Scan barcode
A review by thetomatowriter
Oliver Twist [Adaptation] by Charles Dickens, Les Martin
3.0
I think for its time, this story is pretty bold in that so many of the primary characters were thieves and prostitutes and the outcasts of Victorian England society, and he wrote them as very human, complex characters. I mean, there could have been a lot more done with the complexity, and there was a lot of Victorian ignorance laced in with the way the characters were written. A conniving, greedy thief is referred to throughout half of his parts of the story as "the Jew" and it does strike me that Dickens often writes just one or two different women in various different lives. Everything inevitably comes down to their "woman's nature," which is apparently an emotional, tender nature, the kind that can't resist a child in need. So, that's not so fun. But these characters could have all been villainous caricatures or those jolly, unrealistically lucky stereotypes, and instead they fell somewhere in the middle. Their motives and their feelings were conflicted. Their situation wasn't pretty and it drove them to do things that they didn't always enjoy. They weren't some found family, bonded through their experiences and completely loyal to each other. There were elements of that, but there was also plenty of self-interest. I know that Dickens came under some fire for choosing to write these characters, but he stood by them, and I really respect that.
The story itself could be a little scattered at times. For a book that is actually named after the main character, Oliver wasn't in it nearly as much as I expected. Everything in some way concerned him, but just going off of memory, I'd say he was maybe there for about half the story. Sometimes, he starts on one tangent about Oliver's past and it would be several chapters before you get any update about what was going on in Oliver's present. Or you find that Oliver was going away with the Maylies and then there would be several chapters from the perspective of Fagin and the thieves. Sometimes, you'ree bogged down with a lot of words and very little action. The middle of this book moves a bit slowly for a relatively short book.
Atmospherically, the story really sucks you in, and it doesn't spare your comfort. There's plenty of conflict and suspense, and even a little intrigue, although I was hoping for something more when it came to the reveal of Monks. Oliver is a sympathetic, likable hero that you couldn't help but root for (almost too likable, but again, Victorian literature). The stand-out character, though, is Nancy, and the stand-out dynamic--brief though it was--was that between Nancy and Rose Maylie. These are two characters that I didn't expect to interact at all, and they have such a profound effect on each other, a pivotal effect for Nancy. I could have honestly just read an entire book about them, although realistically, given the class disparity, there probably wouldn't have been enough material.
There's a good reason why Dickens is still known and loved today and why this book is a classic. It's not my favorite and I think it could have been a bit neater, but it's definitely worth a read.
The story itself could be a little scattered at times. For a book that is actually named after the main character, Oliver wasn't in it nearly as much as I expected. Everything in some way concerned him, but just going off of memory, I'd say he was maybe there for about half the story. Sometimes, he starts on one tangent about Oliver's past and it would be several chapters before you get any update about what was going on in Oliver's present. Or you find that Oliver was going away with the Maylies and then there would be several chapters from the perspective of Fagin and the thieves. Sometimes, you'ree bogged down with a lot of words and very little action. The middle of this book moves a bit slowly for a relatively short book.
Atmospherically, the story really sucks you in, and it doesn't spare your comfort. There's plenty of conflict and suspense, and even a little intrigue, although I was hoping for something more when it came to the reveal of Monks. Oliver is a sympathetic, likable hero that you couldn't help but root for (almost too likable, but again, Victorian literature). The stand-out character, though, is Nancy, and the stand-out dynamic--brief though it was--was that between Nancy and Rose Maylie. These are two characters that I didn't expect to interact at all, and they have such a profound effect on each other, a pivotal effect for Nancy. I could have honestly just read an entire book about them, although realistically, given the class disparity, there probably wouldn't have been enough material.
There's a good reason why Dickens is still known and loved today and why this book is a classic. It's not my favorite and I think it could have been a bit neater, but it's definitely worth a read.