Great Expectations

With its meandering paragraphs, colorful character names, and engrossing plots, Charles Dickens's masterpiece is magical in the audiobook format. Anton Lesser's performance is especially notable for its blend of the traditional and contemporary. He captures young Pip's transformation from downtrodden lad to society gentleman with all the typical trappings of Dickens's atmosphere: Precise accent, clipped diction, and mellifluous voice are gloriously present. However, Lesser's performance is also wonderfully modern in its pacing and phrasing. Where some narrators resort to fusty, passive vocals, wherein they allow Dickens to own the role, Lesser is fully involved and vivacious in each sentence, propelling the story continually forward. This version of a classic is bound to become a classic in its own right. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

February 27, 2012
This beloved classic from Dickens follows the life and adventures of a six-year-old orphan named Pip as he makes his way and comes of age in 19th-century England. Simon Prebble turns in a solid performance in this audio edition, offering up a lush and resolutely dramatic reading and creating a panoply of unique voices and accents for the book’s many characters. But while Prebble’s performance is lavish, it fails to distinguish itself from the scores of previous audio productions of Dickens’s novels. Still, his reading remains a pleasure and a well-orchestrated introduction to the world of Dickens—one that could serve as a wonderful opportunity for both fans and those new to the author’s work.

BBC Radio dramatizes Dickens's famous melodrama about orphan Pip, who rises from poverty to sudden great fortune. Not only is the acting high quality, but the voices seem matched to their parts with special care and intelligence. Cuts in the story are hardly noticeable, except for occasional abrupt scenes in which plot points must be made willy-nilly. Another weakness is the music: generic (it seems familiar from other BBC programs), repetitive, at times inappropriate to the action, but, like most wallpaper, easily ignored. All in all, a fine rendering of Pip's story--but the names of the cast that makes it fine should have been listed. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine