OLIVER TWIST - Charles Dickens

CLASSICS WEEK


I remember reading Oliver Twist back in high school (oh, the snickering over the name of the character of Master Bates) but that was a long time ago and so, since I had a free copy from Open Road Media on my Kindle, I thought I'd give it another read.

This book definitely stands the test of time (not all classics do) and as an adult reader, I'm sure I picked up on some things that hadn't occurred to me in my teens (I'm sure my English teachers were trying to get some of this across). I hadn't realized how much 'the workhouses' played a part in some of Dickens' work (I'm thinking of Scrooge's comments, in addition to the plight of Oliver's mother). Dickens paints a bleak look at 1800's England.

I hadn't remembered that Fagin played such a major role in the book.  When I think of a villain, I tend to think of Bill Sikes and his killing of Nancy. Of course Sikes is part of Fagin's gang.

I felt less optimistic at the end, perhaps because I see how the negative behavior in the book is as much a part of the human condition as is the positive behavior. Oliver has had to suffer through life, for no fault of his own while Fagin and Sikes have preyed on kids like Oliver and the Dodger and Nancy for their own means.  One might argue that circumstances have dictated their behaviors, but there will always be those who find it easier to prey on others for personal gain - just look at the internet scams and hacking today.

Sometimes when we read a classic we get caught up in the characters and stories, but Dickens was also a solid storyteller with a beautiful way with words.  From his extremely descriptive character names (you tned to know what kind of person a character will be just from their name) to his narrative descriptions.  One rather innocuous passage caught my eye for how beautiful it was:

...she glanced from the table to the fireplace, where the smallest of all possible kettles was singing a small song in a small voice...

Looking for a good book? If you haven't read Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, or if you read it a long time ago, or think you know it because you've seen the film or the play, do yourself a favor and give it a read.

4-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

Oliver Twist

author: Charles Dickens

publisher: Open Road Media

Kindle Edition, 381 pages

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MURDLE VOLUME 1 - G. T. Karber

Image
 I enjoy puzzles of many different varieties. I had not heard of 'Murdle' before this but essentially this is a combination of the game of Clue and a Sherlock Holmes micro story. With suspects, possible murder weapons, potential locations, and/or motives plus some very brief hints, readers are meant to combine the logic of what's know with deductive reasoning to identify the killer (or killers?) in 100 different mystery word puzzles. I will admit right off the bat that I did not do all 100.  I didn't even do half of these, but I did so some random sampling through all the categories (Elementary, Occult Medium, Hard Boiled, and Impossible). I did not get any correct in the Impossible category (of course not ... they were impossible!) and only one correct in the Hard Boiled (of five). The Elementary puzzles were, as expected, pretty easy and the Hard Boiled only a little bit more difficult. Each mini mystery comes with a grid printed in the book to help the reader-detecti
Read more

VINYL RESTING PLACE - Olivia Blacke

Image
 Juni Jessup and her two sister, Tansy and Maggie, have gone into business together in their hometown of Cedar River, Texas, opening a combination record store and coffee shop. Vinyl LPs are making a comeback after all, despite critics thinking the medium was dead.  But speaking of 'dead' ... finding a dead body in the supply closet just as they are looking to have a grand opening is not part of the plan.  Juni's life gets more complicated when their uncle, Calvin, already a suspect in the murder, disappears. And the police officer leading the investigation is Juni's EX-boyfriend (who passive-aggressively keeps putting himself back into her life). Convinced that her uncle would never murder anyone, Juni sets out to prove his innocence - which isn't easy since he's making himself look guilty - because Calvin is family and family is EVERYthing to Juni. As readers of my blog know, I'm not a big fan of most cozy mysteries, but the setting caught my eye and my in
Read more

THE RAVEN THIEF - Gigi Pandian

Image
 With Tempest Raj now a member of the company, Secret Staircase Construction (a company who, as their title suggests, builds mystery-themed, secret rooms inside homes) has finished their first job. Their client now wants to celebrate to kick off her new beginning - new home and new life now that she's divorced from her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property, led by Tempest's friend, Sanjay.   But during that séance, while all those gathered sat in a dark room holding hands, Corbin's dead body crashes the party, falling across the table in front of everyone. There were eight people in the room, and they were all holding hands, but all the evidence points to one of them being the murderer.  Suspicions point to Ash, Tempest's grandfather, because he was the only one with Corbin's blood on him. Of course, as a doctor, he was also the only one who checked on the body - wherein he acq
Read more