OliverTwist (Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens)

Member Name: happy_squirrel

Product:	Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Date:	30/07/08 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wonderful character and plot

Disadvantages: Can be a little slow in places

This is of course the classic tale of the orphan boy who asked for more. Oliver Twist is born and raised in a workhouse but is thrust out into the world when he is forced to run away to save his life. He ends up on the streets of London where he meets a host of villians who inhabit the underbelly of the filthy city; Fagin, the jew, who presides over a group of pick-pocketing boys, Nancy the prostitute with a heart, the comical Artful Dodger and of course, the evil Bill Sykes. There are wonderful twists and turns in the story, Oliver going from rags to riches and back again, murderous plots and plenty of villany. Dickens wanted to show the world what it was like for the poor and he certainly did, this book has a undercurrent reek of filth and decay and squallor.
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought that I would. I have never been a huge fan of Dickens, probably because of the way I was taught some of his work at school; we never actually got to finish any of it. This book was really exciting in parts and terribly sad in others and there was a lot that suprised me. There was a lot of the book that didn't make it into the musical, my first experience of the story, so it was nice to find out what else happened. And the revelation about who Monks was actually made me stop in complete shock. I especially loved both the part when Oliver is running away after being thought to be the one to pick the old gentleman's pocket and the part about Bill's descent into madness after the murder. Overall a good book that I am glad I bought.

Summary: Orphan boy asks for more and ends up in a den of thieves on the streets of London