Our Mutual Friend

Starred review from April 28, 2008
David Timson reads Dickens's last complete novel with a sense of fun. As always, Dickens creates a fabulous array of characters: the nouveau riche Veneerings, the dwarf who makes doll clothes, the bizarre schoolmaster, and the abysmally poor who trawl the Thames for bodies or daily sift the dust and dirt of Victorian England for a skimpy living. Timson's dramatic talents add dimension to each personality—just the sort of acting that makes an audio experience so satisfying. Naxos has done a fine job of abridging the book (Timson also reads the unabridged version on 28 CDs). Not much is lost in terms of plot and characterization, and Dickens's great satiric and social themes come through clearly: the plight and misery of the poor and the greed and heartless stupidity of the rich. If the abridgment seems a bit disjointed, it simply follows the novel's narrative style. This is a wonderful listen for Dickens fans and novices alike.

Happily, all kinds of pitfalls have been avoided in this dramatization. Because Dickens's authorial voice is so strong, his work can be badly dramatized in scripts. This is not the case here. This BBC dramatization keeps portions of the omniscient narration, using it to bridge gaps. Quiet multilayered sound effects--a baby crying, the clink of coins--set the stage and never overwhelm the core narratives. Despite the size of the cast, each character is immediately recognizable, due to the distinct class and regional accents, a feature that is entertaining in itself. Though the complex plot combines death, romance, and changes in fortune, this production makes following them all a pleasure. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine


David Timson welcomes you into mid-Victorian London in this superb production of Charles Dickens's OUR MUTUAL FRIEND. This story of intrigue, love, greed, and murder centers on the violent death of a man who stands to inherit a great deal of money and its impact on multiple people at various levels of society. A one-man full cast, Timson creates a large number of entertaining characters--ranging from Mr. Boffin, the "Golden Dustman" who inherits the dead man's fortune and is seemingly corrupted by it, to Silas Wegg, the grifter with a wooden leg, and the unflappable but abused secretary, John Rokesmith. Timson is equally adept at creating women's voices for a variety of believable and distinct female characters. Never a dull moment. A.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine