Mr. Pip

I selected this book based on it's placement at my local library.  I was intrigued by the idea of a book about a man reading Great Expectations to a group of kids on a island in the 1990's. He was the only white man left on the island and he became their teacher.

The first half of the book went quickly.  I was re-introduced to Pip, Estella, Miss Havishim, etc. Many years ago I taught this novel to 14-15 year old students.  So it was definitely refreshing to see how he "hooked" the kids on the island with this story about a land so far away from them.

I must confess that as I was reading, I was terribly disappointed that they finished the novel as quickly as they did.  I expected it to last longer.  In fact, when I finished the book I closed it and thought, "that's disappointing."  I even told my mother the next morning (read this one while on a mini vacation with the parents) that I was very unhappy about how the story ended.

And then I had my "a-ha" moment.  It all clicked.

Looking back on it, I'd call it a book worth reading.  If you are not familiar with Great Expectations, I'm not sure you will come to the same conclusions as I did.  I'm not certain how important it is to have that frame of reference for it.

Take a look at Lloyd Jones' novel here