2-1/2 stars. It was ok, easy to read, with an appealing premise, but for me it disappointed. Too Heart of Darkness-ish. ( )

As a novel that was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and that won the Commonwealth Writer's Prize and awards from the American Library Association, you can be decently sure this is a well written book. Before reading it though, ask yourself this question: is it okay for a white author to write a story about a black girl in a third world country discovering great value in a novel straight out of the Great Western Canon of dead white males, as presented to her class by a white male teacher. If this makes you want to start warning about paternalism and condescending neo-colonial attitudes, or finds you incredulous that a poor black girl in a third world country wracked by violence would ever find escape in Charles Dickens's London, then you're not going to like this.

If you're prepared to believe that such a story could be written without the author being guilty of a nostalgic fondness for the alleged civilizing mission of the British Empire, or on the other hand possibly embodying the fantasies of white liberal academia saving the world to assuage its white liberal guilt, you could well identify with Matilda as she finds refuge for her mind in a great work of literature in the midst of a bad personal situation. Yes, many novels have been written on this general theme, because it is surely a not too uncommon real life thing, especially in the sub-population of authors and avid readers, one suspects. This one may not offer much that is new to the genre, other than its unusual setting in Papau New Guinea, but it is well done.

You might also want to be aware that the novel is in fact written in the voice of Matilda many years after the events that unfolded when she was a girl, after she has become a refugee in Australia, gone to university, and embarked on writing a graduate thesis. This might prevent you from complaining that the book's voice doesn't sound like it is coming from a young girl of little education. ( )

(audio) An imaginative story as told from the eyes and ears of a 13yr old black girl living on island caught up in a revolution. How the reading of Great Expectations by a white man living on the small island sparks the imagination of all who live there.

This had a sad twist and an interesting ending. I enjoyed it well enough though it took me awhile to get through it. ( )

I saw this pass through the library a year ago or so, and I thought it looked interesting. But since Great Expectations figures so heavily into the plot, I didn't want to read it until I had read Great Expectations. So yeah, I read Great Expectations so I could read this book. It was about time I'd read some Dickens anyway, and I'm glad I read it.

Reading this book, I learned about a horrible piece of history I'd never heard anything about, the Bougainville conflict in Papua New Guinea in the 90's. In this setting of fear and violence, Mister Pip takes place. Mister Pip is told from the point of view of a teenager, Matilda, who has become enamored of Pip and his world. It's an escape for many of the children who are read to by the only white man left on the island, Mr. Watts. It's a story of resilience but also of misdirected hostility and senseless violence. What happens in Matilda's village is at times a reflection of the larger conflict in her country and at times a reflection of the plot of the novel she has come to love and use as an escape.

The sudden violent deaths of Mr. Watts and Matilda's mother were powerful, and (even though at the time I felt like throwing the book across the room)necessary. From the bit of reading I've done on the subject, it portrayed the horror that the people living on the island at that time experienced.

I recommend it, with the warning that it delivers some heavy punches to the stomach, and you might be a little wrecked after reading it. ( )