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beckyyreadss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Violence
thechroniclesofsiania's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
julleah's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism
sweetjuicee_'s review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Alcohol
e_r_q's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
"Moths and all sorts of ugly creatures hover around a lighted candle. Can the candle help it?"
It is apparently only a myth that Charles Dickens was paid by the word to write his novels. But after reading Great Expectations, I wouldn't be surprised if that myth were actually the truth.
Although Dickens' witty writing initially engaged and entertained me for the first third of the novel, the rest of the book is written so superfluously, meaning it is extremely difficult to engage with the narrative. Worse still, the narrative itself is excessively drawn out, with some lifeless characters (who feel for the most part like plot devices), obvious themes and seemingly very little to say overall. There are also some plot beats that feel frustratingly convoluted, and overly-rely on coincidences and conveniences.
There are the foundations of some good stuff here, but everything is so under-explored whilst simultaneously being unnecessarily long. In short, it is a chore to get through.
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Death and Death of parent
ladyrecordia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Minor: Child abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
miagw962's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.
I loved A Christmas Carol when I read it so I was excited to get to Charles Dickens' arguably most famous work, Great Expectations. This was phenomenal as expected. Such a whirlwind of emotions covering so many bases - poverty, classism, luck, love and its many different forms, jealousy, relationships and power dynamics, and so much more. I can't properly express the things I felt reading it. So many moments that just killed me. No wonder this has stood the test of time. Just gorgeous. Wish I could say more but because of how densely packed it is, I'm not sure I can. I just loved it.
Minor: Death and Death of parent
cattheteawitchfairy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I read this book when I was younger and my thoughts have not changed much on it, although I certainly remember much more of the text. The plot of this text is somewhat interesting; it does have some drama and an air of mystery surrounding it, yet all of this overshadowed by Dickens' writing style.
For a little bit of historical context, Dickens first published this text in a magazine of his and was therefore paid by each line he wrote. The consequence is that his writing style is often very long-winded and complex. Personally I found this rather difficult to get on with, and so listened to the audiobook at 3.0x speed whilst reading along myself. This made it a little more manageable but I still struggled with the text and how it was written.
In summary, the plot is somewhat interesting but not necessarily something I would pick out to read/finish, if this was not a university text for me. Additionally, this has made me realise that the writing style of Dickens is not that which I enjoy yet is still an interesting one to analyse nonetheless.
Graphic: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol and Injury/Injury detail
clapyourshands's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent
spasqual's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Child death