Oliver Twist

Anguish! That's all this book is through each and every page. I limit myself to one Dickens book per year after Oliver Twist because I can't handle as much heartache as he delivers any more frequently.

This is the tale of a little orphaned boy trying to make his way through life and all the travesties he faces. I cried for hours upon completing this book.

Oliver runs away from his foster care to London. In London he naturally falls in with the worst crowd and finds himself in a bad situation. Finally something good happens to Oliver, but not for long. It is a long and difficult road for this quiet, beautiful-soul young boy.

Read this if you enjoy heartache and misery. Read this when you feel like being dissolved in tears and anguish. Do not read this if you want to feel good about yourself or the world. While this was one of the greatest books I have ever read, I could happily have done without. However, it was the start of my love for Dickens. A TALE OF TWO CITIES was marginally less excruciating. If you are planning a trip to England, visit Bury St. Edmunds and stay at the Angel Hotel. Bring the Pickwick Papers, as Dickens wrote it at the Angel. Enjoy!