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Summary: i thorly loved it!
Review: Being Jewish, I don't have a great amount of love for this book (even though I love Dickens). Still, it's a masterpiece, and a very iconic and great one at that. Oliver Twist may not be a great character, but Dickens writes a wonderful story around him. This is a dark yet melodramatic novel with one of Dickens' best plots. The story moves a long at a slow but deliberate pace, and there's quite a few twists and turns - as well as a happy ending. Shame about Fagin though, even though he is a great character. This book is a must for any Dickens fan, as hard as it may sometimes be to swallow.
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Summary: It's Dickens, but not my favorite Dickens.
Review: Few authors have ever used words or created characters with the skill of Charles Dickens. There is an inherent wit in almost every sentence and phrase that constantly give two and three layers of meaning to his words. That said, the story of "Oliver Twist" feels a bit more contrived than some of his other work. All of Dickens' writing features charicatures of people, places, and situations in order to emphasize their meanings, but "Oliver Twist" has a tendency to lean on improbability than some of Dickens' other work.
A great work and a great look at society and those who inhabit it, but start with "Tale of Two Cities."
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Summary: Another wonderful story about a memorable boy.
Review: I love Dickens for his characters, and he does a masterful job with Oliver. He is the always hungry boy whom no adverse circumstances can hold down. Reading a Dickens novel is like meeting a whole bunch of unique and wonderful people. Who can forget Fagin and his band of boys or Mr. Bumble with his had and cane? Dickens' books were all written to make people aware of the inequalities of society during his lifetime. Some found this uncomfortable, but the general masses loved it. This book is actually one of my favourite Dickens' books, but I love them all. He could really tell a story, and so what if there's a little moralizing in each one?
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Summary: Dickens the Muckracker
Review: I read Oliver Twist for a college class and didn't really expect to like it. It was going to be one of those long, dull Victorian meganovels. I was wrong. Oliver Twist was surprisingly undated. The issues Dickens is analyzing and the societal practices he ridicules are very much debated in this day. The humor is still vibrant as is his rage. The plot and characterizations are pretty thrilling, too.
The novel is, obviously, the story of Oliver Twist, an innocent orphan who has to fight the evils of society in order to attain a place of happiness. Most notable among his enemies are Mr. Bumble at the workhouse, Fagin the founder of a crime organization that ensnares Oliver, Sikes the murderer, and Monk the mysterious figure in the background. Oliver must use his strength of character and purity, along with the sacrifices of Nancy, and the support of some wealthy people he encounters to fight his way to freedom.
Dickens's writing is wonderful. His descriptions of the society's treatment of the poor are alive with biting humor and scorn. The protagonist is memorable and loveable. The ending is slightly weak but is, for the most part, satisfying. Overall, Oliver Twist is the classic that it is supposed to be (or better), and is well worth the read.
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Summary: Well-constructed novel with important underlying message
Review: Like so many of Dickens' novels, Oliver Twist is a fantastically crafted and engrossing novel. Dickens follows the life of a young orphan boy, Oliver, who grows up amidst desperate poverty in London in the early 19th Century. Dickens leads the reader on a delightful and engaging romp, as Oliver escapes his orphanage, gets mixed up in the wrong crowd, and ultimately comes out on top.The story within Oliver Twist is very engrossing, replete with many twists, turns and surprises that are occasionally tragic but more often witty or flat out hilarious. The characters are all superbly developed, and the multiple story lines are intricately and cleverly woven together. Oliver Twist is an excellent introduction to Dickens, and patient readers will find this novel accessible. The intricate plotline does require some concentration, while some readers may be annoyed by Dickens' notoriously lengthy sentences. This is an important book to read for it is heavily engrained in Anglo-American culture and most first-time readers will recognize many of the names (Fagin, Artful Dodger) and scenes from previous cultural references. While clearly enjoyable at the superficial level, the novel also makes a powerful statement about poverty and the power of the human spirit in the face of depravity.
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Summary: Little Orphan Oliver
Review: Oliver Twist is one of Dickens' early novels - he worked on The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby simultaneously - and one of his best loved. It has what you would expect from him: memorable characters, evocative descriptions, melodrama, pathos (more often bathos) and a plot that relies on completely incredible coincidences. These latter are sometimes explained away by the characters themselves as being ordained by Fate, benign or otherwise, and must have been more acceptable to a Victorian readership than to one of the present day, who are likely to groan at each 'who should it be but' revelation.
The crossovers with Pickwick and Nickleby are noticeable. For example, The Artful's court appearance is clearly intended to be as funny as Sam Weller's, although it pales by comparison.
The most famous character is of course Fagin, and Dickens' casual anti-Semitism in his treatment of him is another thing that might discomfit the modern reader. He references him as The Jew, always in a derogatory manner. That this is a reflection of contemporary attitudes can be seen from Scott's Ivanhoe, in which Jewish characters are treated with similar hostility and contempt. But it is not the main characters that are most successful - and especially not the title character himself, who is innocent and bland beyond belief - but the supporting cast; Mr. Bumble and his lady, the servants in the house that gets burgled, the old bachelor who keeps threatening to eat his own head, and many others. They make the book a delight.
As always, Dickens is the master of descriptive narrative and he conjures a grim and compelling view of Victorian London's underside.
If you have not yet read any Dickens, this is not a bad book with which to start, although for younger readers (teens) I would recommend Hard Times as their first. Either book will probably leave you, like Oliver, wanting more.
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Summary: To Jill Piangerelli
Review: Oliver Twist is one of the all time classics that cannot be described with words. The life of an innocent little boy and the tragic circumstances under which he is grown up to see the world. His honesty and innocence really makes you think about how miserable the life of people can be. And it reminds you to think about the people living in poverty even today. I first read this book in my primary school, and have read it many times since (and have always learnt something new in every read). I even admired the Video based on this book. Just read it, and you will surely shed at least some (invisible?) tears on the life of this boy.
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Summary: Good over Evil
Review: Oliver Twist is the most widely read of all Charles Dickens Reads and this Book has been the second Novel of CD after the Fun and humour of The Pickwick Papers. This book added to reputation of Charles. The story says of a boy's journey from hell to heaven. Many years ago, England was cruel and a hard place for kids, it was believed! Oliver's mother dies and he grows up uncared and unloved. He has to work hard, ill treated by the dreadful Mr. Bumble. When Oliver asks for more food, the story speaks for many children everywhere whose voices society refuses to listen. Neglect and Abuse are exposed in this tale of Oliver Twist.Fagin is one of Dickens' most evil characters. It's the Artful Dodger who befriends Oliver Twist when he reached London and he introduced him to the bullish Fagin. Oliver is plunged into a nightmare in his Den and every time he tried to escape, he is caught and when his friend Nancy tried to help him, she is murdered. Of coz, there are good people too in this story. The end is winning edge `Good over evil'. A nice read and must for all kids collection.
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Summary: Oliver Twist: The Exception to Prove the Rule
Review: People will often say that the exceptions will prove the rule. While instances of this occurrence are difficult to come by, the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens represents one of those instances. In the novel, the main point that Dickens tries to make is that the common 1830's stereotypes of the poor were incorrect. He instead claims that the experiences a person goes through growing up affect whom they become, not that a person of a certain status is inherently good or evil. While this theme holds true for most characters in the novel it does not apply to the protagonist Oliver. Oliver throughout the story is portrayed as good despite the way he was raised from birth. This implies that he has some form of inherent good, which goes against the theme Dickens was attempting to portray in the novel. While most contemporary critics would see this as being somewhat hypocritical, the audience that Dickens was targeting would see it as revolutionary. At the time of his writing, his intended audience was the English middle-class. He felt the stereotypes imposed by people of this class were immoral. Unfortunately, the only way he could truly reach this audience was to portray this poor orphan boy as a saint. In doing so, he was able to counteract the notions of the wealthy that the poor are inherently evil. Once the audience was to this point, which occurs fairly early in the book, they would now be more receptive to the deeper characters of Nancy and Charley Bates who are inherently good despite their life of crime and poverty.
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Summary: Forsaken Child
Review: The creative novel Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens in 1838, defines a classic of all times. This intense story reflects a young boy's life in London with no family or place to go. The novel begins with Oliver's mother dying, while giving birth to her son and the father remains unknown. Throughout the novel we learn about Oliver's struggles on living on his own. The young boy is befriended on the way and taken in my Fagin. Fagin along with the Artful Dodger invite Oliver to stay with them and become one of them, a thief. While going on one of the adventures of pick pocketing Oliver is caught by Mr.Brownlow who instead of reprimanding the young lad, decides to rise him. Throughout the book Oliver searches for the answers to his past while trying to stay alive on the streets of London. Miraculously, Oliver's family lay right under his nose the whole time. The theme of Oliver Twist examines the importance of a family. Oliver plays a forsaken child, abandoned by all-parental support and thrown into the cruel world at a very young age to live on his own. Oliver's early years taught him to fend for himself and he suffers from never experiencing a loving and nurturing childhood. The tone throughout the novel focused on abandonment and how to live and survive on your own. The setting of the book plays a powerful part as the story unfolded. Dickens describes the setting of London and all the places that Oliver stays very descriptively. "The street was very narrow and muddy, and the air was impregnated with filthy order. The walls and ceiling of the room were perfectly black with age and dirt..." (page. 56). Dickens explains the facilities that were available to poor Oliver, and makes them sound unbearable. He does an excellent job making the setting come alive and feel the characters thoughts. I would recommend this novel because I found it very moving and towards the end you are only hoping for the best for poor Oliver.
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