Nicolai Steskow
What a great read Vol. 1 has been. I didn't really know what to expect from Charles Dickens, having never read him before, but found myself greatly entertained. One should not think of this book as old-fashioned or tedious, for it really does not seem that way once you get into it. It is filled with brilliant and bright language and at least a half dozen moments of laughter through each chapter. Highly recommendable.
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A Google user
The first time I ever read this book (partly) was as a chapter of my English Non-Detail text book in class 5. The concerned chapter left a deep imprint on my psyche and from then on I developed a habit of relating unpleasant, saddening occurrences (esp. the death of someone/something near-dear) in my childhood life with the concerned chapter.
The paras which describe Pip's loneliness, his wanderings near the graves of his parents/siblings, the cold treatment meted out to him by the various characters of the book and his initial experiences with the convict left an indelible mark on my mind. The characters, scenarios, sequences created by Charles Dickens in his books are very much realistic and such personalities, instances can be seen even today (even after nearly 140 years after his demise).
Be it Pip or Oliver or David or Nicolas or Scrooge, each and every character he created are very much real and I see them in myself, the people around me.
Later, in my graduation years, I read the entire book. The book helped me to gain a philosophical outlook towards my aims, ambitions and finally, life as a whole. It gave me one of the greatest lessons I cherish the most, "You may or may not become who you have dreamt to be, achieve what you have dreamt to achieve but that does not mean that you should stop being optimistic about the future. Though you/other people may have great expectations for yourself and you may not meet those expectations but that does not mean you lose all hope/joy (like the character of Ms. Havisham)and become a life long mourner. Cherish your achievements and be contended with what you have gained as life/time are in themselves valuable and you come to know of their value only when you have lost them ."