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Bleak Expectations

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About this listen

Bleak Expectations' recounts the remarkable adventures of young Pip Bin as he tries to repair his destroyed family and distinctly damaged life, aided by his best friend Harry Biscuit and definitely not aided by his cruel and ironically named guardian Mr Gently Benevolent and his accomplices, the fearsome Hardthrasher siblings. Grim circumstances, mistaken identities, unlikely inheritances, nightmarish court cases, ridiculous names, convenient coincidences to resolve plot problems, over-sentimental death scenes and lots and lots of adjectives: 'Bleak Expectations' is the novel Charles Dickens might have written after drinking far too much gin.

©2012 Mark Evans (P)2012 Audible Ltd Literature & Fiction Funny Comedy

Critic reviews

"The funniest book since the one I haven't written yet. Mark Evans sets the bar annoyingly high." (Robert Webb)
"If ever a show deserved a handsome Christmas hardback it is Bleak Expectations. The comedy itself (Radio 4) is a brilliant Dickens pastiche by Mark Evans, a mash-up of plots and characters that is scholarly,irreverent, affectionate and topical all at once. On radio it is perfectly cast and directed (Mark Evans again). On the page it has utterly wonderful footnotes, too." (Daily Telegraph)
All stars
Most relevant
If you like the series but want to experience the high points of series one in a new and exciting way this could be the book for you in the tradition of other comedy books such as red dwarf this takes the best jokes and builds them with more depth and character.



As the writer Evans has a love of the work the flows in his reading.

A good translation of a radio classic

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Evans' rewriting of the first series of the radio drama is great, but without the timing afforded by an ensemble cast, some of the jokes fall flat. The new literary flourishes are appreciated, and add a star.

not as good as the radio drama but still enjoyable

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Would you try another book written by Mark Evans or narrated by Mark Evans?

Probably not

What did you like best about this story?

It tried to be funny

What about Mark Evans’s performance did you like?

He has a good reading voice

Do you think Bleak Expectations needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No

Any additional comments?

A bit too silly. Entertaining but some of the situations were too extreme and ridiculous for my taste.

Not as funny as it should have been

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Brilliant book BUT no where near as good as the bbc4 radio show that dramatically tells it recommend the radio series over this any day. But still really enjoyed it. Listened to it as a whole on a flight it made the flight fly by ARF ARF

Great

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really enjoyed this book, love the clever and silly humour. Looking forward to listen to the radio play Mark Evans has written and the TV successor and anything else Marc Evans has done

very funny

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