Dodger by Terry Pratchett
(Format used for this read: audiobook)
When I became a fan of Neil Gaiman just one year ago (I am forever indebted to my dear friend Jamila for filling up my life with his work!), someone told me if I loved his work, I would equally love Terry Pratchett’s work.
There is a novel Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett wrote together called “Good Omens” which was made into an Amazon series last year …I watched it and thought it was BRILLIANT…so I was all “YESSSSSS! I need to read this guy!”
(I have a small confession to make here…I broke one of my cardinal rules….
If there is a movie or TV show based on a book, ONE MUST READ THE BOOK FIRST BEFORE WATCHING…
Because all the TRUE readers in the world will know this simple fact:
THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER
I am not sure why I approved myself disobeying this FAMILY WIDE rule that I even enforce on all who abide under my roof…but I did…
JUST THIS ONE TIME….my bad, fellow book lovers…won’t happen again 😬)
ANYWAY….back to this review…
So, I did a search on my precious little Libby library app and got myself on a million hold lists for Terry Pratchett books.
It took a bagillion forevers but FINALLY one came thru!
And this was a jolly good first experience if I do say so myself.
*please read that again in an English accent for full effect*
Here is the summary:
“A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he’s…Dodger.
Seventeen-year-old Dodger may be a street urchin, but he gleans a living from London’s sewers, and he knows a jewel when he sees one. He’s not about to let anything happen to the unknown girl–not even if her fate impacts some of the most powerful people in England.
From Dodger’s encounter with the mad barber Sweeney Todd to his meetings with the great writer Charles Dickens and the calculating politician Benjamin Disraeli, history and fantasy intertwine in a breathtaking account of adventure and mystery.
Beloved and bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett combines high comedy with deep wisdom in this tale of an unexpected coming-of-age and one remarkable boy’s rise in a complex and fascinating world.”
In case yall don’t remember from past reviews, I ADORE English humor.
And I also ADORE English accents…of all kinds.
The narrator of this book completely nailed SO MANY OF THEM…. the fancy schmancy aristocrats, the self identifying street urchins…even channeling a fantastic Queen Victoria.
So that was one very enjoyable part of this reading adventure for me.
Another enjoyable part for me was the main character of Dodger….you just can’t help but love the kid.
He is a scoundrel who deep down really just wants to do the right thing…he never INTENTIONALLY commits a crime or causes trouble just for his personal gain…but doesn’t mind so much when he benefits JUST A BIT.
His character is based off of the character Artful Dodger in the Charles Dickens story “Oliver Twist”.
Speaking of Dickens, he is also a prominent character in Dodger’s story…and there are many more real life people and fictional characters who are included along the way….Henry Mayhew, Benjamin Disraeli, and like the review says above Sweeney Todd.
That was also a very enjoyable part of this book…
I always think it’s fun when authors do that…weave the reality into the fiction in a way that you can believe that the fiction is ALSO the reality too!
This story takes place in Victorian Era London…when the streets were dirty, the poor was many, and struggle was everywhere.
Dodger is what is called a “tosher”, which is basically someone who scavenges the sewer to find money or things to sell. (there are all kinds of slang words from this era you will come across in this story…it was quite fun and educational at the same time)
The London sewer system is actually very intricate and pretty fascinating….you learn quite a bit of it’s history while reading this story…
And just what I mentioned above, there is all kinds of historical trivia woven into this fantastical tale…and I appreciate at the end of the book he explains why he included what he did.
Even though this book takes place during a very dreary and dark time of London history, the tale it spins is humorous, captivating, intriguing and in it’s own way even charming.
There is also a touch of Sherlock Holmes mystery along the way as well.
Dodger just happens to be in the right place at the right time a WHOLE HELL OF A LOT in this story…people LOVE the kid and he just happens to become a hero more than once…
which you are happy about because you really just come to love the scrappy teen.
I found this book to be kind of a watered down Dickens story in a way…sprinkled with a bit more humor and a little more spunk.
(I also hope you read THAT in an English accent 🤣)
Historical fantasy is a super fun genre, yall….this book is PROOF.
One more thing I want to mention is the Afterword the author has….
Yall know I LOVE to learn things and respect research a WHOOOLLLE lot…Terry Pratchett includes PLENTY of that in there as well as explaining why he chose to write this story in the era that he did.
He falls along the lines of Dickens in that he wants to bring continued awareness of the true atrocities of the living circumstances of the poor and working class in London…even though this novel is light hearted and fictional, the struggles and hardships mentioned were very much real and experienced.
Definitely recommend this read…and I will definitely be discovering more of this author in the near future!