Finally I have read this wonderful classic. I love the quirky characters Dickens created and their very recognisable human traits. ( )

What made this great book excellent was Martin Jarvis' narration.
I rarely listen to audiobooks. On a whim I thought to give this favoured Dickens a try in anticipation of the upcoming "readaptation" - having it play in the background. But I was riveted. And all because of Jarvis' masterful command of the text.
Narrators really make all the difference as to the quality/"listenability" of a book. ( )

By 1860, Charles Dickens was a national celebrity and a sort of "elder statesman", now devoting much of his life to speeches, essays, social work, and generally not writing so many novels. Great Expectations is his 21st major work and 13th novel (of 15), and is - I would argue - his third masterpiece, following on from Bleak House and Little Dorrit, although in a very different way to either of them.

The psychological development of Pip Pirrip is perhaps unequalled in Dickens' canon, and it feels as if this is a breakthrough in terms of character. I've not yet read Our Mutual Friend, which I'm told takes this further, but it's certainly a good feeling. Estella herself is an interesting figure but ultimately more of a paper moth than a full human, although that is in some ways deliberate. More to the point, Great Expectations achieves its targets by applying characterisation to numerous supporting characters, such as Orlick and Magwitch, and in the rich history of Miss Havisham, a character who has so haunted Western culture ever since.

It is also perhaps the most challenging of Dickens' novels in its more complicated moral message. Pip's "Great Expectations" in many ways don't seem so bad: success! comfort! Dickens' arguments against them, along the lines of a younger generation coming of age and staying steadfast to moral development, seem admirable, although I can't help seeing him as a man growing older and more disconnected from the younger members of his society.

There's plenty of comedy sandwiched amongst the Gothic here, but what stands out most - as often with Dickens - is the beauty, from the ruined Satis house to the thriving metropolis and back to the rural marshes of Pip's youth. A truly poetic novel, that should cater to even the most Flaubertian of Dickens critics. (I hope!) ( )

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. ( )