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jenjenjeng's review
1.0
Did not finish.
I know this was written a long time ago but I found it offensive. He constantly refers to Fagin as the Jew (and not in a positive manner). No other character is referred in such a manner. He did it with another character in the book calling him the Jew too. But this character was only referenced once so far. Why bother giving Fagin a name if you are going to call him the Jew. And how upon meeting him does Oliver Twist know he was a Jew.
I did some research and apparently Dickens reduced the number of references to Fagin as a Jew.
I know this was written a long time ago but I found it offensive. He constantly refers to Fagin as the Jew (and not in a positive manner). No other character is referred in such a manner. He did it with another character in the book calling him the Jew too. But this character was only referenced once so far. Why bother giving Fagin a name if you are going to call him the Jew. And how upon meeting him does Oliver Twist know he was a Jew.
I did some research and apparently Dickens reduced the number of references to Fagin as a Jew.
dharaiter's review
5.0
This will remain as the most special book of my life. It's the first book I remember reading as a child. As a kid, I didn't understand the grim side of it, but it touched me in a way I will never forget.
kay_slayerofbooks's review
4.0
This was a good dramatization
As much as I love A Christmas Carol I've never picked up this story. It was fun and I enjoyed it.
3.5 stars
As much as I love A Christmas Carol I've never picked up this story. It was fun and I enjoyed it.
3.5 stars
kecordell's review
3.0
Better than Great Expectations, but still not my favorite Dickens. Everything was a little too neat ("and then this stranger you meet on the street happens to be friends with that person's love interest") and it was difficult to get past the prejudices and the generally idea that if you're good and pure of heart you'll be rewarded with money. Overall, the theme seemed to be that having enough money makes you a good person.
dylankakoulli's review
3.0
My first review of 2023. AND, my first Dickens!
The latter of which, I enjoyed much more than initially anticipated.
Oliver Twist is a book that really needs no introduction. It’s story is ubiquitous -a tale of one young orphan's struggle to survive, amongst the smog filled, shadowy streets, of London Town.
A Victorian (or should I say Dickensian) classic if ever there was one.
Dickens cleverly crafted characterisation -as well as his (almost jovial) conversational tone, made for an incredibly rich and deeply immersive reading experience.
My only qualms are;
1.) The uncomfortable (nay blatant?) antisemitism in his portrayal of Fagin. Who is more often simply referred to as the “dirty Jew", alongside some rather unsettling, devilish like illustrations.
AND
2.) To paraphrase a beloved song (though sadly no songs are featured in said book) “Please sir, may I have less?” Cause man alive was this book long !
Anyway, overall a bleak -but also somewhat hopeful(ish) tale.
3 stars
The latter of which, I enjoyed much more than initially anticipated.
Oliver Twist is a book that really needs no introduction. It’s story is ubiquitous -a tale of one young orphan's struggle to survive, amongst the smog filled, shadowy streets, of London Town.
A Victorian (or should I say Dickensian) classic if ever there was one.
Dickens cleverly crafted characterisation -as well as his (almost jovial) conversational tone, made for an incredibly rich and deeply immersive reading experience.
My only qualms are;
1.) The uncomfortable (nay blatant?) antisemitism in his portrayal of Fagin. Who is more often simply referred to as the “dirty Jew", alongside some rather unsettling, devilish like illustrations.
AND
2.) To paraphrase a beloved song (though sadly no songs are featured in said book) “Please sir, may I have less?” Cause man alive was this book long !
Anyway, overall a bleak -but also somewhat hopeful(ish) tale.
3 stars
nicolekt's review
3.0
This was Book 10 on my 100 essential books list. I can’t say that I loved this book but I also didn’t hate it. The story moved quite slowly, it wasn’t until the last quarter of the book that it started to pick up and I found myself reading to find out who Monks was and what was going to happen to the various characters. I find it difficult to read books written in previous centuries as the language and culture are archaic. The characters seemed a bit over the top, they were either very very good and pure or purely evil. Fagan was referred to as “the Jew” some three hundred times (a reviewer counted) but the various scholars have concluded that Dickens was not racist, I’m not convinced.
pbanditp's review
4.0
A good book, and you feel bad for poor old Oliver, but there just seemed to be a lot of coincidences.
morganmou's review
3.0
Another book I read in middle school to prove that I could conquer long books