Rating: 
Summary: So much richer than the tale you knew as a child
Review: Few works of adult literature are so well known that they become embedded in our cultural fabric the way that Oliver Twist has. Perhaps it is because the title character is a loveable, sympathetic, young boy that the story, over time, has come to be mistaken by some for a children's tale. And perhaps it is because I feel like I have known the story all my life that I only recently realized that I had never, in fact, read the novel. So as I sat down to (finally) read this book, it was with a sense that I was simply revisiting a cherished story from my youth. But as I quickly realized after a very few pages, this is adult literature in all respects - in its sophisticated, intelligent prose, its rich plot, its elaborate cast of characters, and, yes, the occasional depiction of gruesome violence.Surely even those who have never read this Charles Dickens' classic could recite the basic elements of its plot. Who among us is unfamiliar with the story of the young orphan who musters up the courage to ask, "Please, sir, I want some more." And yet this novel is so much more than a mere rags-to-riches story. It is also the heartwarming story of the triumph of good versus evil and of the human spirit's ability to face down adversity. Dickens pits an innocent child against the dangers of an uncaring world, and the story's happy ending is at once a celebration of Oliver's innocence and an affirmation of all that is right and just in society. Though the prose can be tedious at times, Dickens' mastery of the English language is difficult not to appreciate. And while some may find the plot cliché, there is sufficient tension throughout the novel to maintain the reader's interest. For myself, I was continually surprised, as the chapters unfolded, to realize how much more there was to this classic than simply a story about an orphan who falls in with a gang of unruly pickpockets. This is definitely worth reading, even if you feel like you have already read it as a child.
Rating: 
Summary: Way Too Descriptive
Review: The plot line was good and had plenty of twists, but the way it was written was horrible. There was way too much description for the stupidest things. I know, it is interesting to know how the characters look, and this book does do that. But, his comparisons were drawn out and boring! Dickens would be writing about Oliver's trip to the country with Rose and Mrs. Maylie, but he would end up talking about angels in heaven and how their cheeks were a similar shade as that of a kind of flower. I mean, this is a very creative way of describing a flower, but that is not the point of the story! And when that description occupies two or three pages, the reader becomes a little discouraged(not to mention bored!!!!) I've read David Copperfield though, and Charles Dickens' writing style seemed to have evolved into something much more tolerable. Unless you are easily amused, I don't reccomend this book for anyone under the age of about 17.
Rating:
Summary: An intriquing, but hollow social description
Review: "Oliver Twist" is the first full lenght novel Charles Dickens wrote. It was first puplished in a magazine as a continuing serial novel, but soon found it's way to a publisher as a complete work in 1837. Dickens is one of those authors, who've lost their respect, the more time has passed. I can, in a way, understand why, as I've read this novel. It tells us a story about a ten year old orphan boy, who, after many coincidences, gets involved with the underworld of London. The story is almost nonexistant, as ridiculous coincidences carry Oliver through the uncomplicated plot, and totally useles and two-dimencional characters occupy as useles individual storylines that lead to nowhere, as the only truly interesting character ins Nancy, a prostitute trying to get away from the captivating claws of organized crime. A character recognicable from countless of works, but still fascinating. The novel works perhaps best if it's being thought of as a description of the early 19th century England, and especially the lower class, whose part in that era social structure is quite disturbing, especially as that same kind of social exploitation is still being commited around the world, and even all so-called siviliced countries don't have a decent social health-care system, paid maternity leave or affortable educational system etc. "Oliver Twist" is a classical example of the romantic genre of literature, where all difficulties are conquered, as amazing coincidences unite people together. "Oliver Twist" can't be judged by the criterias of today, as it is packed with storytelling underlines and events and coincidences beyond beliavability, backed with too many shallow characters. It's nearly two hundered years old, and should be respected as the classic it is, even if it's a painfully ridiculous read, that perhaps underestimates the readers of the 21st ceuntury.
Rating: 
Summary: The right mood...
Review: Yeah, I said it was long and boring before but actually, it's not. I guess you just have to have the right version - I must have gotten the original, unedited copy at my first attempt. OLIVER TWIST was the first book on our reading list for English this year and I knew I'd have to make it through. I've seen movie adaptions of this story so it wasn't exactly new; of course Disney always changes the plot a bit, so I still had some surprises. The basic idea of the book is this: Oliver Twist is a poor orphan cast to the most depressing scenes, struggling against the menace and corruption of lower London. Dickens wrote this book, not only to criticize the failed government poor laws, but to reflect on his own early childhood, of the poverty and loneliness he had faced. Oliver meets a wide cast of characters, in a wide range of good and evil. At the bottom rests Fagin, the greedy and malicious Jew that manipulates children to steal for him. He has a network of thieves about him, and innocent Oliver seems trapped. However, he manages to escape to some wealthy and very kind people, who coincidentially are tied to his mysterious birth. This book is very suspenseful and touching and a pretty good one for class study (I usually like book selecions for English). My advice is to read in attention and speculation - be sure to pay attention to the chiming of bells. ...If you're reading for fun, it's great entertainment too, and a lot less work. Have patience and a good attitude! ;-)
Rating:
Summary: Twists of Fortune
Review: This is possibly the best introduction to Dickens and one of my Dickens favorites. I like how he sets the right mood from the very beginning. His depiction of poverty and hardship is vivid but not oppressive to the reader. And what Dickens has in this and all of his books, is characters. You meet interesting people in challenging and dysfunctional circumstances, but you know that the writer took the time to developed psychologically-realistic and nuanced personages. Oliver Twist is condemned to a childhood of poverty, but the cold and indifferent world does not crush him. Misfortunes, intrigues, and plots eventually lead to Oliver turning the corner on his miserable existence and assuming a dignified place in society. The character overcomes seemingly unsurmountable odds. He has a lot of staying power. The indifferent world which Dickens paints in the book turns out to be not as cold and inhuman as one may at first think. Oliver does not come out of his situation entirely on his own, he is helped by others. And the bad guys Sikes and Fagin mee their own just end with some help from the justice system. Dickens portrays poverty and the underworld in a truly compelling way. This book also is a perfect example of his stylistic facility--to be able to write such long sentences and keep the reader so desperately engaged in the story is a mark of a great writer.
Rating: 
Summary: Oliver Twist
Review: The classic story of a boy named Oliver who joins a gang of thieves, who's leader is a man named Fagin. Fagin is my favorite character. This is one of those books that you think will be boring because it's a classic but in reality is a very good book.
Rating:
Summary: Oliver Twist
Review: I thought this book was pretty good. Charles Dickens showed how England people lived back then how poor there were and they were basically starved to death they only had breakfast lunch and dinner. I like how Charles Dickens used his word choice some of them were pretty funny. And I thought start to end the book was pretty good he had a good plot and ending to his story. I advise other people to read this book.
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Summary: File under "Books you thought you'd read but hadn't."
Review: Possibly the most readable of Dickens's works, this is also probably the most exciting. I was amazed at the bite of his sarcasm, which made me laugh out loud. Surely, you know the plot and the characters, but if you haven't read the original, do yourself a favor and grab this one. The climax is a real nail-biter. This Signet Classic edition has Dickens's own Preface to the Third Edition, Preface to the First Cheap Edition, and Preface to the Charles Dickens Edition - 1867. Don't miss it!
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Summary: A masterpiece (despite the anti-Semitism)
Review: Dickens is probably less fashionable today than ever (although the BBC adaptation of Our Mutual Friend might rekindle a similar interest in his work as there now is for Jane Austen's). Perhaps the reason for this fall from favor is the quintessential Victorian nature of Dickens's writing - he was as much the prose apotheosis of his time as Mozart was for classical music or Shakespeare for Renaissance drama. Whatever the capriciousness of current fashion, Dickens is well worth reading. He was prodigiously skilled in his ability to describe people, places and events and his novels are driven by elaborately riveting plots and dramatic denouements. If none of these things appeal to you, there's Dickens's supreme comic flair - he's often funny and I mean hysterically, laugh-out-loud funny. Oliver Twist is one of Dickens's early works and suffers from a few failings such as a tendency to stray into realms of gross sentimentality, not to mention consistent anti-Semitism (although Dickens later tried to redeem his vile portrayal of Fagin with the sympathetic Riah in Our Mutual Friend). But Dickens uncovered his fierce passion for defending the underdog in Oliver Twist and this theme was repeated in some way in all his subsequent work. His depiction of the cruelty of England's poor laws and the petty tyranny of the minor bureaucrats who sprung up as a result of those laws was so vivid that it stirred people to demand change. With the stock of fantastic characters in Oliver Twist it is a strange failing of Dickens that the eponymous hero is not much more than a cipher. It is as if Oliver doesn't really exist, he's just a foil who brings out the worst or the best in those who come into contact with him. The strength of most of the other characterizations, however, makes up for this anomaly. Bill Sikes is such a deplorable villain that his villainy becomes etched in your mind - you almost become afraid that you might bump into him and his evil dog. Fagin, the Jewish pied piper, has a strange charm, although I'm sure Dickens didn't mean him to be taken as anything other than another arch villain (of the manipulative kind - a foil to Sikes's horribly violent nature). There are plenty of other vivid characters, but the great strengths of Oliver Twist are the passages describing London, and especially the miserably poor part of London, in the 1830s. Follow Sikes and Oliver on their trek across this metropolis and you'll get as clear and vivid a picture of Industrial Revolution London as ever was put into prose. No-one could write about dirt, squalor, or injustice quite like Dickens, and when you combine this facility with a real comic genius you have a winning formula.
Rating:
Summary: A book that is educational
Review: In this book Dickins shows the reader how children in England during the Industrial Revolution. An orphan named Oliver Twist works in a workhouse. He and his fellow workers are nearly starved,because it is cheap to barely feed them. The book also show how bad homeless kids that lived on the streets had it. I adivise people to read it when they want to.
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