A star-studded, tasteless Audible hit produced by Sam Mendes (which duped me into listening), dubbed “mouthwatering” by the Guardian — because apparently, their reviewer either experiences severe synesthesia or enjoys licking their iPhone while listening.
If you can manage to hold onto your book without drooling on your device, perhaps this particular oeuvre isn’t for you. I know I hated it. It’s soapily overplayed and overdone, with the most annoying voice belonging to the poor protagonist himself. It’s a good thing I knew the book beforehand because there was no Twist left in it.
The charm of Dickens lies in his leisurely pace; turning him into an action hero is like making a telenovela out of Dante — completely missing the point and leaving nothing but a mess in its wake. All subplots are discarded, and Oliver is just born, yet his journey to London is already happening and hastened so we are swiftly introduced to the novel’s gallery of villains and ne’er-do-wells.
I love a good radio theater, but this was merely a raucous, bewildering compilation of loud banging noises and yelling, with very little intelligible dialogue or narrative. Listening to it was like watching a film without images. But the worst part: Sam Mendes killed Dickens’ humor. In case you didn’t know, Oliver Twist is a supremely funny book; I still remember laughing out loud as I read it. Nothing of the humor is left, as this syrupy production won’t elicit even a smile, forget laughter. This whole production felt like a high school drama.
Seriously, Sam?
Instead of listening to this commercialized Dickens, why not get the actual paper book and pair it up with a nice touch of mescaline? Though it’s not as prevalent today, mescaline was the first psychedelic to enter mainstream Western culture — before the widespread use of LSD and psilocybin. This is when real — not induced by bad journalism — synesthesia occurs: sights may be “heard,” thoughts may be “smelled,” and sounds may be “tasted,” so the book will really become mouthwatering. Mescaline produces an experience of depersonalization or the dissolution of the ego; everything, including oneself, feels unified. This experience gives rise to clear and connected thoughts, self-realization, empathy, and euphoria, each of which can feel profound and deeply meaningful. Dickens would appreciate the connection.
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