The Classics Club: Great Expectations

After reading and enjoying Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens at the end of 2012 I have been even more keen to read more of Dickens work. Already having Great Expectations on my to-be-read pile pretty much made up my mind which of Dickens’s work would be my next read. As the cold weather seems to have descended on the UK again I thought Great Expectations would be a great read to snuggle up in a blanket with as the dark nights drew in.

Great Expectations follows the life of a young orphaned boy nicknamed Pip. When we join young Pip he is living with his strict sister and her big-hearted husband Joe Gargery. At which point Pip has little to no expectations other than to join Joe as an apprentice in his smithy. A series of strange events and encounters are to set Pip on a completely different road though. As a young man he is visited by a London lawyer who informs him that he has a secret benefactor who wishes to pay for Pip to become a gentleman. Pip moves to London with his great expectations looking to make a name for himself and finally claim the hand of the woman he loves. Great Expectations reminded me of a previous Dickens’s read Nicholas Nickleby because they both span a great deal of one individual’s life. There was plenty of time to really get to know Pip, his virtues as well as his faults and failings, and how he goes on to grow and change from a boy into a man.

As I said above the last Dickens’s novel I read was Oliver Twist which as many of you will know follows the trials and tribulations of the orphan Oliver. It was hard not to find myself comparing the two orphans against each other, even though I don’t believe it is necessarily a fair comparison. Oliver is a highly loving, patient, and well-mannered child but we only really see him during his younger years. Pip on the other hand is no angel but I do think Pip is honest about his own faults and on the whole his heart does seem to be in the right place. The real crucial difference though is that I got to see Pip grow. From a confused, self-conscience, and naive boy, to a proud, foolish but generous young man, to finally a loyal, loving, and sensible man. It is not an easy road but in the end I think Pip becomes a good man. I particularly loved watching his transformation.

I still find that Dickens’s use of language is rather convoluted and highly detailed but the more of his work I read the easy to get into the flow of his style is. Once I’m into the style I find I am free to just get lost in the story. And boy, can Dickens weave a wonderful story. This one in particularly is the most intricate and twisting tales I’ve read of his so far. Yet like previous novels what really makes Dickens novels for me is the vast array of colourful characters. I read recently the criticism that Dickens’s characters are rather one-dimensional and more caricatures rather than real people. I can see where they are coming from his characters are very over the top but that’s what make them so memorable for me. And in Great Expectations I wasn’t disappointed along the way we meet the simple but big-hearted Joe, the mysterious lawyer Jaggers, heart-broken Miss Havisham, ridiculous Mr Pumblechook, the cold and beautiful Estella, friendly Herbert Pocket, several scary convicts, and many, many more. I particular loved Joe, I would love my own Joe Gargery.

Great Expectations is a charming and exciting journey seen through the eyes of young orphan trying to find himself and make his way in Victorian England. I highly recommend reading this novel. This is now my 11th read off my Classics Club list. I now have copies of A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Pickwick Papers to choose from for my next Dickens read.

Are you a fan of Charles Dickens? What Dickens’s novel do you think I should read next?

New Read: London Blitz Diary

Looking back on my reading of late I’ve noticed I’ve read a lot of fantasy based books both fiction and non-fiction. After finishing off Believing in Faeries (A Manual for Grown Ups)  by Marcia Zina Mager I decided I was in the mood for a bit of real life so for my next non-fiction read I thought a memoir would be a good choice. The WWII element drew me towards the World War II London Blitz Diary: Volume 1 by Ruby Side Thompson which was edited and released by Ruby’s great-granddaughter Victoria Aldridge Washuk.

Ruby and her husband Ted have been married for 34 years, have raised seven sons, and are settled in a comfortable house in the suburb of London. At the outbreak of war only there two youngest sons (twins) are left at home and both enlist early into the forces. Arthur into the army and Cuthie into the RAF. Ruby is a keen reader and writer, and appears to have kept a diary for a long time. She uses her diary as a way to air her inner thoughts that she feels she can’t share with anyone else. Ruby has a difficult relationship with her husband, and later on she also has the anger and fear that comes with having sons off fighting to share. This diary wasn’t an easy or a happy read but I did find Ruby as a person, her relationship with her family, and reactions to the war around her to be pretty fascinating.

As fascinating as I found Ruby I can’t say I particularly liked her as a person. I totally sympathised with Ruby and the difficulties she has with the distant, argumentative, and often cold behaviour she receives from her husband Ted. Ruby herself though is no saint she can be highly critical of others and can sometimes come across quite selfish. Yet Ruby doesn’t claim to be a saint unlike Ted so that is definitely something in her favour. I’m probably being hard on her. The problem is that with a diary you get to read all the nastier thoughts and opinions of Ruby that she would probably never dream to share with those people the thoughts involve. That said you don’t necessarily have to like a character to want to read about them. Ruby is an avid reader and is seeking a connection with God (separate to that of her fanatical Catholic husband) so on these levels I could certainly relate to Ruby and liked hearing what she had to say.

Ruby’s writing is rather sporadic. At some points she is writing almost everyday while other times the days seem to fly because there are less entries made. Ruby’s writing style also changes at some points her entries are long, flowing, and detailed especially when she is having a rant. While at other times her entries are short and clipped, more like a list of the important facts. This style of entry became more frequent as the diary got further into the war and I would imagine that is because Ruby finds herself with less time and more stress! The diary didn’t contain as much detail about the war as I first imagined it would. Ruby only really writes about what affects her day-to-day life which is actually really interesting, because when she does start to mention the war more you realise that the war is slowly starting to affect civilians more and more.

World War II London Blitz Diary: Volume 1 is an interesting look in the life of a wife and mother in the years of 1939 to 1940. I recommend to those interested in memoirs, history, and women’s literature. There are several more volumes to this diary which I think I would be interested to read too.

Have you any recommendations for other World War II diaries/memoirs?

The Classics Club: Oliver Twist

With my recent blues I have not been in the mood for brand new reads, choosing to get lost in childhood favourite The Hobbit instead. Once I had finished that I decided to move onto Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens because I thought it would be a good go-between of the new and the familiar. I have never read the novel before but it is very hard not to know the story of the little orphan Oliver due to the musical, films, and television adaptations. This turned out to be a wonderful choice. I found a lot of comfort in discovering known to me characters in their original context.

Oliver Twist is a harrowing adventure that follows a young orphaned boy trying to survive in Victorian England. Oliver is born in the work house which in Victorian times then places a stain upon his character by others in the community. A stain Oliver finds very hard to escape from. While I have always felt sorry for Oliver from other sources I have seen the character in, I was not prepared for how much more the novel would make me feel. Any child in Oliver’s position would be heart-breaking to read about but Oliver is no ordinary child; he has such a pure and honest heart that many in the novel just don’t wish to acknowledge. I found it hard to put this novel down because I was so keen to see Oliver escape his situation, but as he seems to escape one bad situation he falls into other just as bad situations. Dickens highlights very successfully in this novel what a vicious cycle life could be like for a pauper child in this time period.

Before reading Oliver Twist I had only read one other novel by Dickens which was Nicholas Nickleby. This was some years ago now. I do remember enjoying the story and characters however I found the language hard to get into. With several more years of reading experience I was hoping I would have better luck with my second foray into Dickens work, and I was right. I still feel Dickens’s use of language is rather convoluted and highly detailed but it didn’t take me long to get into the flow of the style. Once I was into the style I found I was free to just get lost in the story. And boy, can Dickens weave a wonderful story.

What I was surprised about how much of an adventure Oliver Twist turned out to be. Before reading this I always imagined all the story took place in the back streets of London but there are in fact many locations and situations Oliver finds himself in. What I feel really makes the story though are all the interesting and colourful characters that Oliver meets during his journey. The pompous and silly Beagle Mr Bumble, slimy Noah Claypole, the slick Artful Dodger, the kind and patient Mr Brownlow, the angelic Rose, the fallen Nancy, the dark and brutal Sikes, and of course the one we all know; the sneaky, conniving and ruthless old Jew Fagin. And that is only mentioning about half of the characters! I think the variety of strong characters is maybe the secret as to why Dickens novels have been so well-loved and adapted over the years.

Oliver Twist is a wonderfully touching and insightful fictional look into a world gone by. I highly recommend reading this novel. This is now my 6th book towards The Classics Club. I am now really looking forward to cracking open my copy of Great Expectations.

Have you read this novel? Did you enjoy it?