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A review by andreeagugi
Oliver Twist [Adaptation] by Charles Dickens, Les Martin
5.0
4.5 stars
Going into this I already had an idea of what this book was about simply from popular culture and knowledge. An orphan boy. The dusty and desolate streets of London. Misery and mistreatment. However, after reading the original book, I realized that it was actually very different from what I had believed it to be. I say that in the best way possible.
Oliver Twist is obviously a very well known iconic story that we've all probably heard of, and for good reason. You've most likely heard of the "please sir, I want some more" scene at least once in your life. But actually reading it felt like such an enchanting and captivating experience. The characters and settings all felt so real in my mind. I especially adore the way Dickens writes his characters because they feel almost like cartoons or caricatures that each have such a distinct personality or characteristic that you can't forget about them. One that definetely stuck out to me was Nancy because she had so much complexity and bravery in her character. I should add, that before this, I haden't read much Dickens in quite a while, so I'd have to say that this was a very refreshing dip back into the Dickensian style. It reminded me why I love Dickens so much.
What I also wasn't expecting to be part of this story, was how dark it really is. I obviously knew that it wasn't going to be the most happy tale but did not expect it to go into such dark areas of victorian society. For example, there were lots of depictions of poverty, child abuse, starvation, violence, etc. But I ended up really appreciating the lenghts that Dickens went to depict these not so pretty sights since it really helped to shed light on the Victorian London that he lived in and show us it's realities. So Oliver's story is definetely one with lots of trauma and misfortune but nevertheless is told with such eloquence and charm that makes it so iconic to this day. I very much enjoyed this and would say it now sits among my other favorite Dickens novels so far.
Going into this I already had an idea of what this book was about simply from popular culture and knowledge. An orphan boy. The dusty and desolate streets of London. Misery and mistreatment. However, after reading the original book, I realized that it was actually very different from what I had believed it to be. I say that in the best way possible.
Oliver Twist is obviously a very well known iconic story that we've all probably heard of, and for good reason. You've most likely heard of the "please sir, I want some more" scene at least once in your life. But actually reading it felt like such an enchanting and captivating experience. The characters and settings all felt so real in my mind. I especially adore the way Dickens writes his characters because they feel almost like cartoons or caricatures that each have such a distinct personality or characteristic that you can't forget about them. One that definetely stuck out to me was Nancy because she had so much complexity and bravery in her character. I should add, that before this, I haden't read much Dickens in quite a while, so I'd have to say that this was a very refreshing dip back into the Dickensian style. It reminded me why I love Dickens so much.
What I also wasn't expecting to be part of this story, was how dark it really is. I obviously knew that it wasn't going to be the most happy tale but did not expect it to go into such dark areas of victorian society. For example, there were lots of depictions of poverty, child abuse, starvation, violence, etc. But I ended up really appreciating the lenghts that Dickens went to depict these not so pretty sights since it really helped to shed light on the Victorian London that he lived in and show us it's realities. So Oliver's story is definetely one with lots of trauma and misfortune but nevertheless is told with such eloquence and charm that makes it so iconic to this day. I very much enjoyed this and would say it now sits among my other favorite Dickens novels so far.