Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It just couldn't have been better...reading Dickens on my way to London. Honestly, what can one do on a 9 hour flight that took 12 hours to land but read Dickens, especially, if one is like me and believes in the saying,"I'll sleep when I am dead."?

Great Expectations is as close to classic Dickens as a novel can get without involving elements of tragedy. In fact, it is a perfect amalgamation of A Tale of Two Cities and David Copperfield, minus the tediousness of the first and the length of the second. Genuine, unabashed and very, very close to reality, Great Expectations starts with Pip in the graveyard meeting a convict-an encounter that becomes the foundation of his entire life. Dealing with the usual Dickensian themes of love, cruelty, heart-break, charity as well as how great wealth and better opportunities can sometimes turn the heads of the best of us, Great Expectations is a novel that will hold true even today!

The book brought me back the memories of Mister Pip and reminded me how the protagonist in that novel related to Pip all the time. Trust me, Pip is like that. Lovable but not the typical goodie-two-shoes, and prone to human mistakes.

In so many respects, the book is perfect only it ends too abruptly and is slightly predictable even in the way it ends-at least it was for me. If, however, you're new to Dickens, this book is a perfect start and it certainly is a book you should NOT miss!

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