Great Expectations

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Peter Batchelor

Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Listen to the story of Pip, an English orphan who rises to wealth. After he deserts his true friends, he becomes humbled by his own arrogance. Great Expectations is Dickens at his finest.

Public Domain (P)2012 Trout Lake Media

Wonderful classic

I am so glad I read this. It's an engrossing story filled with rich characters. The story holds up so well and the themes are timeless. I highly recommend this.

A book that takes you back

Having read this as a teenager, and now picking up the courage to read this again, this book transports you into an era where simplicity in itself sufficed. People were pretentious, judgmental and very, very distant. You can see that complete change in behavior when you have riches, which is almost comical, in that you see it even today, well over a century later. The line between the working class and nobility, the complete inability to speak your mind when you need to due to the fear of being judged or misjudged, all emotions captured beautifully in simple, elegant prose. This book took me out of this world, amidst distractions and all, even if only for moments here and there. Great read of you are into the English literature of last century. A true classic.

Great story. Bad production.

Full of double takes. Even entire sections of narrative are repeated. These production faults detract from an otherwise great story and strong narration.

Great Expectation Appropriate Title

Would you listen to Great Expectations again? Why?

yes. To ensure I discover and get all the clues that link all the characters and situations in the story.

What other book might you compare Great Expectations to and why?

No other that I can compare with at this time.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

It was a good performance.

It seems the narrator had too low a volume at certain points. Part of Chapter 52 was not on the audio.

Who was the most memorable character of Great Expectations and why?

Pip. Obviously for his self realization of how he treated the other characters in his rise to Great Expectations and his actions once the truth was revealed.

I really enjoyed this book.

I really enjoyed the book and the narration was good. There were some bad edits in the book.

Difficult to listen to, get a different version!

The story is excellent, a classic, and well-known before even breaking into the book. The performance, however, is pretty miserable. The low tone, excessive vocal fry, almost no variability in character, and low volume all combine to make this reader incredibly difficult to listen to. I really tried, but I'm bailing because struggling to listen is affecting my appreciation of the story. This is a good lesson for me to investigate the reader and listen to the sample, especially when there are several versions available.

Great performance by Peter Batchelor

I don't think the novel itself is in need of any reviews. The performance of Batchelor is truly wonderful as he transforms into the characters he is narrating. I look forward to listening to more of his readings.

Superb narration

This is a complicated and ever twisting story line. Dickens was a skillful writer, and the reader never knows how the story will twist and turn. The narrator was magnificent in his delivery. I chose to read the book at the same time that I listened to the narration. Excellent reading, and it made this Dicken's book easier to understand by a skillful actor who could portray all the characters. Superb narration!

The books not boring but the narrator sure is

Would you listen to Great Expectations again? Why?

No. I have so much to read/listen to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Great Expectations?

When pip finds out about his good fortune.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator really killed this for me. This was my first foray into the audiobook world and I found myself fighting to stay awake in broad daylight. He was monotone and without inflection. He was just reading the words. If you read/listen to great expectations I recommend choosing another narrator.

The worst narration EVER

Don't buy this version. I tried and tried to handle the narration. The story is in the first person, but the narrator spoke so low and in an annoying mumbling monotone, that I could not understand half or more of what he was saying. So I will take my licks since you can't return paid for books and then I researched and bought and downloaded the Eddy Izzard version. Wow, what a difference. DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS VERSION.