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A review by bioniclib
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
3.0
I was surprised at how little Oliver is featured in Oliver Twist.
I've grown to like Dickens style as I grow older. It's an acquired taste for sure. With sentences that often go on for a paragraph, it's not something that can be dashed through. The humor, too, is quintessential dry British wit. Jokes are often wrapped in one of those sentence/paragraphs and if you lose track of the description he's giving you(which is likely), you might miss it.
The story is a wandering one, filled with unlikely coincidences. The cast of characters are really hit or miss. The Artful Dodger is widely regarded as one of the great characters in literature and to a certain extent I agree. But there really wasn't enough of him to warrant such a reputation. Bill Sikes, does deserve his nasty rep, but in a time where despicable characters are more popular than ever, he pales in comparison. To be fair though, the comparison is unjust; what shocked 150 years ago would lull today's readers to sleep. Women, as with most Dickens works, are strong yet frail. I really can't decide whether Nancy and/or Rose do a disservice to their gender or are part of the vanguard in the battle for gender equality.
Being one of his earlier works, this book isn't one Mr. Dickens' best. It shows his skill with description and wit, for sure. But the if you've read some of his other works you can see he's still honing his skill. If that's the case, you'll probably enjoy this one, just not as much. If you've not read any of his works, I'd recommend you start with David Copperfield.
I've grown to like Dickens style as I grow older. It's an acquired taste for sure. With sentences that often go on for a paragraph, it's not something that can be dashed through. The humor, too, is quintessential dry British wit. Jokes are often wrapped in one of those sentence/paragraphs and if you lose track of the description he's giving you(which is likely), you might miss it.
The story is a wandering one, filled with unlikely coincidences. The cast of characters are really hit or miss. The Artful Dodger is widely regarded as one of the great characters in literature and to a certain extent I agree. But there really wasn't enough of him to warrant such a reputation. Bill Sikes, does deserve his nasty rep, but in a time where despicable characters are more popular than ever, he pales in comparison. To be fair though, the comparison is unjust; what shocked 150 years ago would lull today's readers to sleep. Women, as with most Dickens works, are strong yet frail. I really can't decide whether Nancy and/or Rose do a disservice to their gender or are part of the vanguard in the battle for gender equality.
Being one of his earlier works, this book isn't one Mr. Dickens' best. It shows his skill with description and wit, for sure. But the if you've read some of his other works you can see he's still honing his skill. If that's the case, you'll probably enjoy this one, just not as much. If you've not read any of his works, I'd recommend you start with David Copperfield.