The book was not as depressing as I expected. A poor boy made upwardly mobile by a secret benefactor who doesn't reveal himself until the end, being a convict that the boy helped at the stories outset.

I couldn't really sift out any moral lesson.

And it provides a mostly-happy ending the whole family can enjoy. ( )

I think Algernon Swinburne put it best when he said that its "defects are as nearly imperceptible as spots on the sun or shadow on a sunlit sea." A perfect novel, one of the best in the language. Dickens again and again instills a kind of pride in me for being a native English speaker. ( )

I did not like this book at all. It's been a while since I read it, so I can't really explain why, but I know I didn't like it. See my review on A Tale of Two Cities. ( )

I have to confess that I kept putting off snapping the binding on this book because it started to feel like I had a college assignment that I truly didn't want to read. However, I am glad that I read "Great Expectations." It was actually my second time through as I realized when I started reading...I discovered that this book was one of the classics that I read in between college and dental school when I was bound and determined to read as many of the classics as possible. I have to confess that it was definitely a different experience reading as a seasoned adult versus a naive 20 year old. "Great Expectations" follows the classic Dickensian plot of an orphan who comes of age and learns valuable life lessons along the way. Written in the first person by Pip, you are constantly coming in contact with characters that you love or hate with very little in between gray. There are definite high points in the story...love the scenes with Miss Haversham and low points...did not enjoy the years when Pip is an apprentice with his brother-in-law Joe. ( )

Pontificating, proselytizing protagonist surrounded by brainless supporting characters, all written by an author who is full of himself. After this, I have no respect for Dickens and all the "masterpieces" he believes himself to have created. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's self-important authors who write stories in which their condescension shines through. ( )