Oliver Twist

by Charles Dickens

Libby audiobook 16 hours

Read by: Wanda McCaddon

Published: 1838 (this version 2005)

Genre: realistic fiction . . . for the era

 

***There is one spoiler at the end if you don't know the story!***

 

Although I had seen at least one movie version and read several short / abridged versions, I had never before read Oliver Twist in its entirety. And Dickens is one of my favorite authors!  Listening to this made me sad . . . Dickens must have known some seriously awful adults in his childhood. I know enough about his life to realize that not all of his characters and situations are pure imagination.

Oliver is born to a dying mother in a poorhouse. He is treated horribly. There is, of course, a pretty happy ending for the little guy.

My jottings:

• Hearing Fagin referred to as "the Jew" was jarring! He really was a reprehensible character, but for him to be called this throughout the story was hard to hear! He was also referred to as "the old gentleman." 
• The reader did a fantastic job! All the different characters were brought to life so well. That said, Fagin's repeated "My Dear" grated on my nerves! Yuk!
• The Artful Dodger = John Dawkins. He was a teenager.
• Charlie Bates - comic relief, also a teen
  
• Horrible adults! Keeping money intended for the care of the children to enrich themselves and then being self-righteous about it! How can any human have allowed children to starve to death and used the money to feed themselves fancier food and deny children?! Thin gruel . . . how awful.
• Bill Sikes - I was trying to decide who was most awful between Fagin and Sikes . . . and Bill abused his dog. And Nancy. And then murdered.
  
• "in for a penny, in for a pound" . . . not sure which character said this, but it made me wonder if Dickens created this or if it was already commonly used. (Just looked it up - in use since the late 1600s. Dictionary.com says, "Once involved, one must not stop at half-measures.")
• No value for life! The way people treated starving, dying poor people as just an unpleasant fact of life. It made me so sad for the lack of compassion!
• Nancy telling Rose that "it's too late" also made me sad. No, it's not too late, Nancy! Get out of that abusive situation! Let Rose help you make a new life!
• the locket / Monks . . . such a curious story that I don't remember these details at all!
• Noah Claypole - what a skunk and coward! I never "caught" his code name that he used . . . Charlotte was an idiot to fawn over him!
• Skips in the story . . . sounded like scratches on a CD . . . but it was an efile . . . weird! I even hit the "back" button for 15 seconds and it skipped in the same places . . . 
• The fire - did Bill set it or did he just come across it?
• Spoiler!!! (Rose is Oliver's aunt) - Like I said, happy ending.

 

Now I feel like getting a movie version to  compare . . . 

Also, in some places the serialization was so very apparent! Dickens could definitely draw out a story. It makes me laugh but a lot of his writing could use an editor.