A review by willowbiblio
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

adventurous dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

“It is because I think so much of warm and sensitive hearts, that I would spare them from being wounded.”
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At the start of this book, I was pleasantly surprised and engaged. Sadly, that did not continue for the body of this text. I thought Dickens’ humor was striking, quite dark, but not enough to keep me enjoying this on the whole. 

Oliver Twist was a very sympathetic character, but his worth for saving depended on his goodness and ability to resist moral temptation, which I found laughable. Children deserve to be protected regardless of if they’ve “earned” it. I did appreciate Dickens critique of how the poor were treated. Much of the historical context went over my head, like the specifics of the laws governing this at the time. 

I wasn’t surprised by much of the plot as most of it was so heavily foreshadowed you’d have to be effectively not reading at all to miss it. That takes away quite a bit of enjoyment for me because then the text and the plot starts to feel really redundant. 

The romance between Henry and Rose was cute, but just so affected. I think Dickens was poking fun at romance authors, but it was hard to tell based on his execution. 

Overall, I’ve preferred other works of his, like a Tale of Two Cities much more. This was somewhat a miss for me.