Twist by Tom Grass
Twist doesn't know his family. Homeless and on the run from the police, he is swiftly caught up in the world of Dodge, Fagin, Sikes, and Red. As they involve Twist in the dangerous world of Art theft, his skills are pushed to the limits, and his morals are tested by both the murky underworld and the beauty of Red.
| Twist by Tom Grass | |
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| Category: General Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Luke Marlowe
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| Summary: Twist is a book that does everything the title suggests. A retelling of Oliver Twist, Twist is fast paced, exciting, and the well drawn characters and hectic plot take Dicken's classic and treat it with respect whilst also putting a contemporary and very genuine 'twist' on things | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 336 | Date: October 2014 |
| Publisher: Orion Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781409150909 | |
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Retellings of literary classics seem to be all the rage at the moment - but whilst Austen and Shakespeare seem to be redone on a weekly basis, Dickens has remained almost untouched. Reading this book, it's hard to see why. Oliver Twist has always been one of the more popular of Dicken's novels, and it is genuinely given new life here, with the memorable characters easily slotting in to life in the 21st Century.
I'll admit to being sceptical when I first picked up this book. The thought of turning Oliver Twist into an 18 year old criminal and expert at Parkour didn't sit particularly easy, but within a few chapters I was very much involved. This is the author's first novel, but he does have considerable experience as a screenwriter, and that very much shows. The prose is pacey and hard to put down - it's no big surprise that this is currently being made into a film.
The characters are portrayed well - Mr Brownlow as a detective means that the rather far fetched familial twist in Dicken's original novel is ignored, and Nancy as 'Red', also makes a lot of sense - anyone who has seen the film of the Lionel Bart musical 'Oliver!' will likely picture Nancy as a beautiful redhead in a bright red dress.
The climax is a page turner, and the changes to the original plot both work well, and keep the reader on their toes. The author clearly knows London well too - and his grasp of the different areas of London, both geographically and economically, means that Dickens examination of the poor/rich divide isn't lost. Grass has crafted a fun, fast and pacey novel that entertains whilst paying tribute to a literary great.
Many thanks to Orion for the copy.
Matthew Pearl wrote a cracking Dickens mystery in The Last Dickens.
For those who enjoy seeing literary classics both expanded and turned up on their heads, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is a must read.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Twist by Tom Grass at Amazon.com.
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