Mister Pip

Synopsis of Mister Pip

Set against the stunning beauty of Bougainville in the South Pacific during the civil war in the early 1990s, Lloyd Jones’s breathtaking novel follows thirteen-year-old Matilda, who lives on an island shattered by war. When teachers flee, the eccentric Mr. Watts steps in to teach the children using only his battered copy of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. As the children become captivated by the adventures of Pip, their imaginations are ignited with dreams of Dickens's London and the larger world. However, in a ravaged place where daily survival is the only objective, imagination proves to be a dangerous thing. This Booker Prize finalist is a powerful testament to the magic a child's imagination can create even in the face of terrible violence.