Reviews

A Child of the Jago by Arthur Morrison

musubi_mumma's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bibliobethreads's review against another edition

3.0

The East End of London in the late 19th century was sometimes quite a pitiful place, the slums in particular, where just making it through the day was an achievement in itself. Crime, violence, prostitution and poverty were rife, and I think Arthur Morrison paints a vivid portrait of the squalor at that period of time in this short novel. Our main character, Dicky Perrott has known nothing else but the life in the Jago, with only one rule for life – “thou shall not nark,” and seen no other solution to his family’s poverty but crime. Unfortunately, his father is not much of a role model for him, when he is imprisoned for theft and violence against a “High Mobsman,” and his mother did little to gain my sympathy by playing a rather passive role in trying to improve their situation.

What did surprise me about this book was the level of violence which I hadn’t expected from the onset. There are rival gang wars and murders aplenty, and the horrifying tradition of “coshing,” where a young woman would distract the gentleman target enough so that he could be bopped on the head and left unconscious, while the perps made off with anything valuable he had on him. Throughout the novel, there is an air of melancholy, made even more poignant by the fact that we know as the reader that these were people’s situations in the East End at that time, and either nobody seemed to give a damn, they flat-out denied there was even a problem, or they turned a blind eye to the ghastly poverty. Father Sturt, who comes to take over the parish (and save all the sinners) is a beacon of light through the story, attempting to change the tenant’s fortunes, even though he has little hope of succeeding.

So, as a novel describing the East End, Arthur Morrison captured the situation so perfectly, and I did enjoy the book as a whole, understanding the message he was trying to get out, although it felt in general that there was something missing for me. Perhaps it was slightly too short and I didn’t feel I got to know the characters properly, although I have to admit the ending really lifted the book again in my estimation, it was fast-paced, exciting, and thoroughly horrible!

Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.wordpress.com

remib's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

belle_margaret_'s review against another edition

5.0

I read this for uni and am currently sobbing in the library! I didn't expect this to be such a powerful read..

booklifer's review against another edition

dark lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

kamillaweka's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

radiodarrenfm's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

jodielk93's review against another edition

A lot better than I thought it would be, with vivid descriptions and a real, gritty world created. You really do invest yourself in these characters, well, you invest yourself in Dicky Perrott, and become like a member of the Jago clan. The ending, however, whilst probably fitting as far as where the book could have gone, leaves the reader feeling rather deflated and unsatisfied.

k_gregz's review against another edition

3.0

Just your usual realist novel that continually likens the poor to rats and exploitatively depicts children's deaths.

jotterthoughts's review

4.0

I thought this book was pretty interesting. I mean, I guessed from the get-go that everything was going to end in absolute tragedy.

Spoiler

They introduced a sickly young child early and I was like, oh, well, she's going to die. And I truthfully assumed that every other member of the family would die also.

It just feels like one of those books. I suppose, if you wanted to squint, you could suggest this is a gritty retelling of any novel that was written in the early Victorian period which seems to look for innate goodness in women and children. It is, however, a similar story to illustrator George Cruikshank's 'The Bottle' -- only about 150 pages longer.

Spoiler

That is to say, things go from bad to worse until everyone is dead or in prison. Some of them are dead AND in prison.

So, that being said, there was still plenty of stuff that I really wasn't expecting. Primarily there's its very lurid depiction of violence and hopelessness in one of London's worst slum. There's no delightful Dickens-esque japes and gambols. There's no escape for Dicky, the main character, whose only hope of rising above a life of poverty

Spoiler

is destroyed by a jealous fellow slum dweller (if we must use Oliver Twist as a comparison, this is our Fagin) who seems bitter to lose one of the children who he's got on his roster of thieves.

It's a very bleak novel, as the story wears on into more and more hopelessness.

Ultimately, if I had to sum this up I'd say it's a good read for anyone who's a fan of Victorian literature. Imagine Oliver Twist, but every single character is Bill Sikes.