Dodger in DC Public Library

Aug 24, 2018 Prince William Public Libraries rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fiction, adult, sci-fi-fantasy, adventure

Dodger by Terry Pratchett is an interesting mix of stories and places. There are hints of Pratchett’s city of Ankh Morpork in this portrayal of Victorian London. Charles Dickens appears as a character as well as Henry Mayhew, who studied social conditions and worked for improved conditions for the poor. Dodger, our hero, meets Mr. Charlie and Henry Mayhew as he rushes out of the sewers of London to fight and run off two men, who are beating a young woman. Charlie & Mr. Mayhew take her to a safe ...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Megan Reichelt rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, historical

It was a dark and stormy night in turn-of-the-century London. A girl's scream rips through the air as she tries to escape a carriage with two brutish men on her heels. Suddenly, a young man emerges from a sewer drain and saves her. Thus Dodger, common geezer and tosher (person who explores sewers for lost items), gets swept up in a mystery that involves Charles Dickens, Henry Mayhew, Benjamin Disraeli, and even foreign powers. Will he be able to solve the mystery of the woman in the coach, and w It was a dark and stormy night in turn-of-the-century London. A girl's scream rips through the air as she tries to escape a carriage with two brutish men on her heels. Suddenly, a young man emerges from a sewer drain and saves her. Thus Dodger, common geezer and tosher (person who explores sewers for lost items), gets swept up in a mystery that involves Charles Dickens, Henry Mayhew, Benjamin Disraeli, and even foreign powers. Will he be able to solve the mystery of the woman in the coach, and will he be able to maintain his identity as his star rises?

Pratchett calls this book a historical fantasy, and I can definitely see how that is true. It is more like historical fan fiction, where he manipulates facts to give you a really fun story. It took me a while to get into the rhythm of his long, convoluted and clever sentences, but I really enjoyed the book.

The world was excellently drawn, almost to much so, for I felt sometimes he was letting the historical personages run wild with their opinions on the world more than letting the plot advance. However, the characters are really fun, if a bit flat. The two characters that stand out in relief from the others are Dodger himself and his mentor and landlord Solomon. Solomon is a practical, cosmopolitan Jewish refugee. He lives simply and speaks wisely, and plays his cards close to the chest. It bothered me that Pratchett seemed to be implying that Fagin from Oliver Twist was based on Solomon, for Solomon was nothing if not an amazing role model. Dickens actually went back and apologized for the anti-Semitic portrayal of Fagin in Oliver Twist, so it colored my view of Dickens in the novel.

Dodger is a surprisingly compassionate hardened geezer (clever, streetwise person). He is more complex than you realize at first, protecting his town, and if he lies and manipulates a good person, he makes sure they are recompensed. He sees all sides of a situation, and feels sympathy for those who are portrayed as "villains" in the eyes of the public. I do sometimes wish that he was actually genuinely scared or that he failed horribly once or twice in the story, because his constant successes made me hate him a little, but just a little.

I honestly was expecting a lot of horrible things to happen in this book which never happened. Perhaps, I forgot this was a Pratchett novel, and not just a regular historical/ literary adaptation where they try to take the story down dark roads.

All in all, a pleasant and fun romp through 17th century London. ...more

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Nov 25, 2015 Jennifer rated it liked it

Historical fantasy by way of Forrest Gump. Dodger is an orphan abandoned on the streets who happens to rescue a damsel in distress one evening. Because of his heroic antics, he finds himself getting into interesting situations with Charles (“Charlie”) Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli, Sweeney Todd and Queen Victoria. It has moments of charm, but ultimately it didn’t keep my interest for long periods of time.

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Dec 05, 2012 Sonali rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, friendship, literature, books-for-boys, great-for-teachers, gods-mythology, spies

Yeah, I loved it. I mean, Terry Pratchett writing Charles Dickens! What's not to love?

This is a book I will happily hand to a teacher or parent looking for some "classic literature" for a reluctant reader. It's be a great read-aloud too. ...more

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