Oliver Twist follows the story of orphan Oliver from his
birth until he is a teenager. In this short space of time, more happens to
Oliver than happens to most people in their whole lives. His mother dies giving
birth to him and his father is unknown. As a result, Oliver is put into a
workhouse where he is lucky to make it through til his twelfth birthday alive.
He is then apprenticed to a coffin maker and bullied by a boy who hangs around
there. Not being happy where he is, Oliver runs away and gets all the way to
London. There he meets the Artful Dodger, Charley Bates and their boss, Fagin.
Oliver spends some time with them until he realises they are thieves. He gets
taken in by a man who takes pity on him but Fagin is out to get him back. He
succeeds and Oliver is sent on a job with Bill Sikes. He gets shot on the job
and is nursed back to health by a girl and her mistress, and the local doctor.
Due to meeting these people, Oliver finds out who he really is and why Fagin
was so keen to keep Oliver with him.
This is a well known story so I already knew what would
happen before I read it. However, I didn’t know the specifics and it is a good
read. Some of the descriptions of London and where Fagin lives were confusing
but I’m not familiar with London and lack the imagination to really picture
what it must have been like living in the slums with so many other people and detritus
around you all the time. There’s not an awful lot of description of the
surroundings as Dickens is more focused on the characters, of which there are a
fair number to keep track of.
The same handful of people from Oliver’s past reappear in
the book so it helps to have a good memory for names, although you are reminded
who they are. The majority of the people aren’t really bad which I think is why
people like it. Fagin and his boys may live in the slums but they are making
the best of it. They only steal from people, they don’t go out to physically
hurt anyone and they mostly steal handkerchiefs and snuff boxes. Sikes is a
nasty piece of work but reading it in the twenty-first century, you can tell
that he is mentally unstable and should be in hospital getting treatment.
Really, Oliver is just a plot device in order to examine the
lives of the poor living in London who are constantly looking over their
shoulders for the police and never know where their next meal is coming from,
or indeed when. They live a tough life and as a result, are tough people. But
they’re not unhappy. They enjoy what they do and make the best of it. Oliver
also spends time with some of London’s middle income residents. These people
have servants and have other residences in the country. These people aren’t as
happy but are content in their own way. A reason for their subdued nature
becomes obvious at the end of the book when Oliver’s past is revealed.
This book is worth a read even if you do know the story.
Every character, even the minor ones, has their story told and their time in
the spotlight. There were only a couple of characters I found myself disliking
but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. The main thing that
surprised me was that none of the well-known characters in the book have more
focus on them than the less known ones, even Oliver. They all have equal time
spent on them. I suppose there is something fascinating about the underworld of
London that has made them stick in people’s minds. Also they do have the bigger
personalities so that makes them more memorable too.
Overall rating 5 out of 5.
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