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A review by brnycx
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
2.0
i've only ever read one other dickens, that wonderful realist/gothic bildungsroman great expectations. and, without sounding like a patronizing dick, it's impressive that he managed to get from oliver twist to great expectations by the end of his career.
there are a few things i enjoyed about twist - particularly the humorous hypocrisy and domestic farce from its minor characters (the bumbles) - but mostly this was a real slog. it's antisemitism through fagin and barney (the first time i've read of a character with the same name as me, represent barney!) was incessant and particularly exhausting: 'the jew' did this, 'the jew' did that. also, oliver twist is actually the WORST. he's the clingiest, most annoying do-gooder. the amount of time he is moved to 'happy tears' by his patron wishing him a good morning, or declaring they just enjoyed a nice piece of toast, or learning that they took a nice stroll outside or something - i cannot cope.
so i've made a mental note to stick with late dickens from now on, and stick with rewatching oliver! instead.
there are a few things i enjoyed about twist - particularly the humorous hypocrisy and domestic farce from its minor characters (the bumbles) - but mostly this was a real slog. it's antisemitism through fagin and barney (the first time i've read of a character with the same name as me, represent barney!) was incessant and particularly exhausting: 'the jew' did this, 'the jew' did that. also, oliver twist is actually the WORST. he's the clingiest, most annoying do-gooder. the amount of time he is moved to 'happy tears' by his patron wishing him a good morning, or declaring they just enjoyed a nice piece of toast, or learning that they took a nice stroll outside or something - i cannot cope.
so i've made a mental note to stick with late dickens from now on, and stick with rewatching oliver! instead.