G. M. Best

Spin off Dickens novel where Oliver Twist, having just come of age, receives from his lawyer a final communication written by Fagin on the eve of his execution years before, in which he exposes a number of secrets surrounding the life and death of Nancy (no spoilers here!). Oliver then investigates the truth by seeking down and interviewing a number of the surviving characters, including his youthful nemeses Mr Bumble and Noah Claypole, and a reformed Artful Dodger, now a prosperous businessman in Australia. He even interviews Charles Dickens who, in this spin off universe, drew on real life for the characters and situations in his Oliver Twist, but changed them to protect certain secrets relating to himself and others; even Mrs Dickens makes an appearance. The final conclusions are quite shocking and some may find them distasteful, but this was an engaging read and the author has a good turn of phrase, though the constant descriptions of squalor and degradation do become rather repetitive, and the structure of the novel with each chapter being a new interpretation of past events by one character or another, will not appeal to everyone. An interesting take and I may have to re-read the original novel, not one of my favourite Dickens novels.… (mehr)