Saturday, January 5, 2013

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Just finished my third novel by Charles Dickens.  My thought is that this book served as a "rough draft" of sorts for David Copperfield, my favorite Dickens novel, so far.

Twist is much shorter than Copperfield, but follows a roughly similar plot.  A boy faces a harrowing youth, filled with poverty, maltreatment and neglect of a horrific nature, only to overcome it through trial, effort and steadfastness.  He finds joy in the end by cobbling together a coterie of warm, loving people, with whom to spend the rest of his life.

Twist has more of the feel of a mystery than Copperfield (or Pickwick, for that matter).  It also has some fabulous characters, both big and small.  I chuckled out loud each time Mr. Grimwig threatened to eat his own head.

Up next is Nicholas Nickleby...

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