He Was the Best of Writers, He Was the Worst of Writers...

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	• Oliver Twist (Penguin Classics) Charles Dickens Penguin Classics, 2003 - 608 pages average customer review:based on 138 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

He Was the Best of Writers, He Was the Worst of Writers...

It is hard for me to evaluate Charles Dickens.

On the one hand, he is a brilliant satirist. His evaluations of "self-made men," capitalist theory and empiricism in Hard Times, A Christmas Carol and others are magnificent. His ability to put together a plot, and have it develop into a thrilling finale, like in A Tale of Two Cities, is masterful. His command of the language is top-of-the-line.

On the other hand, sometimes Dickens' pacing can feel a little slow, especially in his exposition. The first half of a Dickens novel can be a tough road to hoe, even though the ending is ultimately worth it. Sometimes his plots--in order to have that wonderful conclusion he's known for--are too contrived to be believed. Sometimes his desire to point out social ills outstrips his desire to tell the best story possible.

Oliver Twist is a perfectly representative Dickens novel, capturing both the master's strenghts and weaknesses.

The satire in Twist is great, showing us the hypocrisy prevalent in the officials running state charities who want to take care of poor people, not to help the poor, but to secure payouts for themselves. The ending of Twist is dynamic, as the thieves and murderers finally get their comeuppance. The writing throughout is engaging and warm.

Also, Twist sometimes drags. It drags in the beginning, and throughout, whenever Dickens feels compelled to give us background on the situation. Usually, he's introducing more background in order to pull off all of the coincidences that he needs at the ending. Oliver Twist's ending is very, very contrived.

Another feature common to Dickens is having wonderful characters. Twist is archetypal Dickens here, too: Fagin (especially), the Dodger, Master Bates (don't blame me--that's the way it is in the novel!), Sikes, Grimwig, Nancy and others are dynamic and memorable. In fact, my main complaint character-wise is that, compared to all of these interesting characters, Oliver Twist himself gets a little lost; he sort-of goes from situation to situation, observing but not really acting.

Oliver Twist, like its author, has its ups and downs. It is certainly worth reading for its merits, but the impatient reader will take warning of its faults--if you're the type who's apt to give up during slow bits, you might not quite make it.

Fully three stars.

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Oliver Twist

It really isn't that hard. I read it during the summer vacation between 6th and 7th grade and I didn't have trouble with anything in it except for the old-style slang.
Maybe this isn't Dickens' best novel, but keep in mind, it was one of his first.

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A tale with a twist

Any aspiring writer has, no doubt, read those writing books where it goes into great detail about how, in order to make a story interesting for the reader, they must throw obstacles in their protagonist's path. After reading the first few chapters of this book, I was cursing Dickens thinking, "How many more obstacles are you going to throw in this poor boy's way? Hasn't he taken enough?"

I actually wanted to wrap my arms around Oliver and tell him that somebody cared about him (another poor boy, Dick, did that for me as Oliver ran away to London, Dickens having redeemed himself).

In this edition, Edward Le Comte of Columbia University stated that Oliver's troubles stemmed from the surrogate fathers he had in his life (Fagin, Sikes, etc.) and got love from his surrogate mothers (Rose, Mrs. Maylie, even Nancy). How true. Oliver flourished under Rose and Mrs. Maylie, even Nancy felt a maternal instinct towards the boy. To me, it was this surrogate maternal love that kept Oliver going and held out hope for his future.

The part of this book that rocked me was the very end, as Mr. Brownlow, who eventually adopted Oliver as his own son, extracted the truth from Oliver's half-brother Monks. Throughout the book, Dickens did not even hint at the fact that Oliver's father (who is Monks's father) was Mr. Brownlow's dear friend (Oliver came across Mr. Brownlow as his pocket was being picked by the group of thieves Oliver unknowingly came upon as he sat by himself upon his arrival to London from the cruel life he experienced in the country).

What are the chances of picking the pocket of a stranger who just so happens to be your father's best friend?

It was nice to see the gang of thieves get theirs in the end (although too bad for Nancy that she suffered the end that she did).

An enjoyable read. Very anxious to see Roman Polanski's take on the book, with his movie coming out at the end of this month.

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excellent, even in the 21st century

It seems odd to review the 19th Century classic Oliver Twist, but the richness of the tale and the strength of the message is not out of date in the 21st Century. Realizing that this tale was going to be replayed on the big screen at the end of September, I decided to pick up this classic tale a read it. Dickens' second novel is a story of an orphaned boy taken in by a motley crew of robbers gives us a stark fictional story of the considered strength that good has over evil intentions.

The character of Fagin, the lead villain with a passionate criminal philosophy, will be played by Ben Kinglsy and Oliver will be played by the newly introduced Barney Clark. The 19th century backdrop, the make up and modern touch are sure to excite audiences when the film is released September 30th. Like their popular and academy award winning film, the Pianist, Roman Polanski and screen write Ronald Harwood will surly due this popular Dickens' classic justice.

The unassuming good nature of Oliver Twist as portrayed by Dickens in spite of his troubles and the evil that surrounds him throughout the novel makes this timeless tale fiction for sure, but provides a ray of hope to those who believe that good intentions, in the end, merit a reward. Saved by his benefactor, Mr. Brownlow, Oliver's "wrongs" are righted as Mr. Brownlow discovers the truth of Oliver's story through Nancy, the girlfriend of Bill Sykes, another master robber. Placing her life in jeopardy, Nancy discloses all to Mr. Brownlow who, while he saves Oliver, is unable to save Nancy from death at the hands of Sykes, once provoked by Fagin.

With characters like Pip and Joe in Great Expectations and Madam Dafarge and Cruncher in the Tale of Two Cities, Dickens provides no less a colorful cadre of descriptive characters in Oliver Twist. Fagin, mentioned earlier, is the lead robber with a description that only Dickens can describe literally. Dickens' introduction of Fagin as a "very old shivelled Jew, whose villainous-looking and repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted hair" is certainly descriptive and has, with the upcoming film, caused some critical stir. While certainly lesser known than Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code controversy which will hit theaters in May of 2006, the character of Fagin will likely get some critical attention when Oliver Twist is released at the end of the month. The Ben Kinglsly recreation, though, should be interesting to see.

"Artful," the quick and cunning lead thief in Fagin's pickpocket gang, is truly in a class by himself as he artfully picks an unsuspecting passer by's pocket and dodges capture. The colorful artful dodger is a character most readers can easily remember and enjoy. And, who can forget the bumbling, spineless miser beadle, Bumble, who is in charge of Oliver during his tenure at the orphanage. Other rich characters stand out, too, in this timeless classic made for film, like Mr. Sowerberry, the undertaker who takes Oliver from the orphanage and first puts him to work.

A novel of this detail and length certainly cannot be reproduced in its entirety on film. I understand this work is no different, according to the Oliver Twist Teaching, (...) One of the interesting revelations in novel not reproduced in the film, according to this site, is Mr. Brownlowe's discovery that Monks is Oliver's half brother. In the novel, Monks seeks to keep secrete the inheritance and history of their family from Oliver. Instead of the ultimate discovery by Oliver of a box that contains his family's history he so longed to understand, Fagin leaves him a box of stolen items. Ah, Hollywood!

Despite this exclusion, though, the film, like the novel, will likely be an enjoyable one for all ages, including students in high school who are enjoying the novel for the first time.

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Honor among thieves

When `Oliver Twist"'s first installment appeared in 1937, it is probable that not even Charles Dickens was aware that his story about the young orphan-turned-thief would become so timeless. Almost 70 years after its first publishing, the novel is still contemporary, and not only because it deals with human nature, but mostly because it depicts children being exploited by villains.

In this time when children are even trade as slaves in many parts of the world, "Oliver Twist" becomes even more resonant. The novel is a social commentary on the social situation of Britain in the XIX Century. With Oliver (the character) Dickens meant to demonstrate the social situation of his time, when the poor classes were getting even poorer and the rich people richer every day. Above all, the boy's story exposes one of the worst periods in history of Britain for the poor people.

The environment where Oliver spends most of his childhood is populated by thieves, murderers and prostitutes. At the same time, the orphan always meet good people who want to help him, and nevertheless fail. But there is also the Church and the government, and by that time poor people could only be helped if they moved into government workhouses.

One of the most interesting things in "Oliver Twist" is the importance of the characters' names. The name `Oliver Twist' is the clearest example. His surname alludes to his reversal of fortune throughout the story. On the other side, Rose Maylie echoes her youth and beauty, and Mrs Mann lacks maternal instinct.

"Oliver Twist" is an unforgettable book populated by strong characters. Dickens prose is so touching and well developed that has funny and sad moments in the right doses. This is one of the books that stays with the reader long after he/she has finished it.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, page 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

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