Reviews

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Marian Leighton, Ric Estrada

vegantrav's review against another edition

4.0

God help me, but I cannot help but love Dickens’s penchant for highly improbable coincidences, reversals of fortune, and happy endings, and all of these are perfectly exemplified in Oliver Twist, which while not the best work of Dickens is nonetheless a delight.

christian_jeanne's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Woof....this tooke me a while to finish.
And as much as I thought its as amazing as A Tale of Two Cities, sadly, it is not.

lindzlovesreading's review against another edition

4.0

When I started this, I was having a hard time believing that man only in his mid twenties wrote this novel. It was strong, bold, dark, even quite contained even for a Dickens novel. Then Oliver arrived in London, and the novel went mental, and I love it for that reason.

Dickens was trying to become the most popular novelist in England, he wanted wealth, he wanted fame. With the serialisations he could change his mind, and Dickens's mind was not a quiet dew pond, but a waterfall, ever changing. He got a couple of complaints of constantly describing Fagin as 'The Jew', (and that does get really irritating) well we can change that, just call him the old man. Everything about this novel is over the top, big hand gestures, swooning women, moustachioed cartoon villains, a multitude of plots and coincidences, even Dickens had a hard time keeping track.

This is a schizophrenic novel, yes it plods in areas, but most of the time you will be dazzled by the insanity.

marireese's review against another edition

4.0

can't remember much

not_nosferatu's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

sword_spider's review against another edition

Endless, endless gratuitous injury done to a young child. This consisting of the writer - from the onset - having continual, and consecutive, awful things happen to the young child protagonist; without reprieve. He also keeps up a trend of bestowing physical beatings upon the child. 

This book (figuratively, and literally as there is also animal abuse) really, really enjoys kicking a dog when it's down. I got to the end of chapter 15 and could bear no more.

To Dickens' credit however, I will say that the world and scene-painting were very rich. He creates fascinating characters and his writing is extraordinarily witty. There was also seat-edging suspense. I find it unfortunate to have to put the book down.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Child abuse

fowadijaz's review against another edition

4.5

 well written, incisive satire, excellent political commentary on the underhand tactics of the poorhouses, the pickpockets, burglars, and thieves of Dickens' times. It appears that no one is safe on either side of the law (for example the incompetent judge who preside over mr brownlow's case against oliver, where brownlow doesn't even want to press charges). The unfortunate plight of young oliver makes this book a hard read at times, but there are as many funny bits, for example mr bumble's wooing of the mrs corney, and the subsequent sorrow he has of the marriage. A few too many coincidences, such as oliver being accused of robbing brownlow, who just happens to be an old friend of his fathers, then there's rose maley turning out to also be oliver's half sister, abandoned at an orphan house because monks and his mother didn't want her to be happy, etc. Some of the villains are just moustache twirlingly evil with no redeeming qualities, but you need a good villain in order ot have a good story, as the dursleys in harry potter attest. They don't have to be realistic to elicit strong emotions, and it may in fact hinder the narrative. So dickens does a great job of portraying characters with their own little quirks, and he paints a very complete picture. His characters are all memorable and fun. 

The unfortunate tale of a young oliver twist, brought up by and hard treated by malicious adults at every turn, including the beadle mr bumble, the undertaker mr sowerberry, his apprentice noah claypole and his wife, who beat him for trying to defend his dead mother's name, and mr fagin, who tries to teach him how to be a pickpocket. All the while Dickens maintains the facade that the adults are in the right, referring to the jew as the "kindly old gentleman" and being unreasonably deferential to the station of parochial beadle. Ultimately Twist finds someone who is good enough to take care of him, the man who he is accused of stealing from, Mr brownlow. In an attempt to prove to his friend that oliver is a trustworthy fellow, brownlow entrusts oliver with 5 pounds and asks him to return some books to the bookseller. Nancy, an accomplice of Fagin and sikes, seizes oliver and pretends to be his sister to abduct him. Oliver is brought to fagin again, and sikes asks fagin for the use of oliver in robbing a house in the countryside. Oliver is shot in the process, and left in a ditch while sikes and his accomplices escape. It is found that Monks, another accomplice of fagin, is actually oliver's half brother (they share the same father) and has been paying fagin to turn oliver into a destitute criminal as revenge against his father for denying him his inheritance and hating him for being a low person. OIiver is nursed back to health at the house which he was supposed to rob, whose owner is Mrs Maley and her daughter Rose, also helped by the doctor Mr losberne. They help him find mr brownlow again, and nancy, burdened by her conscience, attempts contact with rose maley to try to bring monks to justice (since she heard monks and fagin discussing their plans with oliver). Meanwhile Noah claypole has been turned out of doors at the undertaker because mr bumble saw him getting naughty with charlotte the maid while the master was out, so noah steals money and makes his way to london, where he is met with fagin. He sees nancy make a rendezvous with mr brownlow and rose maley, and finds out she has betrayed fagin. He takes the information back to fagin, who tells sikes that nancy has been unfaithful. Sikes, infuriated, kills nancy and goes on the run, his guilty conscience pursuiing him all the time. He is eventually caught when even his accomplices find his crime too heinous and betray him (particularly charlie bates, one of the orphans). He runs to the roof to escape and tries to jump using a rope (but gets hanged by it instead). Oliver is brought into his inheritance by the signature of monks, which is intimated out of him. Fagin is caught and put to trial, and meets a horrible end on the gallows. Noah claypole is also caught, but informs on his colleagues and makes a living upholding the liquor laws by pretending to faint in front of establishments on sundays and denouncing anyone who gives him liquor to the authorities.

bethersjayne's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bealovescaramel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring tense slow-paced

4.5

Can't let gang know I fw Oliver Twist 😭🙏

#jackdawkinssolos #charleybatesmypookie #nancyapologist #faginlowkeyhasaura #sikesbitingthecurb4k

anglan's review against another edition

4.0

4.5