I HATE HATE HATED the book. I thought it was the most overblown, pretentious piece of crap I've ever read. I didn't care for any of the characters and it seems like nothing really happens.
The movie however, is a work of genius. I actually cared about the characters and the events seemed to have more weight. David Lean is a genius director. He can take a very boring book and turn it into a very enjoyable movie.
Anyone else feel this way?
Not in the least. Charles Dickens was a brilliant writer and I've read everything he wrote savoring every word.
shareNot in the least. You obviously didn't get the book at all, you need to go back and read it again s-l-o-w-l-y.
Then again you're a yank, so I suppose the world should just be happy you even tried to read it once.
"Then again you're a yank, so I suppose the world should just be happy you even tried to read it once" - not a fair and true statement, joe, to say the least.
I am more than halfway thru the book and thoroughly enjoying it-and I am not British.
I have seen the movie several times too - Dickens book and movie are two works of art!
Why should the world care at all? It's just a book.
share1. It is a brilliant book and I loved it and 2. joestone99uk, I am a well-read "Yank" as well. Fortunately, not all Brits are condescending twits.
"A man's kiss is his signature" -- Mae West
I'm a "Yank" and have read GREAT EXPECTATIONS twice, one time in a university course on Dickens. By any standards it's a great work, though not my favorite by Dickens (that would be OLIVER TWIST).
The OP should reread the novel: slowly, as someone else said. I can't emphasize this enough: with Dickens it's not about speed but about "savoring." If you rush through his novels, you miss the whole point.
No, I don't, as Dickens was a great writer. Grow UP.
shareSo... because "Dickens was a great writer", all of his novels are great by default? Is that what you´re saying here?
Admittedly, the OP´s dismissal of the book is more than just a little on the thoughtless and obnoxious side, but the following display of rampant snobbery in replies ain´t much pretty, either.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
To suggest that Dickens' Great Expectations was "pretentious" is quite baffling and speaks volumes about the OP rather than the novel. BTW, over the last few years the word "pretentious" seems to have lost its meaning, particularly due to overuse by the very people who should be the last to actually wield such a word.
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I loved the book. The movie was a good adaptation but no substitute for the book.
shareThe book is great. It was assigned reading when I was in high school, and I liked it so much I've read it two more times since then. Of the Dickens novels I've read so far, "Great Expectations" is my favorite ("Little Dorrit" is my least favorite).
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