In what may be Dickens's best novel, humble, orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman — and one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of "great expectations." In this gripping tale of crime and guilt, revenge and reward, the compelling characters include Magwitch, the fearful and fearsome convict; Estella, whose beauty is excelled only by her haughtiness; and the embittered Miss Havisham, an eccentric jilted bride.

I don't really know how to start this review so this is probably going to be a ramble about my love for Estella in terrible English. I had literally no expectations for this book, haven't read any reviews, previews or ratings about it, which was great because it enabled me to form an opinion completely of my own.

I was really slow with this book, especially in the beginning because I found reading it exhausting and hard. I don't know if it's the older version of English or Dickens' writing style, but it took me three days to get to 25% of the book (while reading a summary after every chapter to catch up on things I couldn't grasp), but after plot started to tangle and things began to heat up it got easier to read.

I'd like to take a deep breath and say how much I loved all the layers and depths this book had. Even I, who always considered myself a shallow reader, found myself noticing various messages and life lessons throughout the book, whether they were plain and obvious or buried deeper forcing a reader to think about them. This book made me ask myself a lot of things while reading it, and after finishing it left me with a hollow, partly sad feeling of the worst feeling that exists – regret. This book is full of regrets and missed chances, but I haven't noticed them at all until the very end.

Pip is an orphan boy, raised by his sister and her husband Joe who is a local blacksmith. His whole childhood he has been abused and oppressed by his hysterical, overbearing sister and finds consolation in Joe, who becomes a best friend more than a father figure. That bond between Pip and Joe was one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking things in this book. Dickens developed their relationship from Pip's early childhood and turned into an unbreakable connection that lasts a lifetime and overcomes selfish mistakes and juvenile omissions. I saw it just when it was clear Pip's "great expectations" aren't going to be so great, that neglecting Joe will be his deepest regret. Even when things were going okay for him, every notion of Joe made me feel sad and nostalgic for friendship Pip had but traded for a promise of a better life.

I wanted to hate Pip's character and his decisions for the foolish choices he made, but his character was just so pure and human. I saw a bit of every person, even myself in Pip and his forever kind and caring, but selfish on a self-preserving level, personality. Pip's love for Estella was a great milestone for him and shaped a big part of his life. He never quite let go of her, even though he thought he did after being apart from her for a long time, but against all obstacles that were put in his way, his love never faltered. It was her coldness and ruthlessness that made him turn his back on the ones dearest to him and enter a world of vultures and nobility. What hurt the most in this book was that Pip was never happy. He was in a constant state of misery and emptiness, not realizing that he left things that mattered behind. Although Estella was the reason of Pip's life-changing decision, she was the best character Dickens wrote. There is no way I could hate cold, emotionless, beautiful, badass raised to destroy men's hearts. Miss Havishmman raised her to avenge her tragic fate, not realizing that she doomed her for a life of misery and loneliness no one could fill.

I didn't expect the revelation of Estella's heritage and identity of Pip's sponsor in the manner it was delivered, despite the big amount of foreshadowing. I really liked how Dickens unraveled that storyline, intertwining it with Pip's fate and his growth as a character. I was not so thoroughly invested in Provis's and Pip's relationship as I should have been, but it was cute and made a great point in this story.

I am really glad I decided to read this classic, despite the fact that I had difficulties reading it. It is a beautiful story about life. There are no bad guys, I even dare to say there are no good guys in this story. Every single one character is completely and utterly human, with flaws, but capable of regret and redemption. I enjoyed reading it and the only reason I'm giving it 4 stars is that Dickens gave me the ending I wanted in the last sentence. *spoiler* I actually expected Pip to end up with Biddy, but I was so happy Joe fund love and happiness and that Pip and he were reunited once more. I wanted to see Pip and Estella together from the first page of this book and I'm still not sure if it did happen xd