Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

Wow.  All I can say is...wow.  Not to be too puerile, but you know...wow. 

The Pickwick Papers was filled with broad humor, a narrative that went all over the map, several characters, and tons of unrelated or semi-related incidents.  In short, a picaresque novel.  Oliver Twist is much more concentrated.  The focus is on the main character, Oliver Twist, and the narrative sticks to a tight, chronological portrayal of his adventures.

The melodrama is tempered by a mocking, ironic tone.  The humor in this novel has a sharp edge.  And, while there are decent characters living in good neighborhoods, the main impression is of unrepentant evil and squalor.  There are filthy streets and hovels aplenty.  The villains, ruffians, criminals, and/or hypocrites make one feel queasy.  And, while the behavior they engage in and the attitudes they have are bad enough, I felt there was an undertone of even worse behavior and violence and degradation.

This novel is definitely a page-turner.  The pace is relentless and there's never any sense of irrelevant story (except maybe the epilogue--where irrelevance traditionally resides).  As far as plot, this was tightly plotted and made perfect sense.  Coincidences?--Maybe.  But not enough to overwhelm plausibility.

There's not much else to say besides, read it!  It's worth your attention.