Oliver Twist

“Please, sir, I want some more.”

2/5⭐

Undeniably a skillful societal critique with moments of beautiful prose, but overall, a letdown.

The early (and best) chapters were dedicated to Oliver’s years in the workhouse, facing the cruelty of the buffoonish Mr. Bumble. Here the social critique was scathing and truly funny. I thought I was in for a classic satire the likes of Catch 22.

But then it fell apart.

The middle portion drops all critique of the workhouse culture of the time, and instead throws Oliver into a band of thieves, where the purposeful, satirical approach from the early chapters is abandoned for a new tactic: dumping a truckload of hardships onto Oliver without any discernable purpose other than to tell the reader—for the hundredth time—that he is a poor boy with a heart of gold.

Speaking of Oliver. For a character who goes through so much, I couldn’t connect emotionally. He speaks little, and when it does it is either to cry, beg or, on the rare occasion someone is kind to him, to praise. It feels cruel to say, but Oliver was an unlikable character.

The side characters—the morally ambiguous Nancy, the cruel yet ridiculous Mr. Bumble, the hatred driven Monks—were far more interesting and far more nuanced, which led to some wonderful character moments that sprinkled the closing chapters.

Overall, I can see why it’s a classic, but it’s not worth the bloated wordcount and slow pace for a subpar story. If you need to scratch the classics itch, read East of Eden instead.

Some underline-worthy quotes:

“We must make the best of it; and if bad be best, it is no fault of ours.”

“The stars seemed, to the boy’s eyes, farther from the earth than he had ever seen them before.”