Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

8/10

This was the first Dickens book I ever read. I am now a full-fledged Dickens fan. His writing style is unreal. He turns ordinary things into fantastic, many times comical, descriptions. I always catch myself chuckling at how awesome he just finished describing something. How his brain conjures up the combination of words that it does is beyond me, but I do likey likey. Plus, he has some hilariously classic titles to his chapters. Check this one out for Chapter 36: "Is a very short one, and may appear of no great importance in its place, but it should be read notwithstanding, as a sequel to the last, and a key to one that will follow when its time arrives". Oh man, you can't beat that. There's others as well worth mentioning, but I hope you'll just take my word for it.

Dickens is very apt at conveying the terrors of the human condition. He makes it tremendously easy to sympathize with many characters, and I found myself more than once feeling almost pained at the harsh hand dealt to Oliver Twist. He makes it so easy, also, to get behind and root for his characters to overcome their poorly dealt hand. He's also a suspenseful writer and builds up the tension quite nicely.

Another Dickens attribute: coming up with the coolest names ever for his characters. I mean, Oliver Twist? How do you come up with that? Mr. Bumble? Mr. Fang? The Artful Dodger? Does not get better than that.

Some quotes regarding the difficulty in overcoming old habits:

"He was now instilling into his soul the poison which he hoped would blacken it, and change its hue forever."

"I am chained to my old life. I loathe and hate it now, but I cannot leave it. I must have gone too far to turn back."

But then...

"It is never too late for penitence and atonement."

"It is never too late to repent."

P.S. My internet kicked me off just as I was about to post this. So, terror-stricken, I thought I lost my precious, precious post. But nay, it somehow saved itself as a draft. Hooray!