Reviews

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Marian Leighton, Ric Estrada

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kmthomas06's review against another edition

3.0

Not my favorite Dickens if I'm being honest. Oliver is too much of a goody two-shoes for even me and let's be honest, you kinda almost wish Fagin made out better in the end since he's the only interesting character in the bunch.

bustedtom's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

entropyseeker's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Read it because it's a classic, but it was so slow and long. Conversations between characters tended to wind around subjects while saying nothing.

actualresultsmayvary's review against another edition

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challenging lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

There was lots in Oliver that I enjoyed and Dicken's episodic writing style really works for me. The book is quite significantly different from what I remember of the film/play but then they are parts which are word for word the songs; the scene with the Bumbles which echos Widow Corney's Parlour was particularly fun to read.
I felt that the characterisations lacked depth at times and the morality was a bit heavy handed. I was also surprised by the extent to which Oliver isn't really a protagonist in the later half of the book and the story is more a series of plots between the adults. The plot itself was also really quite silly with a reliance on coincidence which was far past my ability to suspend disbelief.
By far the most jarring part of the reading experience was the antisemitism and the constant referring to Fagin as 'the Jew'. It was absolutely relentless and I think Dicken's almost relied more on that than on character work to make Fagin a villain.
Overall, it's interesting to read the original but I don't think it's Dicken's best work and I prefer the musical.