Review Detail

Reader reviewed by leebase

I loved Oliver Twist, the musical.  I can sign the songs even now.   The book -- is so much darker than the musical.

Oliver is the story about an orphan's struggles...first in an abusive, neglectful orphanage.  Then he's adopted by a kindly mortician, but abused by the wife and daughter.   Then he's adopted by a wonderful man only to be kidnapped and pulled into the criminal underworld where most of the book occurs.

The underworld is a place where nasty adults take advantage of young boys, turning them into thieves and pick pockets.  But even in this environment, Oliver finds a kind soul.

There is a happy ending -- but it's not the light fare that one might expect from the musical.