Book Review - Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

It is so strange the way a film can infiltrate the psyche and completely alter the experience of reading the book upon which it was based. My father, in an effort to get his offspring some culture, made us sit and watch the 1968 film version of the musical Oliver! My sister and I loved it, memorized and sang the songs, and, to this day, make references to the dialogue. So I am wondering...how different could Oliver Twist, the book, be? Completely. Yet in my reading, the characters I see in my mind's eye are played by the actors in the film, I hum the songs associated with the appropriate passages, and I almost argue with the narrator when the book differs from the script thinking that that is not the way it happened in the movie. The book, as is so often the case, is far superior than the movie, yet they are both wonderful. Oliver Twist follows the life of one very unlucky orphan. His life is constant misery punctuated by short stints of complete and total happiness. Because he is powerless, he easily falls into the hands of those who want to use him to their gain. His heart and character remain true and noble throughout which endears him to the good people whose path he occasionally crosses. The despair in this book is unrelenting and as a reader I was grateful for any kindnesses Oliver received. Dickens's writing is descriptive and humorous and sarcastic and suspenseful and mysterious and heartbreaking...and so many things that create a story which can withstand the test of time and become a classic beloved by generations. Oliver Twist was the perfect initiation into Dickens's writing and I look forward to reading more.

Book Review - Old Books, Rare Friends: Two Literary Sleuths and Their Shared Passions by Leona Rostenberg & Madeleine Stern

There are some books that I want to gush over, and just go on and on about how much I loved them...this is one. Rostenberg and Stern are two women who have dedicated their lives to books and scholarship and one another. Their lives did not intersect until they were in their twenties and they did not connect right away but once they did it led to a friendship so rare and so beautiful it was worthy of several books. After spending the early years of their friendship overcoming collegiate and career obstacles, Stern makes a gift of the necessary accoutrements for starting a rare book business to Rostenberg. Later Stern joins her as partner and the intriguing adventures of finding and selling rare books begins. They transform and break ground in what up to that point had been a male domain. Because of Rostenberg's area of study, they were able to find treasures that other booksellers had no idea they possessed and so sold many of these gems for a pittance. Rostenberg and Stern would then create catalogues (which became famous in their own right for their creative formats) and sell the books at a huge gain. Throughout the book, the women compare their work to that of the great detective Sherlock Holmes. In one case, their 'literary sleuthing' led to a huge discovery...Louisa May Alcott's pen name A.M. Barnard. This led to Stern's concentrated efforts on an Alcott biography and the collection of Alcott's pseudonymous writings. Along with the theme of friendship, the importance of family runs through this book. Both women were well-loved by their families and they return that love through their writing. The fascinating lives of two women who followed their hearts and each other, and found a life so rich and rewarding among books...a perfect read.