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Oliver Twist

by Charles Dickens, Fred Kaplan (Editor )

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 102,351 ratings · 2,649 reviews

This fiercely comic tale stands in marked contrast to its genial predecessor, "The Pickwick Papers." Set against London's seedy back street slums, "Oliver Twist" is the saga of a workhouse orphan captured and thrust into a thieves' den, where some of Dickens's most depraved villains preside: the incorrigible Artful Dodger, the murderous bully Sikes, and the terrible Fagin,...more

Paperback, 624 pages

Published December 17th 1992 by W. W. Norton & Company (first published 1837)

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Oct 06, 2011 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, easton-press, audiobook, 1800s, literature, love-those-words, classics-european

I looooooooved this book. Another Dickens...another favorite. 'Please, sir, I want some more.'

Jane Austen and Charles Dickens have been dueling inside my WOW center for some time in a titanic, see-saw struggle for the title of greatest word-smither/story-crafter in all of English literature. Ms Austen previously caused heart-palpitations and a slew of gasms with Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility which left me spent like a cheap nickel. However, Sir Dickens, being a slick, wily devi...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

Oliver Twist THE BOOK is crap and has NO songs in it, I couldn't believe it. So I googled and get this, it turns out they put those in the movie and Dickens had nothing to do with it! But since they were the best bit of the film, you can understand my horror and bereft sense of disappointment when I finally came to pick up the book.

How could Dickens NOT have thought of having little Oliver sing Where Is Love when chucked into the cellar or Who Will Buy This Loverly Morning when he wakes up in h...more

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Aug 27, 2007 Mike H. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

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 class o...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Jennifer (aka EM) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Copy-edited. Just in case you thought I was a complete doofus the first-time round.

Yes, I am giving Oliver Twist one star.

What went wrong here? Oh, about a million things. First, the single reason I decided to read this book is because I got a new dog recently, and I named him Oliver Twist. Then I realized I hadn't actually read his namesake, and I really like Dickens, and well ... it's orphans, right? ... and there was this lovely new Penguin hardcover all nubbly and pretty and ....

... and now...more Copy-edited. Just in case you thought I was a complete doofus the first-time round.

Yes, I am giving Oliver Twist one star.

What went wrong here? Oh, about a million things. First, the single reason I decided to read this book is because I got a new dog recently, and I named him Oliver Twist. Then I realized I hadn't actually read his namesake, and I really like Dickens, and well ... it's orphans, right? ... and there was this lovely new Penguin hardcover all nubbly and pretty and ....

... and now I'm three books behind my GR Reading Challenge - blast it all to hell and back again!!!!! hahahaha (ok, well that has more to do with the canine OT than this book), butttttttt:

I love Dickens when his characters are over-the-top caricatures crafted with blind rage against the poverty and injustice they - and he - experienced at their core - not when they are shallow, one-dimensional, and here in one case, racist, clichés. It was almost like he couldn't describe the horrific conditions of Oliver's early life well enough; he couldn't sustain it. He couldn't get close to it, likely because he was too close to it.

We knew too early the kid was going to be okay.

I love Dickens when his sentences and his plots are as convoluted, dark and edgy as the rank London streets and jails he describes. When his language skates so far beyond purple prose into the most delicious hyperbole that it makes you want to grab a placard and march behind him yelling slogans and demanding justice.

Mostly, I love Dickens when I feel politically aligned with him - and here, I didn't. He almost had too much sympathy for "the bad guys." Bumble was ... bumbling and an idiot, but easily dismissed and quickly defrocked (I choose that word deliberately). Sikes was evil incarnate, but we didn't get to see enough truly evil ACTS or thoughts; we saw him through the lenses of other characters -- Fagin - could there be a more ambiguous bad guy? and Nancy, in particular -- both of whose viewpoints were compromised by their own ambiguity.

Coming back to the language. Usually, I find Dickens more controlled, more consistent, more intentional with his rhetoric. Here, I swear he must have sub-contracted out some of these chapters. They were wildly inconsistent in tone and style one to the next. Maybe he could get away with that as it was being published in its original format, but jam-packed all together like this (granted, I read it about as slowly as it was originally intended), it was glaringly obvious that he was experimenting with style over the course of it, got easily distracted in several spots and then -- with something akin to arrogance at his own ability to fool most of the people most of the time -- overconfidently came back in the next chapter to apologize for the sins of the last. It made for a very frustrating and anger-provoking reading experience.

I confess I don't know any of the context in which this was written, so feel free to correct my argument by providing context. One thing I would like to know is whether all of Dickens's novels were originally published serially, or only a few, OT among them. I'm thinking that what I like/dislike among his oeuvre may fall along those lines. I like the wholly-composed novel: the one where Dickens knows exactly where he will take the reader, puts you in the palm of his hand from the first chapter, but doesn't reveal where you're going (except to give you the confidence that the destination will be worth the journey) until the very last. That's the Dickens I love.

This, not so much. I may have to change my dog's name. :-p (less)

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Mar 03, 2013 Rob rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

It is hard to exit the original worlds created by Dickens. I usually manage it crying like a baby. Oliver Twist is top shelf storytelling. The characters are amazing. The setting is perfect. The plot manages to throw out hundreds of threads and ties them all together at the end, while never losing or boring the reader. Weakness? This is probably nit picking, but the story seems to work out too well in the end. Don't get me wrong, I know this is a social novel and FICTION, but I guess I just have...more

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Mar 23, 2011 Mariel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Oliver!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Recommended to Mariel by: scavenger babies

I never finished reading Oliver Twist. I gave up in *coughs* 1994 and never went back to it. Was I intending to go back to it? Not really. I didn't even pretend to myself. It was a chore and Oliver wasn't someone that I wanted to carry on with for the whole journey. Luckily, the high school English teacher decided what the dickens did we need to read Dickens anyway and assigned us The Outsiders the film (showed me to read on my own). I was all set to write my awesome book report based on:

Now is...more

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Jun 29, 2008 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 very pe...more 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 very personable, simple, attractive writing style.

As its title suggests, the book itself is about Oliver Twist. He's an orphan who, constantly abused, finally runs away and goes to London for there he figures he'll never be found. During his trip to that city, he meets a youth of perhaps thirteen years who calls himself the Artful Dodger. He's a pick pocket, and he brings poor Oliver into a den of thieves, one headed by a fence named Fagin. Here is a character of very bad reputation. Alas, he also demonstrates Dickens’ obvious anti-Semitism. Fagin represents a caricature of all “bad” Jews. Despite this flaw, Dickens nonetheless makes him a compelling villain. His other primary rogue, Bill Sikes the housebreaker, is even more dangerous and more terrifying.

Poor Oliver is soon used as a decoy while the Artful Dodger and his fellow pickpocket, Charley Bates, steal from a gentleman looking at books at a bookstand. Oliver is caught, taken to the magistrate, then befriended by the very man who thought Oliver had picked his pocket: Mr. Brownlow. From here Oliver’s adventures for the most part recall the terrible things that happen to the poor boy: he’s kidnapped, compelled to be a house breaker, and has a variety of other problems. Along the way he learns that not all the adults in the world are as compassionless as those who ran the Parish orphanage from whence he came.

This book is more than a compelling tale: it is biting social commentary, attacking the terrible conditions that the English masses had to endure in the first half of the 19th century; it is especially critical of the unfair Poor Law. England at that time was in essence what the free market advocates want in America to be today: they want no government interference in business nor the government to manage anyone’s lives’ let the market to take care of it! Thus an orphanage isn’t a place where you keep children until they can be adopted or come of age, it’s a place where you work the them to turn a profit. Oddly, this tale rings very true to our society today, but even if you have no interest whatsoever in society in general and politics and economics in particular, it’s nonetheless a wonderful tale well worth reading.(less)

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Mar 17, 2012 MJ Nicholls rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, pre-1900s, sassysassenachs, art-or-illustrated, oxford-classics

Yes, but what became of Oliver? Let me tell you. He became Oliver Twisted. That’s what. He became Battersea’s premier caulker—that is, someone who seals gaps in drywall with waterproof sealant. But Fagin’s influence seeped into poor Oliver’s caulking duties. Instead of sealant, he would put sea lions, banana skins and discount copies of the musical Oliver! Homeowners would thrash in their beds to the bleating of moribund sea lions. Houses would slip away from their districts into horrible places...more

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Jan 20, 2013 jo mo rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, 2009, read-in-german, reviews, 2-stars, abuse, dramarama, adoptee-or-orphan

oliver twist was a pain in the ass to read, with its slow paced writing it took all my will to keep reading. it was a tough struggle, but i won. oliver twist has been on my to-read-list for some time now, while i can’t say the book amazed me ... i’m still glad i could finally bring myself to read this piece of classic literature. i think one of the many reasons i decided to give it a shot (besides it being a part my english classes in school), is definitely that both my parents have read the boo...more oliver twist was a pain in the ass to read, with its slow paced writing it took all my will to keep reading. it was a tough struggle, but i won. oliver twist has been on my to-read-list for some time now, while i can’t say the book amazed me ... i’m still glad i could finally bring myself to read this piece of classic literature. i think one of the many reasons i decided to give it a shot (besides it being a part my english classes in school), is definitely that both my parents have read the book many times (in school) and loved it.

charles dickens illustrates the life of the poor in the 19th century, taking place in england and gives them a voice through the eyes of an innocent child: oliver twist. we get to accompany him through joy and sorrow. he gets bruised, beaten, abused, humiliated and shot at. in the end though, (view spoiler)

i can see why dickens became famous at his times, just like harriet beecher stowe was, when she published uncle tom's cabin (view spoiler). both people, giving voices to the suffering/poor/pariahs, who got overlooked most of the time.

although charles dickens is and was known for being overly dramatic, it helped him make a point. otherwise, the book would not have been able to become what it is today. a classic. in the victorian era, where most of the victorians showed only indifference to the plight of the poor, dickens’ writing style helped serve his purpose, which was to change society’s views of the abuse of children.

oliver, our protagonist is actually not a very believable character, considering how he grew up and was treated like. the author described all of his book’s characters as being either good or evil, which was easy enough to guess, when he defined their appearance. black or white, with no shades of gray. the power of oliver’s complexion is emphasized, through his noble manners despite all the ugly things that happened to him. the same way oliver, rose and harry are described as beautiful, fagin and sikes are uglified. the external appearance gives the reader an impression of the person’s inner character.

he described with a good dose of humor or rather sarcasm the hypocrisy, laziness, greed and arrogance of the upper class people. but despite all that, oliver twist is able to experience the friendliness of strangers. oliver, indeed, was an extremely lucky boy to have so many strange people help him out, especially when compared to his peers (e.g. dick). all the characters that ill-treated him or were evil either (view spoiler), which is dickens’ way of telling us readers that “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (less)

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Nov 04, 2007 Joe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 Oliver's...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Peter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, victorians, london

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The character of Oliver is a bland and tedious milquetoast as are the Maylies but the villains are broad grotesques of pure genius. Mr Bumble, Bill Sikes, Fagin, Nancy, Dodger and even Master Bates ( I wondered if this was a purposeful joke or not?) are such memorable characters. The story is a rags to riches tale about a pure hearted orphan who escapes both the drudgery of the workhouse and a life of crime, by the lucky coincidence of being related to some good hearted toffs (and one evil one,...more

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Oct 04, 2011 Cait rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, owned, 1001, bloom-canon, victorian-neo-victorian, read-in-2011

I swear Dickens named one of his characters Master Bates on purpose.

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Dec 04, 2008 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Please sir, may I have less?

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Sep 29, 2011 Alex rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, reading-through-history

First of all, Oliver Twist is a hateful book. Dickens has created in Fagin an embodiment of bigotry; a leering, black-nailed, money-grubbing Jew who's nearly always referred to as The Jew, as though Dickens wasn't sure we'd get it.* Fagin is the most memorable character in Oliver Twist, and he's inexcusable. I've read me some Victorian novels; I'm familiar with the casual anti-Semitism that's nearly unavoidable in them; I understand the context of the time. Dickens is well beyond that context. F...more

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Jun 22, 2011 Ardesia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sp

Ciao, sono Oliver, l'orfanello sfigato immaginato da Dickens.
La mia storia è diventata un classico; un classico esempio di come la gente sia da sempre morbosamente attratta dalle sfortune altrui, dagli intrecci impossibili e dai finali improbabili. Sognare piace a tutti, ma quando i sogni diventano incubi l'importante è che ne sia protagonista qualcun'altro; anche un bimbetto ingenuo, tanto buono e con un faccino da tesorino come il mio può andare bene allo scopo. Anzi, così è pure meglio, perch...more Ciao, sono Oliver, l'orfanello sfigato immaginato da Dickens.
La mia storia è diventata un classico; un classico esempio di come la gente sia da sempre morbosamente attratta dalle sfortune altrui, dagli intrecci impossibili e dai finali improbabili. Sognare piace a tutti, ma quando i sogni diventano incubi l'importante è che ne sia protagonista qualcun'altro; anche un bimbetto ingenuo, tanto buono e con un faccino da tesorino come il mio può andare bene allo scopo. Anzi, così è pure meglio, perché la gente è anche sempre stata un po' stronza.
Comunque io non mi butto giù. So che prima o poi troverò il mio posto nel mondo, crescerò e magari grazie all'inventiva di un altro autore riceverò un qualche super potere che mi permetterà di vendicarmi di tutti coloro che hanno goduto delle mie sfortune. Lo so che sono tanto buono e certe cose non si fanno, ma non è che se resto buone per sempre poi arriva la fatina e mi trasforma in un bambino vero, quindi qualche soddisfazione dalla vita potrò pur prendermela anch'io.
Come diceva sempre mio Zio Murphy "Se qualcosa può andar male, lo farà", perciò bisogna reagire e non starsene inerti, ipnotizzati dai propri giramenti di palle e piangersi continuamente addosso come faceva quella lagna di Calimero. Sì, ok, lo ammetto, anch'io a volte mi sono fatto prendere la mano dai piagnistei, tanto che qualcuno è arrivato a ipotizzare che la mia mamma fosse una certa Lucia Mondella, che a quanto pare sembrava una fontana, ma io ero solo un bimbetto che prendeva legnate.
L'ho già fatto presente che ero solo un povero bimbetto ingenuo, tanto buono e col faccino da tesorino? Sì? No, perché ero veramente tanto ingenuo e tanto buono. Ma tanto, eh! Tanto cosììì! Anzi, no, di più: cosììììììììììì! Che la gente è anche sempre stata tanto perversa e più ero buono e più godevano delle sfighe che mi capitavano. Ma ve l'ho detto, appena mi arriva un bel super potere ci penso io. È solo questione di tempo. Se le mie avventure vi hanno fatto ridere è meglio che principiate a dormire con un occhio aperto perché prima o poi i miei incubi potrebbero diventare la vostra realtà.
E da ora in avanti potete chiamarmi Oliver Darth Twist, così iniziamo a intenderci meglio.(less)

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Jan 17, 2011 Malbadeen marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Before you judge my son let me tell you a few things about him: he surfs, he skateboards, he listens to music I disapprove of, he wants his hair much longer than I will allow and he doesn't pick up after himself. My point? He's not some handkerchief wearing, brief case carrying, Alex P. Keaton nerd. But he reads, a lot and it is reason 1,199 I love him so much!

The other day we were in a book store and I, being the shallow gal that I am, was admiring the new covers on a set of classics when my so...more

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Nov 24, 2007 Rafe rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-about-saps

I hate Oliver Twist. AND I hate Oliver Twist. I can stand neither the character nor the book. One thing that one is taught over and over again in literature classes and in writing classes is that characters must change, that protagonists must be organic and developing, not round. So what's the deal with Oliver? He starts as a twit, and ends as a twit. I know that the point is how his purity is untouched by the gangrenous society in which he is enveloped, but... But books like this, and especiall...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Ensiform rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

The famous tale of the titular orphan, born to a mother of uncertain origin but assumed to be low-born, who grows up mistreated and half-starved in the workhouses of the time. He is apprenticed out to a coffin-maker, where the contempt and bullying he undergoes impels him to flee to London. There, he is taken in by master criminal Fagin, who trains streets urchins to be pickpockets to enrich his own coffers. Fleeing Fagin and the harsh, brutal house-breaker Sikes, he is taken in by a gentleman a...more The famous tale of the titular orphan, born to a mother of uncertain origin but assumed to be low-born, who grows up mistreated and half-starved in the workhouses of the time. He is apprenticed out to a coffin-maker, where the contempt and bullying he undergoes impels him to flee to London. There, he is taken in by master criminal Fagin, who trains streets urchins to be pickpockets to enrich his own coffers. Fleeing Fagin and the harsh, brutal house-breaker Sikes, he is taken in by a gentleman and then a young lady in succession, where his lot improves, but the mystery of his parentage, and how he figures into the nefarious plans of Fagin, Sikes, and the mysterious man Monks, remain to be realized.

This novel is of course widely regarded as a classic, and though I don’t believe it to be of the same quality as Great Expectations, it’s not hard to see why it has endured: the villains of the story are vivid, fully realized, horrifying at times, and almost noble in their way at others. Dickens set out to present an honest account of vice with this novel, and he certainly succeeded: his willingness to give motives, fears, and conscience to the villains, rather than simply making them cartoonishly evil, is fairly modern. (Fagin is an absurd anti-Semitic stereotype, but I overlook that as a reflection of Dickens' time and place.) The novel also succeeds as social satire; especially at the beginning, with its descriptions of 19th century England’s treatment of the poor, he comes off as sharp, angry, and as full of black, biting wit as Twain or Swift. The book has its flaws, however. Despite his upbringing, young Twist himself is nearly a cipher, cartoonishly beatific and good; his personality borders on mawkishness, even sanctimoniousness. The same can be said for Miss Rose, the lady who takes him in, which makes them uninteresting as well as unrealistic. It’s no accident that Fagin and the Artful Dodger are as well-known to the general public as the titular hero himself. Finally, Dickens’ social satire is rather cut off at the knees due to his decision to make Twist the son of a gentleman, as if actual lower-class paupers don’t deserve happy endings and decent treatment. It’s a terrific story in its essence, though, with rich characters, suspense, and broad humor, as well as a righteous social satire and invective against hypocritical power mongers.(less)

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Apr 04, 2012 Maninee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic

I was at Starmark looking around for something I might like to read when I came across this pile of books almost heaped against a wall. Above there was a poster which declared that it being the time of the 200th birth anniversary of Dickens his works were on sale. After all, what better way to honour a great author than sell his books at half price? I had been reading Great Expectations at the time and I picked Oliver Twist as the next title in my Dickens’ fest.

Oliver Twist is the story of an or...more I was at Starmark looking around for something I might like to read when I came across this pile of books almost heaped against a wall. Above there was a poster which declared that it being the time of the 200th birth anniversary of Dickens his works were on sale. After all, what better way to honour a great author than sell his books at half price? I had been reading Great Expectations at the time and I picked Oliver Twist as the next title in my Dickens’ fest.

Oliver Twist is the story of an orphan of the same name and his rise from an unwanted, unloved half-starved child to a boy with family and people to care and look after him. Born in a parish sick house to a mother who was not married Oliver was marked out from birth to be of bad character(for in those days London thought vice and poverty to be mutually to go hand in hand). From the orphanage to the workhouse Oliver is ill treated and starved. One day gripped by hunger the workhouse boys decide that they can bear the hunger no longer. So they draw lots and it falls upon Oliver to go and ask for more food. This act of ‘mutiny’ shocks the parish and Oliver is marked out as a messenger of the devil himself. Apprenticed to a coffin maker whose wife and assistant seem intent on bullying him Oliver soon runs away from home in order to make his fortune and in search of a better life. The novel is mainly about Oliver’s adventures in the city and the people he comes across there.

Dickens’ narration in this book is filled with dark humour and sarcasm. He mocks the upper strata of the London society in all their ‘kindness’ and ‘graciousness’. His sentences however are long and winding and seem to go on forever and often end just where they had started, which I am afraid may put off readers(like me) who are not used to it.

Dickens’ characters are almost all black and white with characters like Mr.Brownlow, Rose, Harry and Oliver who cannot perceive evil and those like Fagin, Sikes, Noah and Monks who cannot perceive good. There are few who can perceive both and have more than one side to them.

There are mostly two major female characters in Oliver Twist, Nancy and Rose. Rose is the ideal Victorian lady. She is pure, innocent, kind, gentle and most importantly blond; she loves animals and children and is soft spoken and cries for the slightest reasons. In short, the ideal wife. She suffers from fevers but never dies as a result and she is unambitious. Her perfection itself becomes a flaw for people can neither identify with nor are interested in someone who resembles a cardboard cut out. Her qualities may have been highly regarded in Dickens’ time but today she would be slighted for these same qualities. Not the kindness or the gentle behaviour but the lack of any ambition, utter dependence upon the male characters, lack of bravery and sense of adventure. Even her admirer, Harry, is simple and honest and unambitious and is content to move to the village to become a clergy man.

Oliver is sweet and endearing and always ever so trusting and intent on doing what is right. It seems unnatural that even after being ill treated and starved he should never stray from the path of goodness. He hardly grows throughout the story and unlike David Copperfield or Pip Gargery he remains the same affable, adorable and sweet boy he was at the very beginning of the book.

Nancy is the only character I have so much trouble with. I really, really want to like her. She is daring, brave, ingenious and resourceful. She defies her master and does what she knows is right even at the cost of her own life. She does not take money for helping Oliver and takes pride in doing so. And yet she doesn’t take her chance of leaving her old life behind. She stays for a man like Sikes. I never understood why she did that. Her loyalty to Fagin and his gang is…both good and bad. Good because she does not turn her back on those who were by her side for so long and bad because of the bigger picture.

Perhaps the greatest undoing of Oliver Twist is the fact that despite being a biting commentary on the cruelty and failure of the charity workers and the helplessness of the poorer section of London the only reason Oliver Twist makes any progress in life is not because he had worked hard and risen above his social status but because he had hidden roots among the middle class of London.

Dickens’ portrayal of the orphans and the poorer section of London is heart breaking. The state of the lower class was pitiable and I cried quite a few times while reading the description of Oliver’s life in the parish. When it comes to the authorities Dickens is rather unforgiving for most of them are nothing but monsters without any redeeming qualities.

The names of his characters are always so amusing. Oliver’s last name signifies the change in his life. Rose’s name shows what she symbolizes, in short, a pure flower. Toby, who cracks safes, has the last name Crackit. Bumble reminds me of a bumbling fool and Noah Claypole assumes the name of Bolter which is just what he is as he spills the beans on Fagin and his gang and then gets off scot free.

The books is definitely a good read.
(less)

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Nov 06, 2011 Anthony Bellaleigh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The biggest problem I have, when I try to read Dickens, is that he uses really long sentences, that start off merrily enough - though you wonder where he might be going - then meander like some ancient stream across the pages, complete with eddies and side currents - and occasionally random wildlife or characters - then, eventually, several lines later, somehow find their way back to whatever it was that he started talking about right back at the very beginning... :)

My second problem is that the...more

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Apr 21, 2010 Jen Padgett Bohle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: victorian-lit

We all know Oliver Twist somehow, either from pop allusions or musicals or BBC productions, but actually reading Oliver Twist and experiencing the story firsthand definitely gave me a special appreciation for Dickens’ sentence structure, imagery, and portrayals of Victorian London, plus I get to claim obnoxious bragging rights (and I’ll start off being a little haughty right now: Oliver never actually says “please, sir, may I have some more?” he says “please sir, I want some more.” Now you, too,...more We all know Oliver Twist somehow, either from pop allusions or musicals or BBC productions, but actually reading Oliver Twist and experiencing the story firsthand definitely gave me a special appreciation for Dickens’ sentence structure, imagery, and portrayals of Victorian London, plus I get to claim obnoxious bragging rights (and I’ll start off being a little haughty right now: Oliver never actually says “please, sir, may I have some more?” he says “please sir, I want some more.” Now you, too, can make people look stupid when they misquote the novel! We all win here.)

So anyway, I enjoyed Oliver Twist immensely and I had difficulty setting it aside to go to bed at night. The suspense and action and twists of fate in every chapter kept me completely enmeshed in the novel. Like, seriously addicted in the evenings. German television’s paltry offerings drove me to Dickens, but now I understand how literate people before the mid twentieth century stayed entertained. The text was originally published as serials in a monthly paper so Dickens relied on soap opera suspense techniques to keep readers interested. And his writing has this certain inexplicable, charming quality.

That said, both Dickens and Oliver Twist are a little problematic for me. Modernity and the passing years have rendered Dickens a trifle trite and he has become kind of like the Thomas Kincade of literature. He's just oozing sentimentality. And he's safe. Sure, there'll be whores and murders, and drinki’n and thievi'n, but in the end everything is always alright. The good guy always comes out ahead. And your protagonist remains a saint. A sweet, tender-hearted saint who somehow never sours on life. You're not exactly taking any chances with Dickens.

For modern readers, sometimes Dickens feels hopelessly outdated. Fagin's absolutely black and white portrayal as an evil Jew street gang leader is appallingly anti-semitic. But, as usual in my head, nothing is ever clear and I’m stuck between admiring Dickens’ handiwork in creating such a chilling villain in appearance, deed, and speech and loathing the way he characterizes Fagin as first and foremost a Jew. In fact, most of the time he’s simply called the Jew by our narrator and various characters. Can we still like the crafting of a character who is this outdated and wrong? Can we overlook the anti-Semitism? I tend to with, for example, Merchant of Venice, because Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock is a least a bit more nuanced and sympathetic, but there’s nothing redeeming about Fagin. No easy answers on this one, though I don’t think we can overlook the positive political impact Dickens’ body of work had on the Victorian social code and the political movements and laws they inspired. Dickens is, after all, the guy who practically began the whole notion of Victorian charity and inspired child labor laws.

Two of the important characters of this work, providing some comic relief and relatively sophisticated satire are The Beadle, Mr. Bumble, leader of the orphanage and workhouse, and his eventual wife, a manager of the workhouse for the poor. These two, through their dysfunctional marriage and misguided ideals of public service, satirize the banally evil and officious bourgeois who are only concerned with status, title, and their own material comforts. Nancy, one of the female members of Fagin’s gang of thieves, is also subtle and well-written and she may actually be one of the only truly round characters in the work.

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4 likes · like · see review

Kathrina I love your enthusiasm for Dickens! I recommend you take a look at Dan Simmons' Drood, released in paperback last month. He paints a well-rounded (OK,...more
Apr 22, 2010 07:07am

Drew Great review Jen. I must have another go at Dickens. He's always been a closed book (sorry for that one) to me. And I know what you mean about German...more
Apr 22, 2010 02:08pm

Jen Padgett Bohle Kathrina, I will definitely add Drood to my to-read shelf and hope that I can order it sometime soon. I haven't yet read Collins, but know I need to g...more
Apr 23, 2010 07:22am

Jul 01, 2012 Rozzer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: britain, reviewed, fiction

I guess this has to be a confession. It's not something I normally share, even with friends. And it's like this: I get so involved in some stories, so terribly involved, that I have to read them in gulps separated by substantial periods of time. If I can finish them at all. It's ridiculous. I know. I realize. Adults shouldn't react in this way. And yet I do. Can't help it. That's the way I am. And always have been.

Oliver Twist is one of these. A book that rips me apart. It's really hard for me t...more I guess this has to be a confession. It's not something I normally share, even with friends. And it's like this: I get so involved in some stories, so terribly involved, that I have to read them in gulps separated by substantial periods of time. If I can finish them at all. It's ridiculous. I know. I realize. Adults shouldn't react in this way. And yet I do. Can't help it. That's the way I am. And always have been.

Oliver Twist is one of these. A book that rips me apart. It's really hard for me to handle books about abused kids. Because (no surprise, really, I guess) I was abused myself. Reading Oliver Twist, for me, involves so complete an identification with Oliver that I can only handle it about a chapter at a time with a long vacation in between chapters.

I'm a big, big Dickens fan. And always have been. Dickens, for me, calls up many different realities that I myself have lived. Not just in Oliver. In pretty much all his stuff. I'm that kind of guy. I myself really become part of stories I read. No distance. No perspective. I've tried, but I haven't succeeded. I'm putty in authors' hands. It's embarassing. Seems there's nothing I can do other than to read very distant history or science books.

Oliver Twist is a wonderful book. There are those who, being picky, try to choose only the finest in Dickens' work. To me, that's silly. It's all good. Very good indeed. Dickens never lets you down. But Oliver is a hard, harsh book. If you yourself are Oliver, it's really frightening. I know it's just fiction. I know it's just a story. But I can't seem to get that point accepted by my unconscious or whatever part of me it is that pays attention to novels, to stories.

From the point of view of literary history, Oliver Twist is a significant landmark. The detailed description of the London underworld at the time (1838) has few precursors other than Pierce Egan's "Life in London" serial publication from 1821 to 1828, which was never a "family" journal.

Guess I just have to live with it. Oliver is worth your time and attention. Read it, if you haven't. (less)

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Oct 13, 2011 Craig rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, favorites

"It is wonderful how Virtue turns from dirty stockings; and how Vice, married to ribbons and a little gay attire, changes her name, as wedded ladies do, and becomes Romance" In his preface to the third edition of Oliver Twist, Dickens seems to call out those who criticized his descriptions and characterizations of the criminal element. Before reading this work, I had entertained ideas that maybe Dickens dark worlds would have no impact on modern reader's minds. The dark, dank, neighborhoods and...more

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Dec 13, 2010 aPriL MEOWS often with scratching rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary

Not Dicken's best, but yet worth reading. The cinematic possibilities jump off every page; I don't wonder this novel in particular has been turned into plays and movies. I found myself musing if the images depicted so vividly by Dicken's prose fired the mind's eye of the folks creating the silent movie technology. Not only is the timing right, but the scene action in the book actually appears to have been replicated in movies as standard action sequences. however if you are sensitive to literatu...more

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Jan 08, 2009 Ross rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mr. Dickens is a master wordsmith with an extraordinary sense of plot, which is keen on display in Oliver Twist. The novel is also populated with remarkable characters; alas (and the reason for four, rather than five stars) the novel's namesake is not one of them. Poor Oliver remains a naive bourgeois little boy for the entirety of the novel, although he survives horrid abuse and undergoes vigorous adventures. There is nothing to suggest that his mind is filled with anything but piety and probit...more

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Dec 13, 2012 LauraT rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

'That is no excuse,' replied Mr. Brownlow. 'You were present on the occasion of the destruction of these trinkets, and indeed are the more guilty of the two, in the eye of the law; for the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction.'
'If the law supposes that,' said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, 'the law is a ass--a idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be opened by experience--by experi...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Stephen Hayes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-general, our-books

It seems a bit silly to try to write a review of a book that was published more than 150 years ago, and is so well known, but here are a few thoughts prompted by reading it.

Dickens is generally regarded as a Good Author who wrote Good Books, and so reading them must be Good For You. Even F.R. Leavis allowed Dickens into his canon.

As a result, Dickens's books are often prescribed reading for schoolkids, to do them good. But the only book by Dickens that I liked when I was at school was A tale o ...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Sushmita rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book when I was in 4th grade.You don't have to believe me but it is true.My English teacher actually made me read this but I don't know why.You might be wondering how a 4th grade student can understand such kind of book.(and English is not my native language)
But T still read it,tried to figure it out,T of course needed help from my teacher to read this book,to understand it actually..
I am not going to review this book,as I read this book years ago,when I was not in a proper age to un...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone!

Shelves: favorites, historical-fiction, literature

This was a Father's Day present from my lovely daughter, Emily. Oliver Twist has taken its place near the very top of my all time favorite books. It is a relatively fast-paced adventure story containing all the elements of great fiction. Unlike other Dicken's novels, this book is more adventurous and requires less mental digestion, although it is still chock-full of indictments of society in general and the bureaucracy that deals with poor folk specifically.

Born an orphan, into the dregs of soc...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Jason Koivu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Oliver Twist could stand on the strength of its colorful characters alone. Dickens used his insightful eye to take in and store away all the images he was seeing in London's poorer neighborhoods back in the days when his own family found themselves in and out of the debtor's prison, always on the verge of utter ruin.

However, the book is more than just interesting characters. It's a wonderfully enthralling tale to boot, seldom slowing down for long stretches. Certainly there is melodrama, but ev...more

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About Charles Dickens

A prolific 19th Century author of short stories, plays, novellas, novels, fiction and non-fiction; during his lifetime Dickens became known the world over for his remarkable characters, his mastery of prose in the telling of their lives, and his depictions of the social classes, morals and values of his times. Some considered him the spokesman for the poor, for he definitely brought much awarenes...more

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