isabellaweise's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
opheliablack's review against another edition
5.0
Please note; my star rating on any book is completely subjective and limited to the label for each star.
1 Star I didn’t like it
2 Stars It was okay
3 Stars I liked it
4 Stars I really liked it
5 Stars It was amazing!
If I do actually have something to say about a book other than what my enjoyment factor was, I will write a review and share my thoughts. If I say I didn’t like a book but there wasn’t anything about it that I thought needed to be shared, then that’s it, I just didn’t like it.
If you’d like to start a discussion about a book or you’d like an actual review, ask any question you like and I’ll be happy to try and comply/respond.
Additional note; I do not feed the trolls. If you don’t have something constructive to say, or if you can’t say it in a respectful way, you won’t get a response from me. Ever.
1 Star I didn’t like it
2 Stars It was okay
3 Stars I liked it
4 Stars I really liked it
5 Stars It was amazing!
If I do actually have something to say about a book other than what my enjoyment factor was, I will write a review and share my thoughts. If I say I didn’t like a book but there wasn’t anything about it that I thought needed to be shared, then that’s it, I just didn’t like it.
If you’d like to start a discussion about a book or you’d like an actual review, ask any question you like and I’ll be happy to try and comply/respond.
Additional note; I do not feed the trolls. If you don’t have something constructive to say, or if you can’t say it in a respectful way, you won’t get a response from me. Ever.
jayrinehart's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ianthereader0's review against another edition
4.0
3.75/5 rounded up.
I DID IT. This book took me so long to read, but I enjoyed a lot of it. This was the first book I have read by Dickens, and I found his writing to be much more accessible than I had expected. There were also multiple times that I found myself laughing out loud. Dickens does a really splendid job with the character arch of Pip in this novel, and I found it to be very well done. I also thought the ending of this novel was absolutely gloomy, but so brilliant. That being said, I feel that this novel was about 100 pages too long, and I got stuck in the middle of it for a couple of months. I am definitely looking forward to trying another Dickens novel in the future, but I may try one of his smaller works next.
I DID IT. This book took me so long to read, but I enjoyed a lot of it. This was the first book I have read by Dickens, and I found his writing to be much more accessible than I had expected. There were also multiple times that I found myself laughing out loud. Dickens does a really splendid job with the character arch of Pip in this novel, and I found it to be very well done. I also thought the ending of this novel was absolutely gloomy, but so brilliant. That being said, I feel that this novel was about 100 pages too long, and I got stuck in the middle of it for a couple of months. I am definitely looking forward to trying another Dickens novel in the future, but I may try one of his smaller works next.
cattytrona's review against another edition
4.0
having generally avoided him for years, and only come to properly read him recently, my existing take was that i already liked dickens, but in the way where i'm doing a phd in english and read boring classics for fun. great expectations reminded me that teenagers get really into dickens sometimes - and clarified how. it's ya but not incredibly condescending to its reader's comprehension skills. also, i would say this is the dickens to go for if you want to have read one, in that it's actually readable. and not too long!
i really enjoyed how the story is basically just about weaving the most interesting interpersonal relationships possible. i felt fond of many of the characters, and enjoyed experiencing the book with them. i found the ending very touching, and really pretty much perfect. it felt the exact opposite to the end of the count of monte christo, to use a confusing example: where that left lots that i had to consciously overlook to keep a good impression of the book, i felt the ending here soothed the outstanding issues i had.
i didn't love it all - possibly i'm almost too old. but i found a lot of the middle of the book unbearable to the extent i had to keep putting it down - pip is just so rude! i know he's like basically the equivalent of kevin in home alone - naive and suddenly faced with unimagined resources and freedom - but it was a pain to get through.
also, and this is a hot take, although i found a nuisance to read, i think i prefer the incredibly involved style of martin chuzzlewit . getting through that took me months (ok, weeks, but i do read fast), and i'm not sure i did like many of the characters. but it's so dense and detailed, both because it's incredibly long, and because dickens goes ham with the sentences in a way i think he's grown out of here (i haven't read enough to properly judge, but certainly great expectations and tale of two cities felt vastly more readable, and they're both like 15 years after mc, so it makes sense to me that his style would change, and it seems to have changed in a way which is much kinder to readers today). and i really did feel immersed in martin chuzzlewit, i felt in it, because there was just so much to grapple with on basically all levels. comparatively, great expectations felt distant: i was somehow less engaged. i would certainly recommend great expectations to someone else first, but idk, clearly, personally, i enjoy having a really really difficult reading experience.
i really enjoyed how the story is basically just about weaving the most interesting interpersonal relationships possible. i felt fond of many of the characters, and enjoyed experiencing the book with them. i found the ending very touching, and really pretty much perfect. it felt the exact opposite to the end of the count of monte christo, to use a confusing example: where that left lots that i had to consciously overlook to keep a good impression of the book, i felt the ending here soothed the outstanding issues i had.
i didn't love it all - possibly i'm almost too old. but i found a lot of the middle of the book unbearable to the extent i had to keep putting it down - pip is just so rude! i know he's like basically the equivalent of kevin in home alone - naive and suddenly faced with unimagined resources and freedom - but it was a pain to get through.
also, and this is a hot take, although i found a nuisance to read, i think i prefer the incredibly involved style of martin chuzzlewit . getting through that took me months (ok, weeks, but i do read fast), and i'm not sure i did like many of the characters. but it's so dense and detailed, both because it's incredibly long, and because dickens goes ham with the sentences in a way i think he's grown out of here (i haven't read enough to properly judge, but certainly great expectations and tale of two cities felt vastly more readable, and they're both like 15 years after mc, so it makes sense to me that his style would change, and it seems to have changed in a way which is much kinder to readers today). and i really did feel immersed in martin chuzzlewit, i felt in it, because there was just so much to grapple with on basically all levels. comparatively, great expectations felt distant: i was somehow less engaged. i would certainly recommend great expectations to someone else first, but idk, clearly, personally, i enjoy having a really really difficult reading experience.
sbenzell's review against another edition
2.0
Normally, being forced to read a book for school didn't suck the joy out of a book for me. This is one of the exceptions that proves the rule.
anabradley's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
awerring's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5