for the GBS commentary, frankly. The illustrations are fun to look at, but don't advance the story or provide any kind of insight into Pip's story.

I have ratty editions of some of my favorite books, but haven't singled out publisher like Penguin or Virago to collect except for Easton Press - my husband started that for me. I've now got 36 of them. Frankly, being expensive, gold-edged, tooled leather books almost makes them harder to read than 'just' a book. I'm afraid of damaging them.

I got through chapter 42 yesterday. Being the logical creature that I am, 59 chapters turned into 2 per day and I will read two, perhaps more, today. I'm also reading a book for the John Irving Challenge, Until I Find You, and my 'free' reading book. Plus one non-fiction and one in the car, also, coincidentally, non-fiction, although mostly I listen to fiction.

Interesting about Dickens being the first to write about the failings of the British parliamentary system. A Christmas Carol is definitely a statement about rich vs. poor and the failure of the system to provide enough work for the poor AND the working poor, with Bob Crachett as example.

I have finally finished Great Expectations and enjoyed it a lot.

At the back of my volume there is a commentary by George Bernard Shaw headed "Great Expectations" and I thought this was going to be a review or critique of "Great Expectations". It proved to be this and more.

Shaw took the opportunity to review Dickens's reputation as a social activist and concluded that while Dickens did highlight some social injustices he never did anything about them as he was too busy working to earn enough money to keep his family in a middle class lifestyle lest his family members fall into the depths of poverty Dickens describes in his writing and that he experienced as a child. Shaw also goes on to praise Dickens for being the first writer to identify and write about the flaw in the British parliamentary system that ends up favouring the rich an enslaving the poorer members of society.

Dickens's writing and portrayal of "gentlemen" is discussed and compared to that of Thackeray and Trollope. Shaw concludes that Dickens, unlike Thackeray and Trollope, lacks formal education and culture, and demonstrates this by discussing how he treats various characters in his novels.


In relation to Great Expectations, Shaw concludes that it is a great, though flawed, novel with his strongest criticism being for the ending. I must agree that the ending is inconsistent with the body of the work. Shaw explained that the published ending was the third ending for the book as a result of Dickens's publisher wanting to have a happy ending. Shaw points out that the start of the book is miserable, the middle is miserable, and that why does the end have a happy ending. He also suggested that given Estella's character throughout the earlier part of the book that it is incredulous to believe the Pip, if indeed anyone, could have a happy life with Estella. I must say I share Shaw's views.

I still think that Pip is a bit of an ass and that his reform at the end is a bit too much to take. He may have learnt his lesson but he is still making too many stupid decisions.



I found that I took more notes for Shaw's short piece on Great Expectations that I did for the novel itself.

>43 pgmcc: Peter, I very much enjoyed the comments on GBS's views on Dickens generally and Great Expectations in particular. Does the ending spoil the book? Personally I don't really think so as our behaviour is not always the logical eventuality of the influences and incidents that we are exposed to.

>44 PaulCranswick: I do not think the ending spoils the book but Shaw's comments are valid in that the ending does show some incongruity with the characters that have been built up through the body of the text. It also calls for some massive personal development and/or a belief that there was a softer nature beneath the surface where Estella is concerned.

I was interested in Shaw's comparison of Dickens's work, or more accurately, his treatment of certain types of characters, with that of Thackeray and Trollope. I read Vanity Fair some years ago (1978 to be precise) and loved it. I read my first Trollope (Barchester Towers) earlier this year, and loved that too. (The Warden is now near the top of Mt. TBR) Shaw's comments made sense to me having had some experience of the other authors and their work.

>41 pgmcc: Dickens' contempt for the British legal system is also very evident in Bleak House where one of the main themes is the court case Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce which is ongoing throughout the story. At the end, after many years (all the main characters are dead), a verdict is rendered and there is only $ left for the attorneys. I'm not giving anything away here in case you want to read the aforementioned book, as this is only a very tiny sub-sliver of the book.

>43 pgmcc: Good day, Peter! Interesting that the social class of the author colored his portrayal of "gentlemen". It's logical and obviously true, but I never considered researching Dickens prior to reading GE. Usually I just slam into a book and only look into the author after the fact. Maybe I need to do more before reading a book.

>46 Tess_W: Hi Tess! I haven't read Bleak House but husband and I watched a BBC production of it. Good point about the court case.

>47 karenmarie: Hi, Karen.

I think I would rather read a book and then investigate the author's background subsequently. That way I would have no preconceived ideas about where the author might be coming from and enjoy the book on its own merits. Having enjoyed the book I might find something that makes me query the author's motivations and then delve a bit into the live of the writer.

>46 Tess_W: Bleak House is on my list to read. I will watch out for the case you referred to. When dealing with an author like Dickens it is hard not to know something about the plots as so many dramatizations have been on television and the books have been the subject of many discussions, etc...

I finally started today. I'll likely take this into October.

Hi Roberta! I personally plan on having it read by the 30th, but we'll check at the end of the month and see where people are. Extending this into sometime in October isn't a problem.

I just started Chapter 54, and here's a lovely sentence:

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.

>41 pgmcc: >42 karenmarie:

I've always felt that Dickens did a lot to open up the discussion on what was right with the British system and what was wrong, and did it in a way that alienated so few people. Who's going to identify with Scrooge? He was a true and effective subversive.

I watched the Veronica Lake movie Sullivan's Travels a while back, and was so rocked when the chain gang entered the congregation in the movie. I remember thinking 'That's how you do it, you show real people living real lives.' No vapors, no preaching, just show.

I'm on Chapter 2. I'm a bad reader.

I finished today.
Although I am glad I read it, as I never read Dickens before, I am afraid Dickens isn't really my cup of tea....

>52 SomeGuyInVirginia: I just finished Chapter 8 so you are in good company.

>43 pgmcc: and >45 pgmcc: Hi Peter! Now that I have finished the book, I have read your spoilers and agree 100%.

>52 SomeGuyInVirginia: Hi Larry! No hand slapping here. Read it you like, put it down if you like.

>53 FAMeulstee: Hello Anita! You are one quick reader. It took me 28 days to read because I couldn't read more than a couple of chapters a day, until today, when I read the last 5 chapters.

>54 luvamystery65: Hi Roberta! Slow and steady wins the race.

I finished Great Expectations about an hour and a half ago. I've posted my review on my 75 book challenge thread, and my ROOT challenge thread. Here it is in a non-spoilerish spoiler version:

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Somewhere between friend Richard’s calling Dickens “Chuckles the Dick” and LizzieD making her username an homage to Dickens, lies my reaction to Great Expectations. I will never be a Dickensian, alas, but ended up liking the book much better than I thought I would halfway through.

From Amazon: Charles Dickens's Great Expectations charts the course of orphan Pip Pirrip's life as it is transformed by a vast, mysterious inheritance. A terrifying encounter with the escaped convict Abel Magwitch in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decrepit Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella at Satis House; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor - these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pip's life forever, and he eagerly abandons his humble station as an apprentice to blacksmith Joe Gargery, beginning a new life as a gentleman. Charles Dickens's haunting late novel depicts Pip's education and development through adversity as he discovers the true nature of his identity, and his 'great expectations'.

Until about 70 or pages until the end, I didn’t particularly like Pip at all. Perhaps that’s Dickens’ intent, I do not know. Pip is weak, a spendthrift, and prideful. And, for the life of me, I cannot figure out why he loves Estella. She is proud, disagreeable, and cuts him at every turn.

It is only when bad things happen to him that we see that Joe’s influence on the young Pip was stronger than might be expected, and I come to respect Pip as having grown up, learned his real place in the world, and been satisfied with it.

As for Dickens’ writing style, I found it alternatively lyrical and turgid, wordy and obtuse. There are some extremely eccentric characters, alternatively irritating and endearing.

Thank goodness I decided to read 2 chapters a day until I had finished it; it was only when I got to Chapter 56 that I decided a sprint to the finish line, as it were, would be a good idea. I think that if I had read it without a plan, I would have put it down.

I completed this book about 10 days ago and I did not expect to like it. My daughter's favorite author is Dickens and as our reading habits are probably as diverse as they come, with Steinbeck being my favorite author, I truly thought I would detest Great Expectations. However ...... here are my thoughts & comments upon the book:

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens; (4*)

This book was not at all what I was expecting. I recall reading it eons ago for my Jr. Lit class and being sooooo bored that I ended up simply skimming through it & writing my report, which I Aced anyway. ?? hmmm
I don't think this is even the same book. Well, of course it is not as I was 16 then and am 69 now.
Great Expectations is a wonderful work of 'art' about a young man who has lost his mother and father. He is raised by his older sister whom I immediately nicknamed 'Hagatha', for obvious reasons, & her husband.
The story is one of great poverty, coming of age and all of the events, emotions & angst that go along with that. Pip, our protagonist, is an English lad. His tale is a story of the adventures of his life. As Pip grows up he must strive to understand what is going on, why it is happening & how he should adjust to his life at the time.
The book is long and covers most of Pip's life. Great Expectations is rich with humor which we can all relate to. Short episodes make up the majority of the book. Dickens is able to link the episodes together in a way that gives the reader a meaning behind the stories.
A wondrous book to be read by those of all ages. Those of you with life experiences will love it.

Thank you, karenmarie & Paul, for setting up this challenge. I enjoyed reading everyone's comments as I read the book.

Hi Belva! You're welcome - I'm so glad you liked it. Thank you for your comments.

It appears that so far the following people have finished:
Peter (pgmcc)
Anita (FAMeulstee)
Karen (karenmarie)
rainpebble (Belva)

The following people are soldiering on:
tess_schoolmarm (Tess) - I think she wrote on another thread that she got busy and stopped - Tess?
streamsong - Janet
SomeGuyInVirginia - Larry
luvamystery65 - Roberta
PaulCranswick - Paul

I'll check back in a few days to see where people are. There's absolutely no rush!!!

I've finished a few days ago, too.

I thought I'd add a few comments from 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

Great Expectations works on numerous levels as a political fairy tale about 'dirty money', an exploration of memory and writing, and a disturbing portrayal of the instability of identity. ...

Victorian writers were fond of 'fictional autobiographies', but Dickens's novel has another layer of unsettling irony in that it tells of someone who has been constructing himself as a fictional character. And as Pip shamefully reviews his past life on paper, it often seems that the act of writing is the only thing holding his fractured identities together. Perhaps autobiography should ideally be an act of recovery, but Great Expectations dramatizes instead the impossibility of Pip's lending his life coherence or atoning for the past."

I see that the Monthly Author Reads group is having Dickens as the author for December.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/233452#

I took a break from Dickens while I was on vacation. I still haven't returned to it, but I plan to get back to it very soon. I'll report when I'm finished.

>59 pgmcc: While I'll definitely read more Dickens, I think I won't tackle another one until (maybe) next year.

I'm slowly reading the combined editions of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - which totals 1305 books. There are actually 10 Dickens listed. Seven more for me to go!

>60 luvamystery65: Keep going! I continue to check this thread for comments.

>61 streamsong: I think I won't tackle another one until (maybe) next year.

I may be falling into that timeframe myself.

Me, too - perhaps A Tale of Two Cities next year some time, but no promises!

>63 karenmarie: I am reading The Woman in White at the moment which keeps me in the Dickensian era.

>63 karenmarie: I read A Tale of Two Cities a couple of years ago. Really enjoyed it. If you decide to read a different Dickens, I'll join you. I think you will like ToTC

>64 pgmcc: Hi Peter! Haven't read that one yet, but I have read The Moonstone. Maybe it will percolate up through the stacks for me..... *smile*

>65 luvamystery65: Hello Roberta. Another vote for ToTC. I might 'attack' it in the February-March timeframe. January's always a holiday hang-over month, plus I get books that I want to dive into immediately.

Well I finally got it done (for the third time) this lunchtime.

My review which I won't bore everyone with is over on my thread. Still up there as one of his best IMO although it is not without its flaws but then again what isn't?

Thanks for prompting this group, Karen, and I would be up for another one next year (one a year for Chuckles is probably enough!)

I would request Bleak House as I haven't ever completed that one.

I would love to read Bleak House next too!

Hmm..... we watched a BBC production of Bleak House in 2014, I think, and although the strangeness was palpable, I think I might be intrigued enough with the legal ironies of Jarndyce and Jarndyce to tackle it.

I'll join the next challenge when a book is picked other than one that reminds me of Lit. finals, spark notes and 2am essays. I can't even look at the name Pip without feeling sick.

Hi Snodgrass99! It is sounding like Bleak House may be next; but for me personally I can't consider reading any more Dickens any time this year, so I'm thinking February, at least for me.

Bumping this thread as I've just picked this up again.

Hi Roberta! I definitely found it worth reading.....

I'll join in for Bleak House next year.

I finally finished Great Expectations! It was slow going as I had library books due and had to read those first. I did enjoy it. I stopped after each volume and read the commentary from Cliff's Notes that I also got from the library. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoyed A Tale of Two Cities. Pip was annoying most of the time. I did find his change somewhat believable, but I did think the ending was a bit unrealistic as to Estella's character.

>74 streamsong: I also look forward to Bleak House next year!

>75 luvamystery65: I agree with Pip being a plonker (not nice person) and with the character of Estella at the end being incongruent with her character throughout the rest of the story. Apparently three endings were written for the novel and the one used was the choice of the editor.

While I read the "review" at the end by George Bernard Shaw, I have not yet read the introduction. I must go back and do that. I never read the introduction to a novel as I find many introductions give away too much of the plot. I prefer reading a book untainted by the views of others.

>75 luvamystery65: Good for you, Roberta! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I agree about Pip and Estella.

>76 pgmcc: Hi Peter. I usually avoid introductions, too, for the same reason.

Looks like we'll be trying on Bleak House next year. I'm thinking February.

What are your thoughts?

>77 karenmarie: I have both Bleak House and A Tale of Two Cities ready and waiting. I should have been a boy scout. :-)

>77 karenmarie: February works for me. Can we do mid February? If not, I'll join in but a bit late like I did this year. I am reading Moby Dick mid- January through February. I'll also be reading (acutally listening to) the entire Chronicles of Barsetshire next year. I've got The Warden scheduled for February. Whew! I've really booked myself for some classics next year.

>76 pgmcc: I read somewhere, I think the Cliff Notes, that Dickens wanted to remarry Estella to a physician from Shropshire and her and Pip run into each other in London. That sounds much more believable.

>80 luvamystery65: I think that ending sounds like the original ending he had written. I did not remember the physician bit but the general theme and the meeting in London sound familiar.

>79 luvamystery65: I read Barchester Towers last year. I believe it is the second book in the chronicles with The Warden being the first. I loved "Barchester Towers" and am looking forward to "The Warden". Towers was my first experience of Trollope. It will not be my last.

>82 pgmcc: I kept telling myself I will read this series but I put it on the back burner. I decided that next year I will read/listen to the entire series. I will do one every other month.