I recently opted to fill in a hole in my reading history by taking on Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. He is one of the great voices of English-language literature, and I've enjoyed his books more than not.
The library system has plenty of copies in various editions. And the "various" editions part is what tripped me up. The book I ordered turns out to be the "Great Illustrated Classics" version, greatly abridged and simplified in order to be read by grade schoolers.
But, well, when life gives you lemons (because you mistakenly asked for lemons) make lemonade. I'll read this version and go back for the real thing later on. The differences might be educational in themselves.
2 comments:
I'm fairly sure I read it once but if I did it was a very long time ago which means it's probably about time I read Great Expectations again. He was a truly great novelist and a great man as well.
It must have come as a bit of a shock to you when you went to pick up your copy and found you'd got the 'Great Illustrated Classics' version. Still, you're right that it will be entertaining and a good introduction to the real novel.
I've noticed that when I look up books on Amazon (where I keep a list for reference) that as often as not their non-fiction books are also offered in summary versions rather than the originals. I'm told these are like Cliffnotes but it still seems weird that there would be multiples. Everybody has to make a buck, I suppose.
Good line about mistakenly asking for lemons. Good title for your post too..
Dickens defines the Victorian era for many people. He did indeed depict that time very well, but his greatness isn't limited to it.
It was a pretty quick read. And now I know basically what happened. Sure some nuance was lost in the language, though.
With Amazon as well as the library system, it seems easy to put in an order for the wrong thing. Probably even moreso, or at least with a wider range of material. This might be by design. It's a win for them if you decide to keep what you got as well as buying what you originally wanted.
It was the only fitting title I could think of at the time. Sometimes simple is best.
Post a Comment