Great Expectations : A book review

Before I start off with this review I must make you aware of the fact that I am not a voracious reader. My association with books (read literary novels), as far as my mind could gather,  is not a very age old relationship and it has been only a few years since  I have started reading acclaimed Classics. It took me more than 20 days to read a book with a little more than 400 pages bound together. But what made me sit down and write this blogpost is the fact that in the era of  SMSes where words have been ripped off their vowel part and Twitter where one gets to read atmost 140 characters, I think I have achieved quite a distinguished feat of reading a Dickens which is well known for its twisted language and an esoteric sense of sarcasm well known only to the learned reader.

Before being introduced to Dickens(the unabridged version) one of my teachers said,” Dickens carves out the character with his armory of words in such a way that,someday,if  you come across him/her in real life, it won’t be difficult for you to associate him with the character” . After reading a couple of Dickens I can understand how true he was.

Great expectations is an account of the Poor-boy-turned-rich Pip and the hardships that he faces during this transformation. This book is centered about Pip and enumerates the character changes that are often associated with a change in the social status and formal education.Pip is born in a family of limited means and his world is restricted solely to his sister Mrs Joe,Mr. Joe and her uncle Pumblechook. The tough childhood can be best be described by the uphandedness of his sister and her over-reliance on Pumblechook for every minute matter concerning the household and the poor soul. One special character which deserves mention in this passage is Joe. Joe character can best be described as the only solace in the life of Pip and how he carries on with his occupation while being unperturbed with the dominationg behaviour of his  wife.

For those who have watched Hindi movies for a major part of their lives,Pip’s change in fortune,where he finds a benefactor will be the most expected plot. As the plot unfolds, Pip’s social circle changes, he receives formal education and how his outlook changes towards his earliest benefactor Joe when his real benefactor is revealed is what forms the rest of the story. Also worth mentioning are the characters of Miss Havisham and Estella. Whereas, the character of Estella brings in a tinge of desperation and anguish in his otherwise dormant life, the character of Miss Havisham seems rather unnecessary.

If  there is something contemporary which can be derived from this writer of Victorian period then it is the fact that Life is neither a bed of roses nor a crown of thorns. What makes our life special is the awful mix of both of them and the unpredictability attached to every day,every hour, every second and every infinitesimal moment of our existence.