This is my favorite classic. EVER. ( )

Things That Made Me Love This Book with Spoilers:
Some things I loved about Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (with spoilers)
The thrilling start! A convict on the run! A boy helps him!
Miss Haversham and the descriptions of her creepy Grey Gardens-style home.
Joe.
John Wemmick and his hobby castle complete with a small cannon and moat.
Any time Wemmick and the Aged appeared in the book.
The Hamlet scene.
Magwitch's death had me crying. ( )

It felt like it took me ages to get through this, but I'm glad I did. I appreciate the way this story made me think about classism, elitism, and money. Pip's longing to be a gentleman versus his love of Joe and Biddy broke my heart a little.

The edition I read included both the published ending (the happy-ish one) and Dickens' original ending (more of a bummer). I think I prefer the sadder ending because it better drives home the meaning I took away from the story. Pip is a decent person and as a reader I want him to be happy, but I don't think he'd actually be happy married to Estella.

The random thing about this book that sticks with me is Mr. Wemmick's mouth being a post office. What a strange, funny metaphor. I laughed every time. ( )

I don't know if I can say anything about this book that hasn't already been said. It's the Dickens book that is supposed to be most accessible for high school students. It certainly starts off that way, but as Pip gets older, his narrative voice shifts to that of an adult (even though the whole story is told in retrospect) and it is a bit more complex. Perhaps strong native English speakers/readers will be okay with it, but I'm reading it with two Korean-born students, and they're struggling to keep up with the story.

Pip is a likable character, even when he lets his expectations go to his head. I think his friendship with Herbert and Wemmick assist in keeping him in the reader's good graces. I do wish he wasn't so extravagant with his money, though. And that he was more loving to Joe throughout the novel, not just on its ends. Favourite characters? Miss Havisham is such a curiousity, I like her. Ditto for Wemmick. And how can you not love Herbert? He's all goodness. (too flat? too unwaveringly loyal to Pip? I don't think so -- Dickens begins their friendship appropriately to show how they are two wonderous people who just "click".) Joe is also endearing.

Sometimes I wish our culture was more like Dickens', so that we could read through each chapter slowly, repeatedly, to drink in the story as slowly as he first readers would have to fully appreciate all the characters and Pip's Great Journey. ( )

This is the third of Dickens' books that I've read and is, so far, my favorite. Pip was as likable as Estella was hateable...and I just adore Miss Havisham---in all her freaky glory. I love the journey of character that Pip takes---as well as Estella, actually---and I definitely want to believe that, in the end, they both get just exactly what they want. After reading this, I watched a film version with Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham. (Love her!) I liked it just as well as the book and definitely liked the character of Estella better. She seemed to have some compassion in the film and it was easy to empathize with her. ( )