The Classics Club monthly meme is another way to bring members of The Classics Club together. The post for the month will go up on the main page of this blog on the 2nd of the month, and you’ll have all month to respond over at your blog.
Q: “What classic has most surprised you so far, and why?”
A: I am still in the middle of it but Great Expectations has surprised me the most. Other than A Christmas Carol I had read next to nil of Charles Dickens, when I tried to read Oliver Twist my eyes glazed over and it looked so damn long. I made a snap judgement of Dickens. As I read Great Expectations I realize what a magnificent writer he is turning phrases so elegantly. Miss Havisham is eerie without really doing anything but wearing a white dress and I already dislike Estella. Pip on the other hand I find endearing but that could change of course. Charles Dickens himself has gotten me to make snap judgements. The contrast between my dislike/like for Pip and Estella is a bit unnerving. They could be in the same scene and my feelings take a perpetual 360 like picking petals off a daisy. “She loves me, she loves me not”. I am hardly 50 pages in so can’t get too specific but I can tell this will be a wonderful story and am so glad I am giving it a second chance.
Great Expectations was the book that totally changed my view of Dickens. I loved it! I'm so glad you're enjoying it too.
I disliked this book when i read it for college…or tried to read at least. I never managed to finishit. However, I am now looking forward to giving it a second chance. 😀
By the way, I enjoyed Oliver Twist as a youngster. But when I read it for the third time a few years ago, I found it tooooooo nice. I stayed away from Dickens then….until read A Tale of Two Cities… 🙂
I am ashamed to say that I have not tried to read Great Expectations yet. A Tale of Two Cities was one I did attempt to read when I was about 15, and it just didn't work. Nearly a decade later, I have both on my to-read list and I'm excited. I really like Dickens.