Oliver Twist

Starred review from July 26, 2010
The inimitable Martin Jarvis brings his talents to bear on Charles Dickens's classic in an audiobook that will delight listeners with its superb recreations of gritty 19th-century London. To escape Mr. Bumble and life in the workhouse, Oliver flees to London where he meets the Artful Dodger and becomes embroiled with Fagin's ragtag band of thieves. Jarvis simply dazzles: his performance captures both the humor and sorrow of the text, his narration is crisp, and his characterizations—his rendition of the terrifying district magistrate, Mr. Fang, is particularly memorable—are as varied as they are energetic, befitting, and enjoyable.

October 2, 1996
A Twist of Beauty An inviting design may inspire readers of a newly abridged edition of Charles Dickens's classic Oliver Twist to join the hero in asking, please sir, for more. Christian Birmingham spots nearly every page of text with a small, charcoal-gray image, and complements important scenes with full-page color illustrations. Birmingham's hues are predominantly deep, somber and gritty, but not without occasional flashes of royal blues and golds. Text is shaded in the faintest yellow, soft on the eye.

July 1, 2006
Plot point follows plot point in these fast-paced adaptations. With scant space allotted for character development or setting, the tales seem to be little more than a collection of elaborate coincidences. [cf2]Jane Eyre[cf1] holds up best. [cf2]Les Miserables[cf1] is simply too large for such a brief treatment, and Martin's propensity for choppy sentences makes a hash of [cf2]Oliver Twist[cf1].

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 1997
The series title is a terrible misnomer. These books should be called butchered classics.

(Copyright 1997 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)