Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist is hungry, and the people responsible for feeding him regard that as a fault in his character. Born in a workhouse, he grows up among adults who congratulate themselves on their charity while making a child’s life as miserable as possible. Dickens tells their story with furious politeness: the more solemnly an official explains his duty, the more clearly you see whom that duty serves.

When Oliver reaches London, the Artful Dodger offers food and somewhere to sleep. Dressed in a man’s coat much too large for him, this boy speaks with the assurance of someone who knows exactly how the city works. Fagin’s household seems, at first, a bewilderingly lively place to a newcomer. Oliver has little experience with which to judge the welcome, and that gap between what he understands and what the reader can see gives the novel much of its suspense.

The book moves between grotesque comedy and real danger, following a child for whom shelter and kindness are never simple things to find. Dickens makes the surrounding adults vividly present through their voices: bullying, bargaining, excusing themselves, or claiming to know what is best. Oliver’s vulnerability gives those performances weight, so that even a comic conversation can leave you anxious about who has power over him. The story has the urgency of an adventure and the anger of someone refusing to accept respectable explanations for cruelty. You read on wanting to know whether the next person who offers help understands what a child actually needs.