Great Expectations

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor - these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pip's life forever, and he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman.

Public Domain (P)2008 Audio Connoisseur

Critic reviews

• Audie Award, Classic, 2010
• Audie Award, Solo Narration - Male, 2010

Dickens was a Genius!

This is a great Dickens novel. Dicken's use of the English language is awe inspiring. I love his sense humor and ability to tell a riveting story. As usual, there are some great characters and many twists and turns in Great Expectations. The reader is excellent and the story is engrossing. It starts with the Graveyard scene, which gave me the shivers! Pip is the main character. The man who helped bring Pip "up by hand" is one of Dicken's most endearing characters. The lawyer character is amazing. What a story! Originally Dicken's novels were generally released in installments and the readers had to wait in suspense for the next publication. Each chapter leaves you hanging. The original readers must have anxiously awaited for a week or a month for the next installment. I am glad we are able to read or listen to Dicken's novels in their entirety. The suspense would have done me in!

Exquisite! Expect a great story, read by a great!

It is a confirmed classic written by a master at the zenith of his form. NYT best sellers are occasionally decent provender, but if you've not read Dickens, Melville, Dostoevsky, et al, then you've merely munched Frankfurters at Disney World, but not scaled to the summit of Mt. Everest to feast on the spectacle.
It is difficult to imagine a more perfect reading and recording. Mr. Charlton Griffin is the only choice, especially for meaty, challenging classics such as this.

As wonderful as you expect.

Forgot how beautifully Dickens wrote. The story is long, and you are grateful for it. Worth your time.

A well-deserved Audie Award!

What did you like best about this story?

Masterful characterization, a brooding, melancholy setting and a heavy, foreboding mood permeate this classic. And for all the words that Dickens had to use to get to his point, I am grateful.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Magwitch's death and the full character change that Pip goes through because of it. I also loved Pip's scenes with Joe.

Any additional comments?

I loved listening to Charlton Griffin narrate this story. He is quite possibly a vocal genius! Each character was given a distinct voice and inflection, even the ladies sounded like ladies! Sometimes while listening to him in the car, I forget that I'm not listening to a dramatization but to, essentially, a one-man band. No wonder he won an Audie for this performance.

Great Story - Great Narration

A wonderful tale made better by an excellent reading and production. I was going to buy a different reading that was combined with another Dickens book, but after reading the reviews of this production, I opted for this one and I was not disappointed in my decision.

Outstanding

Best narration that I have ever heard. The narrator was able to impersonate so many different kinds of voices that I was in awe of his talent. And listening to the talent and wit of Charles Dickens was such a treat.

great expectation!!

Genius Charles Dickens, what a story. intriguing unpredictable plot and the ending so complete and lovely.

A long, but worth while story.

This book seems to satisfy all different tastes, It becomes more and more compelling the further into the story you get. I did however need a story guide to stick to want was happening I would recommend spark notes .com.

Just can't do it!

For the rest of you literary losers out there: don't feel too bad! I thought that it would be easier to listen to Dickens than to read him & thus get some classics under my belt.
Wasn't!!

Snoozer

Don't listen to this while you drive to work! You could fall asleep at the wheel. He seems as if he is just showing off his literary skills by overly and poeticly describing every single detail. I got lost in the details and could hardly follow the story. And since there is only one narrator, a man, the women and boy voices start running together - can't tell who is who. Unless you like that sort of writing.