A witty and honest reimagining of a Dickens classic with beautiful artwork. What I love most about these manga classics aside from their ability to be true to the themes, is the way they make literary giants accessible to people who have trouble reading the original classics. As someone who has read the books they are an extra treat for me.

I love these Manga classics! They make reading and enjoying books that were written so long ago much easier to understand. I read Great Expectations such a long time ago and I didn't like the writing style at all but this made the story much more enjoyable

I am a huge fan of this series and have read all available titles. This is, however, my least favorite in the series. It is not due to any fault with the adaptation or the art. In fact they are very well done, especially since it is a very hard story to adapt. I just don't like this Dickens story, and although I thought it more palatable in Manga form, I still dislike the story. If you have to read it this is a faster and less painful way to do so, but I think it is the worst Dickens novel. The characters are all just so self absorbed that you can't feel much sympathy for any of them.

Manga Classics
Great Expectations

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by
Author: Charles Dickens
Adapter: Crystal S. Chan
Artist: Nokman Poon

A Review

In high school, Great Expectations was barely readable by this reviewer. This Manga edition stood out and made the story both readable and enjoyable.

Manga is unique - it is intended to be read starting from what we westerners would call the “back” of the book. Reading then proceeds toward the “front”. At first this may seem a bit discomforting, but it quickly becomes second nature and the story moves along. At 312 pages, this book is almost three times as long as most graphic novels - echoing the nature of Dickens work. But the artwork (except for the covers, all artwork is black and white in my e-book copy) makes the story understandable and enjoyable to one who has long ago forgotten the plot and themes developed in Dickens classic work.

The Dickens story was published with two distinct endings. The latter being adapted after early readers expressed a specific dissatisfaction with the earlier version. Neither ending is depicted in this book. A quick search of the Internet provided summaries of both endings - the omission of either or both does not seem to hinder the story, but it might have been fun to see them both included for the readers’ benefit, allowing him or her to choose the preferred ending.

For those looking for a new and enjoyable way to enjoy classic stories, Manga may provide one means to do so. You do lose the author’s original insight and nuances - but … this reader enjoyed the new journey through the old material, perhaps others will as well.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

It is safe to say that I am not Charles Dickens fan. The story was full of drama and some quite unsettling moments so I struggle to understand some of the things, there are so many interpretations out there but for me it didn't work.

The art was great and so was the pacing. Great work!

All I really need to say about this is that it's a manga version of Great Expectations. It's awesome!

Gorgeous illustrations bring the story to life and keep you reading until the very end. Loved it!

A gorgeous manga adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations."

Interesting premise for an old classic. Good pictures and followed story. If you like comic book style this could be for you to read classics.

I'm going to start with saying once again, how much I love these Manga Classics. Seriously. If you want to read a classic but you are scared of them, try these Manga Classics. They are such a fun and easy way to dive into these stories (and they probably, most of the time, make you wanna pick up the original story).

This one wasn't for me. Towards the end I really got into the story and the journey the main character Pip went through and how much he grew. But overall, the whole story didn't work for me. I have to admit that I even forgot about the book for a bit until I saw it on my currently reading shelve on goodreads and on booklikes and remembered, oh right, I'm still reading that.

Like always, the art work was amazing.

I’m going to be honest: I really really don’t like Charles Dickens. There, I’ve said it. I had to read Hard Times and Great Expectations for a university course and, until today, there were probably the two novels that took me the longest to finish. However, I absolutely loved the adaptation to Manga. Congratulations to Stacy King, Crystal S. Chan and Nokman Poon for another brilliant Manga Classic!

Great Expectations tells the story of Pip, a boy from the low class that is given the opportunity to have a better life. With his chance, he discovers that power and money can change a person and is reminded that the past can always come back to haunt you. It’s a timeless tale of opportunities, mystery, love, redemption and second chances.

Here is my deal with Charles Dickens: I like the stories but his style of writing is too tedious for me. In this brilliant manga adaption, the story is made simple and very enjoyable. For someone that hasn’t read the novel before the story us very understandable and easy to follow. I’m very glad that there is a limit of pages per adaptation even though the story loses a bit of its depth, but I think the idea is to make the story more accessible to all ages.

The art is simply breathtaking. The dress designs are very beautiful and pleasant to look at and the face expressions of the characters are very well developed. I could feel the emotions of each scene from the drawings and the different atmospheres from the different places in the novel. I especially liked the manor of Miss Havisham and the dusty darkish room she is in, and I think it represents perfectly the state of her life and her unhappiness.

My favourite character was and still is Estella. For me she is the representation of how one is fruit of their education, of the culture they receive since very young. She was taught how to hide her feelings, to be someone other than who she could become without the toxic influence of Miss Havisham. Pip is also a great character; I like his development as a character. With him I think the lesson is you should never forget where you come from because those are the first pillars of your character. In the end he becomes a better person because he remembers that and manages to break free of the culture of appearances of high society.

The first adaptation that actually made me appreciate the genius of Charles Dickens!