I finished my book for the Classic Spin challenge! I started Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens on Monday (April 1st) and finished it late last night (April 5th). And let me just say that I loved every word of it! It was incredibly hard to put down on numerous occasions (mostly just before work or at night when I should have been sleeping). And to be honest it was the perfect "first read" experience that everyone raves about when they find that one gem of a book. It's kind of sad to know I will never have that experience again with Oliver Twist; unless of course I don't re-read it for years and years, then maybe I will. But even then it may not be the exact same.
Well, when I was younger, my first introduction to Oliver Twist was the 1968 movie Oliver starring Mark Lester as Oliver, Ron Moody as Fagin and Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger. My grandma had it on VHS and we (my siblings and I) may or may not have permanently borrowed it from her due to falling in love with it. But after reading the book this week, I was surprised at just how much that version of the movie left out. So many good parts of the story and so many details were not included, such as everything connected to the Maylie family, Monks and the inheritance which I thought were key pieces to Oliver's story. But I suppose that's the common problem of making books into screenplays that Hollywood is plagued by when producing a movie. The one thing I did love about the film was that it had music incorporated. I am a sucker when it comes to musicals and that made this version wonderful in my eyes.
While the movie was my introduction to the story of Oliver Twist, the book was my first introduction to the writings of Charles Dickens. And I have to say, that for my first step into his books, I was swept away and now I am really looking forward to reading more of his writings. I like his writing style for various reasons. One of the main reasons is that he describes everything, down to the smallest detail of an outfit or expression or location! Sometimes, like in Jane Austen's books, I like to be able to have less detail and therefore allow my imagination to fill in the picture. But with Dickens because his stories are so detailed I was able to just be caught up in the story and not have to do any extra work to fill things in and that was incredibly refreshing to me.
Another huge reason I loved Oliver Twist and Dickens was that he made the characters so very human. Especially the women. He put a lot of emotion into them and it made it so much easier to connect to them or to really grasp what he was trying to say in regards to that specific character in a specific situation. It was also good because he had so many characters that popped in and out at different times. To have that emotion and character development be so strong and prominent really helped solidify the character so that when they faded in and out they weren't easily forgotten. And as I was talking this morning with the mom of a couple of our students at church, who also happens to be a high school English teacher and uses Oliver Twist in her freshman classes, she mentioned how some of the story development is because the book as a whole was originally published as serials in the paper or magazines (which I didn't know). And so I think because they had to be broken up and a week or two or even longer may have passed in between each new serial, Dickens had to develop and solidify the story and write his characters and details in such a way that the readers would stay connected to, interested in and engaged with the story week after week.
And of course, I absolutely loved the main character... Oliver. Everything about him made my heart ache and smile and cry and laugh at different points. Part of it is because of how well Dickens wrote about him and developed the story around him, very much making him the central character (which makes sense with the book being Oliver Twist and all). But part of it is because I have special soft spot in my heart for children and especially for orphans. I have always wanted to adopt and my husband and I plan to one day. And I have to admit that I often find myself longing for the day when I get to be a mom. I have a big family and have always loved babysitting, holding babies or playing with children. I can't wait for the day when I have that in my own house and my own little family. And so to read about little Oliver growing up without a loving home and not having parents to care for him just made my heart ache. But then at the end when he learned who he was and that he belonged somewhere and to a family, it was just amazingly wonderful and made my heart smile and cry tears of joy (I didn't literally cry by the way, surprisingly). Oliver was an amazing little boy who faced a lot of situations, but came out on top and found himself greatly loved and cared for despite all of the craziness that led him to that point. And I loved that.
Well, I suppose that is all I have to say about Oliver Twist and Charles Dickens. For now anyway. I am definitely not afraid to read more of his works now. I was terrified at first when I realized that my Classic's spin book was to be Oliver Twist. Not sure why I was scared, but I was. I think partly because of how well loved or disliked he can be depending on the reader and because of how his books have just that tradition and reputation of being high classic literature. I was afraid that it would be too dense or too old English for me to really enjoy. But I was proved wrong with Oliver Twist. That may change as I venture into some of his other novels, but only time will tell.
Now I am off to read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, which just so happens to be a favorite of the mom I was talking about earlier. I am only a few pages in, but already like the feel of it and can't wait to get lost in the world of Paris, France in the 1920s. And yes, my reading habits do tend to cross all sorts of time periods, locations, styles and authors every time I start and finish a new book. I just read whatever I feel like reading whether or not it is by the same author or genre or style of what I just finished. And I wouldn't have it any other way! :)
Happy reading!! And hooray for warm weather and reading on the deck (which is where I am currently sitting)!
While the movie was my introduction to the story of Oliver Twist, the book was my first introduction to the writings of Charles Dickens. And I have to say, that for my first step into his books, I was swept away and now I am really looking forward to reading more of his writings. I like his writing style for various reasons. One of the main reasons is that he describes everything, down to the smallest detail of an outfit or expression or location! Sometimes, like in Jane Austen's books, I like to be able to have less detail and therefore allow my imagination to fill in the picture. But with Dickens because his stories are so detailed I was able to just be caught up in the story and not have to do any extra work to fill things in and that was incredibly refreshing to me.
Another huge reason I loved Oliver Twist and Dickens was that he made the characters so very human. Especially the women. He put a lot of emotion into them and it made it so much easier to connect to them or to really grasp what he was trying to say in regards to that specific character in a specific situation. It was also good because he had so many characters that popped in and out at different times. To have that emotion and character development be so strong and prominent really helped solidify the character so that when they faded in and out they weren't easily forgotten. And as I was talking this morning with the mom of a couple of our students at church, who also happens to be a high school English teacher and uses Oliver Twist in her freshman classes, she mentioned how some of the story development is because the book as a whole was originally published as serials in the paper or magazines (which I didn't know). And so I think because they had to be broken up and a week or two or even longer may have passed in between each new serial, Dickens had to develop and solidify the story and write his characters and details in such a way that the readers would stay connected to, interested in and engaged with the story week after week.
And of course, I absolutely loved the main character... Oliver. Everything about him made my heart ache and smile and cry and laugh at different points. Part of it is because of how well Dickens wrote about him and developed the story around him, very much making him the central character (which makes sense with the book being Oliver Twist and all). But part of it is because I have special soft spot in my heart for children and especially for orphans. I have always wanted to adopt and my husband and I plan to one day. And I have to admit that I often find myself longing for the day when I get to be a mom. I have a big family and have always loved babysitting, holding babies or playing with children. I can't wait for the day when I have that in my own house and my own little family. And so to read about little Oliver growing up without a loving home and not having parents to care for him just made my heart ache. But then at the end when he learned who he was and that he belonged somewhere and to a family, it was just amazingly wonderful and made my heart smile and cry tears of joy (I didn't literally cry by the way, surprisingly). Oliver was an amazing little boy who faced a lot of situations, but came out on top and found himself greatly loved and cared for despite all of the craziness that led him to that point. And I loved that.
Well, I suppose that is all I have to say about Oliver Twist and Charles Dickens. For now anyway. I am definitely not afraid to read more of his works now. I was terrified at first when I realized that my Classic's spin book was to be Oliver Twist. Not sure why I was scared, but I was. I think partly because of how well loved or disliked he can be depending on the reader and because of how his books have just that tradition and reputation of being high classic literature. I was afraid that it would be too dense or too old English for me to really enjoy. But I was proved wrong with Oliver Twist. That may change as I venture into some of his other novels, but only time will tell.
Now I am off to read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, which just so happens to be a favorite of the mom I was talking about earlier. I am only a few pages in, but already like the feel of it and can't wait to get lost in the world of Paris, France in the 1920s. And yes, my reading habits do tend to cross all sorts of time periods, locations, styles and authors every time I start and finish a new book. I just read whatever I feel like reading whether or not it is by the same author or genre or style of what I just finished. And I wouldn't have it any other way! :)
Happy reading!! And hooray for warm weather and reading on the deck (which is where I am currently sitting)!
I 've read a few Charles Dickens but not Oliver Twist. I've seen the film you mention above and also loved it and I think in a way this probably put me off reading the book - I had a silly notion that I always wanted to read the book first - but, having read this I feel I would like to read OT now. I've read Great Expectations - which I love and recently reread and A Christmas Carol - which is a great story and only short (best read in December though).
ReplyDeleteI'd also read a little about Dickens (including a novel based around the last book that he was writing and didn't finish - Drood) and so had picked up that his books were serialised - they were incredibly popular apparently!
Lynn :D