Great Expectation

It's wonderful to go back to a book I have dearly loved, and that's whatI'm doing now, reading this classic by Dickens that makes me want to curl up on the couch and simply get to know these fascinating characters all over again. Our book group, called CLAM for Classic Literature At Mystic, is reading GE now (at my encouragement), and I'm fairly sure that there will be great enthusiasm during our first discussion this coming Monday.

In this story, even the mean and hateful characters seem somehow lovable. Miss Havisham is a spiteful  old witch, yes, but she's a spiteful old witch because of a shock she suffered when a young woman, a shock she hasn't been able to recover from. All the characters -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- seem worth getting to know. I want to put out my hand to them and offer encouragement and support.