Oliver Twist (Penguin Classics)
by Charles Dickens
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I have in my 37 years of life avoided reading Charles Dickens. My reason: after having suffered through trying to read the so-called English literature of his era--think Thomas Harding, Emile Bronte and Mary Shelly--I figured Dickens would be no better. For some reason I can’t now recollect, I decided to give Dickens a try. I chose Oliver Twist. And was immediately hooked. Far from the boring narrative one finds the works of the other English writers I've already mentioned, Dickens has a...more
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Reading this novel was a delight. Perhaps, it was so wonderfully moving because of some personal dilemmas occurring in my life at the time. My good friend, Christina deJong had just passed away from a horribly debilitating disease, cancer, and I was having problems grieving. And then I read this moving passage:
'but this should give us comfort in our sorrow; for Heaven is just; and such things teach
impressively, that there is a brighter world than this; and that the passage to it is speed...more
'but this should give us comfort in our sorrow; for Heaven is just; and such things teach
impressively, that there is a brighter world than this; and that the passage to it is speed...more
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Read in February, 2008
The old man, who was stooping over the fire toasting a piece of bread, looked round as he bantered Oliver thus, and chuckled, as if to show that he knew he would still be very glad to get away if he could.
‘I suppose,’ said the Jew, fixing his eyes on Oliver, ‘you want to know what you’re going to Bill’s for – eh, my dear?’
Oliver coloured, involuntarily, to find that the old thief had been reading his thoughts; but boldly said, Yes, he did want to know.
‘Why, do you think?...more
‘I suppose,’ said the Jew, fixing his eyes on Oliver, ‘you want to know what you’re going to Bill’s for – eh, my dear?’
Oliver coloured, involuntarily, to find that the old thief had been reading his thoughts; but boldly said, Yes, he did want to know.
‘Why, do you think?...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in August, 2007
So I've finished it, but it was kind of a struggle. There are parts of the story that made me not want to go on (and surprisingly this was often because I didn't want any more bad things to happen to Oliver. Now I know why 'Dick' is in Dickens).
Several things jumped out at me while reading. The first was the elitist Victorian view of society where the poor are pitied but in the end it is really their fault. Though Dickens does poke fun at this a bit, and he does point out how the middle...more
Several things jumped out at me while reading. The first was the elitist Victorian view of society where the poor are pitied but in the end it is really their fault. Though Dickens does poke fun at this a bit, and he does point out how the middle...more
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Read in November, 2007
Having seen the stage musical and two movie versions, I have wanted for a long time to read the original. It was interesting to see how much was changed from the book. Fagin is a much more loathsome creature in the book--more treacherous, more cunning, more quick to anger, and not the jolly old naughty elf that he is in the musical version. Nancy is also more of a wretch, and not the kindly, big sister figure to Fagin's gang as she is portrayed in the film; making her decision to act on Olive...more
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Read in January, 1986
Everyone knows this story and there's a reason for it.
My generic comment about Charles Dickens:
First of all, although I am a partisan of Dickens' writing and have read and relished most his works, I concede to three flaws in his oeuvre that are not insignificant. First, while he seemed to develop an almost endless variety of male social types, his female characters are much less well developed. Second, although he portrayed the stark brutality of economic and class inequality with unparall...more
My generic comment about Charles Dickens:
First of all, although I am a partisan of Dickens' writing and have read and relished most his works, I concede to three flaws in his oeuvre that are not insignificant. First, while he seemed to develop an almost endless variety of male social types, his female characters are much less well developed. Second, although he portrayed the stark brutality of economic and class inequality with unparall...more
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Read in October, 2007
As one of Dickens' most well-known books, Oliver Twist does not disappoint. The plot line is extremely interesting, and I enjoyed reading such an original story written with such eloquent diction. Dickens' language is one of the best parts of the book. The story of Oliver Twist, an orphan boy who falls into many wrong hands before finally finding a good home, is not only well written, but intriguing. The characters are extremely well developed, and often comical. Oliver's life contains ma...more
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Read in March, 2008
I bought this book when i was in middle school and i never read it until a few weeks ago. when i saw this book on my bookshelf, i finally picked it up and started to read. i have to say it was pretty boring in the beginning. i was almost going to put in back onto the shelf, but i did't. As a read on, the story became more interesting. oliver twist, a orphan since a baby was starved and beaten by his caretakers. when he grew older, he was sold to a coffin maker, his life didnt get any better, so ...more
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While a bit entertaining, the book feels much longer than necessary. Though there aren't any descriptions of the flowers and trees and buildings but there are a long series of events which seem to take a long time which are equally boring.
Most of the characters in Oliver Twist are one dimensional i.e they are either pure good or pure evil. There are those individual storylines that lead to nowhere.I did not care much for Oliver, either. There is too much melodrama and the sentimental scenes ar...more
Most of the characters in Oliver Twist are one dimensional i.e they are either pure good or pure evil. There are those individual storylines that lead to nowhere.I did not care much for Oliver, either. There is too much melodrama and the sentimental scenes ar...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
I don't know how my review got for "Christmas Carol" got posted on "Oliver". Must have been the computer fairies at work. At this point I'm re-reading "Oliver", my main impression so far is that the workhouse scenes are pretty overdone. They were dreadful enough; so don't screw up your point by making ridiculous charges against them: the facts are capable of making your point. Still have a long way to go, though, so I'm certainly not rating it yet.
Well, now I've f...more
Well, now I've f...more
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2 comments
This was a great book! I've tried reading Charles Dickens when I was younger and found it a difficult read. This time, it was a masterpiece. Dickens wrote long descriptive passages so the imagination can really fly away and paint a great picture. You really do feel sorry for poor Oliver, as everything under the sun gets thrown at him. As bad as the other characters were, I could not help but pity them for what they had become. This just made Oliver even more amazing that he refused to turn out t...more
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To me some pieces are written to be read once for ever. Though I loved Oliver Twist or David Copperfield and even Bleak House when I read them first as a young man, but never again….
برخی از آثار یا نویسندگان در دوره ی خود در حد شاهکار بوده اند. بسیاری شان اما پس از یک زمان مشخص، تاریخ مصرفشان تمام شده است. می توانم تصور کنم که دیکنز یکی از آنهاست که در دو...more
برخی از آثار یا نویسندگان در دوره ی خود در حد شاهکار بوده اند. بسیاری شان اما پس از یک زمان مشخص، تاریخ مصرفشان تمام شده است. می توانم تصور کنم که دیکنز یکی از آنهاست که در دو...more
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5 comments
Read in April, 2002
recommends it for:
Any DIEHARD fan of Dickens
As is always the case with Dickens, one should not read this book with any background noise or one may miss his meaning and need to re-read passages. Of the four Dickens novels I have read, this is the best and the most humorous, with the most skillful wording the master ever put to paper. The plot is familiar: Oliver in the work house, his employ at the undertakers, Fagan and the Dodger and their pickposket boys, Nancy and Bill Sykes, and the world of the underground in Victorian England. Th...more
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The great thing about working in educational publishing, is that sometimes you are given the chance to re-read amazing novels like this one.
I called my cat Oliver Twist, so I guess I liked the novel I lot when I read it for the first time some fifteen years ago. However, I had completely forgotten memorable chapters like the ones about the murder of Nancy, the escape and death of uber-villain Bill Sikes, and the last day of Fagin.
Incidentally, as I read this tale of absurd coincidences a...more
I called my cat Oliver Twist, so I guess I liked the novel I lot when I read it for the first time some fifteen years ago. However, I had completely forgotten memorable chapters like the ones about the murder of Nancy, the escape and death of uber-villain Bill Sikes, and the last day of Fagin.
Incidentally, as I read this tale of absurd coincidences a...more
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Read in January, 2007
This was Dickens' second novel. It's the one I remember best from my youth. I think I found it frightening then, perhaps because it was one of the first "grown-up books" I read that had a good deal of violence directed at "civilians" and because I was only slightly older than Oliver and thus able to identify with him more than I did with, say, Natty Bumppo.
Rereading it decades later, I was surprised at how little time Oliver spends with Fagin, the Artful Dodger, and Sikes...more
Rereading it decades later, I was surprised at how little time Oliver spends with Fagin, the Artful Dodger, and Sikes...more
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Read in March, 2008
I really liked this book. Dickens writes about the experiences of a boy named Pip who is content with his lot in life until he realizes there is more out there and suddenly his desire to become proper and educated exceeds all other desires. Dickens writes from the viewpoint of Pip, his observations, his thoughts, and his commentary on the life he experiences. In essence this is a character that you can relate to, his desires to do good, his frustrations with his life, his feelings of inferiority...more
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Read in June, 2007
Dickens definitely has a way with words though I had trouble understanding at points whether he was condoning somethings or ridiculing them. It might have helped if I was actually reading the book and able to look back, or maybe not. The story is very complete biography of Oliver which might have been cut at certain points which had no real impact on the plot. And though it wasn't painful, the story was extremely show to develop at several points. I have heard before of Dickens's stretch of beli...more
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Read in August, 2001
This is my favorite Dickens novel of the ones I have read. The plot revolves, almost melodramatically, around extemely helpless and extremely evil characters--I think this, for me, helped this Dickens novel to be more readable and enjoyable. The satire on the poor laws of industrial England, and the sheer "theatricality" of it all are just wonderful. There are several scenes where Dickens' vivid imaginative flare creates what I think are fictional masterpieces. Apart from being such a ...more
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Read in January, 2008
I have started re-reading some of my antique books, and have found the language and expressions amazing. I honestly have to wonder though, if Dickens even knew what a period was. For example, this passage from the first chapter of Oliver Twist:
Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and ...more
Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and ...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
I was beginning to feel like I hadn't read any classics lately, so, somehow, I was led to Oliver Twist. I guess because when you think classics, you think Dickens. I guess Dickens was all about colorful, multi-layered characters. I felt like I should be making a list of characters while I was reading to try to do a matching quiz that my teacher would be giving out later. There was Oliver, Fagin, the artful Dodger, Bill Sikes, Nancy. Dickens was also about plot...always linking this characte...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.68 (7248 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.68 (5888 ratings) number of reviews: 368popular shelves
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""Men who look on nature, and their fellow-men, and cry that all is dark and gloomy, are in the right; but the sombre colors are reflections from their own jaundiced eyes and hearts. The real hues are delicate, and need a clearer vision.""
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