Rating: 
Summary: Incredibly Powerful
Review: This novel was my first taste of Dickens and I have to say I was fairly surprised, and that in a very positive sense. Not only I didn't find it overly "wordy" or else, but extremely well written. But that's details. This novel is very intense and has unforgettable characters in it, honestly. It's very emotional and it's a trip. A trip that lasted two weeks for me, and that I will not soon forget, if ever. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for those of you who love literature, and even for those of you who are not literature-buffs, because the novel is very readable so don't be afraid of its length if you're not used to reading classics and such.
Dickens, I realised, can be surprisingly funny at times, and this without ever losing his capacity to create strongly emotional moments and images. As there seems to be tons of reviews for this book already I'll stop mine here and just tell you that if you're interested in this book, go for it!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Expectations is pretty good.
Review: This novel was pretty good. I liked how everyone's lives in it were somehow connected. I also liked how Pip matures and learns the big lessons of life.
One thing I didn't really like about it was that it was hard to understand. The English dialect was hard to follow, all the different names were hard to sort out, and there were many
old-time-ish and confusing words. But other than the confusion, the story line was great and Dickens wrote it really well and brought everything and everyone in the book together nicely. All of the characters were fun to read about and Dickens made them seem interesting and some very weird. I would recommend this book to anyone because it seems like anyone could connect with the characters in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the greatest novel of all time
Review: Though someone stated you have to be over 21 to appreciate this book (and I am 21 now) I first read this story when I was 14 years old, in 8th grade, and understood (and loved) it right away. Why? As an adolescent struggling with popularity (the modern, teenage equivalent of the English class system) and unrequited love, I immediately identified with Pip. Furthermore, the romantic atmosphere was completely intoxicating, from the vast marshes to the city of London; though the narrator describes it as disappointingly crowded and dirty my sense of the city from this book was much more elevated. I also admit I was helped by the updated Classics Illustrated comic book version of the book, which I peeked at now and then while I was reading Great Expectations--despite my aversion to revealing the ending before I reached it in the text (eventually, I succumbed to my temptations). If you can find this (probably) out-of-print illustrated version of the story--not sure what the status of Classic Illustrated is these days--make sure to buy it. But to return from my digression, the novel is where it's at. Dickens' impeccable imagination creates an vivid sense of place, an unforgettable cast of characters (including the ultimate romantic ideal: Estella), a rich and textured story, and an immortal message of aspiration, disappointment, and dreams. This story really fired my imagination as a teenager, so I encourage those youngsters who may be dissuaded from reading it to pick it up--I'm not guaranteeing you'll like it but if you read it before you're forced to you just may find something valuable in it. As for the rest of you "grown-ups" if you haven't read this masterpiece yet, get off yer asses and take a trip to the local library. It'll make your day.
Rating:
Summary: A few words about Dickens great novel
Review: Unlike many of the reviewers who wrote so passionately about this work it is not a book that has played a significant part in my reading life. The great narrative drive, the tremendous skill in creating vital characters, the richly descriptive and often ironic language are aspects of Dickens genius.But somehow the world of Dickens dark and gloomy and Victorian and so British reality never really appealed to me. This says nothing however about the quality of the work and its great gifts to the reader. The book is the portrayal of a society, and of a moral education. This is a book about the formation of a character through experience, about learning from life's difficulties and disappointments to become a better person. It is about ' recognition' not only of one's own true and better self, but about what is important in life. This book as Dickens himself has had enormous influence on Western literature. I think of two very different writers, Kafka and Salinger both of whom clearly had Dickens in mind in certain points of their writing. Pip, Magwitch , Joe Gargary,Miss Havisham, Estella are living characters in the heart of Western literature. The book then I believe is far greater, far more than my own reading has given me of it. Not always apparently does the reader do justice to the work.
Rating:
Summary: A must
Review: When i first red the book in the highschool i've looked through like Pip. But after some years, when i'm reading it again, now i can see it like Dickens do... It's a novel that anybody can selfexplain on any time of his life. If not, he's very lucky...
Rating:
Summary: Great Expectations
Review: When I was assigned to present a novel for my English class at Mercy High School, I thought of Great Expectations because I had read it five years ago and remembered that I had liked it. I thought that it was rather straight forward and didn't remember having difficulty reading it. When I read it for a second time, however, I realized that it was alot more complex. The reading was simple and getting through the book was easy, but Dickens made his story one worth contemplating by expressing the many sides life with his characters. What made the people he wrote about so wonderful was his ability to make them unique and entertaining, yet so believable as human beings coping with ordinary problems that the reader had no problem sympathizing with them.
Rating:
Summary: You Must Be 21 or Older to Read this Book
Review: Why, in God's name, do high school teachers insist on stuffing this complex novel down the throats of their teen-aged students? Because the initial chapters are narrated by, Pip, a little boy we watch become a young man? Because there are pirates and bad guys in it? Because there's a sort of love story? I'm sure some high schoolers understand GREAT EXPECTATIONS but the majority of them... I don't think so.GREAT EXPECTATIONS contains many complicated, adult themes and issues that adults will surely appreciate. A virtual encyclopedia of human emotions--fear, child abuse, anticipation, disappointment, love, jealousy, manipulation--this greatest of all of Dickens' novels has everything. And all these ingredients are woven into an incredibly entangled plot, full of twists and turns. On top of all that, the novel is also a virtual encyclopedia of the layout and attitudes of Victorian London. Holding it all together is Pip's incredible perceptions into his world and his emotions. Never before had there been a character so aware of his feelings and, still, because he is human, he allows these emotions to sometimes compel him to do the opposite of what is right and best. Pip does sometimes behave like the child and young adult he is, but that doesn't mean this novel is suitable for anyone of that age. Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction to Dickens
Review: Written as a serial publication, Great Expectations is very fast paced and the character development is superb. It is also very easy to read. The plot is well developed and the number of characters and the interaction of subplots is masterful. When a terrified four year old Pip is coerced into bringing an escaped convict food, he sets into motion a chain of events that will determine the direction of his life and explain that of others. Having served in the house of Miss Havisham, a woman jilted on her wedding day and filled with hate and revenge for the male species, Pip receives notice of "great expecations" - the term for the potential inheritance of a large fortune. From his humble origins as the son of a blacksmith, he is destined to become a gentleman. But the identity of his mysterious benefactor continues to haunt him. And the lovely Estella, for whom he craves, could she be part of this inheritance? Why is someone grooming him to be a gentleman? Who? All these questions and more are answered as the story unfolds in this powerful work.
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