Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted ...

books:


	• Oliver Twist (Penguin Classics) Charles Dickens Penguin Classics, 2003 - 608 pages average customer review:based on 136 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted ...

What is it about Oliver Twist that keeps people coming back to it so often and for so long? Oliver Twist is actually one of my favourite all-time reads. I try to read it once every few years, and every time I decide to re-read it, I go in search of a copy that I don't already own because it's fascinating the different publishers, typefaces, bindings etc, that this book has gone through. Maybe I'm like Mel Gibson from Conspiracy Theory, collecting all those The Catcher in the Rye copies, but at least I'm reading them. Mel was just trying to save the human race ... or something like that. Poor fool.

A few years ago, I thought that I had run my course with the young Rascal and had actually come away feeling pretty badly about the development of the ending of the story, which, in my honest opinion, is not as strong as the beginning or the arc of Mr. Brownlow. But Dickens was writing in a time when books were not as prevalent and Twist, as we all may know, was a Newspaper column that had developed into a bound and published work due to its popularity. Standards have changed and agents and publishers are more discriminating. But in no way should anyone let that stop them from the experience of reading Oliver Twist as it really is a masterpiece before its time.

Recently though, watching MSNBC (a new hangout for me, I admit), I saw a documentary regarding the global sex trade of young woman forced into boarding, shipped around, mistreated, taken advantage of, stolen, uprooted, you name it ... and my mind wandered to a comparison of Young Oliver and the Ageing and scheming Fagin. In the lives of the girls they covered, there always seemed to be the `Artful Dodger' character who would start off as the mentor, but meet a bad end eventually, and the `Fagin', who controlled the roost and kept the girls feeling dejected and trapped, thus benefiting monetarily from their toils and of course the 'Sykes', who was the one who met head-first with the law. I felt incredibly bad for those girls and disgusted about the habits of some of my fellow "men".

It really is a shame that in 150 years, this year, Dickens moralist tale of child abuse is still just as prevalent, just as relevant and unfortunately just as insidious and heart-breaking as it was on the cold night that he penned the first article.

for more information click here

Now it's worth a read

When I had to read this book in my adolescent years, it was literary torture. Today, reading with 25 more years of life behind me and greater appreciation for literary art, it's a great story. I never would have picked this story back up had it not been for the review/referral from a friend. In retrospect, I'm not really certain this story is best read, comprehended and appreciated by an adolescent. The story, and the seedy sides of life exposed, might be better processed by an adult.

In addition to the story woven by Dickens, I think what I appreciated most about this writing was how Dickens used the novel as a commentary on life in England at the time of the writing, e.g., society's treatment of the paupers and impoverished, the caste system that existed and condemned a pauper child to destitution at birth, and the judicial system with its corruption and brutality, to name a few. Even as a mature adult reader I winced at how Oliver and the young paupers were brutally treated by "the system" in the first half of the book.

I loved how in the end all the characters, excepting Nancy, received their just rewards and ends in accordance with how they had lived life. The only mild criticism I have was the almost too remarkable coincidence of the relationships of Oliver, Brownlow, Rose and Monks, and how life had brought them together prior even to the discovery of the existence of their relationships and ties from the prior generation. Nevertheless, it's a feel-good ending and the story kept me turning the pages with anticipation.

for more information click here

A powerful story. One of my favorite classics.

Originally published in a serialized format, OLIVER TWIST represents some of Charles Dickens very first writings. It is easy to imagine his first readers eagerly (and impatiently) awaiting the next installment of little Oliver's saga. Evocative of so much compassion, this powerful tale has reached the hearts of readers for over 150 years, and is every bit as powerful now as it was originally. Both its message of personal triumph despite overwhelming odds, and its broader admonishment for us all to look more closely at the plight of the destitute and homeless, speak powerfully to every reader.

This book gives you a very disturbing glimpse into life in England during the early 1800s (or at least Dickens' view of that life). Dark, cold, dangerous, and filthy are some adjectives that are nearly always at the fore when reading OLIVER TWIST, as Dickens employs his unparalleled talent for bringing his settings to life with words. The worst in human attributes are also on prominent display in this work, with Bumble, Fagin, and Sikes being the epitome cowardliness, cruelty, and brutality, respectively. Rather uncomfortably, this book also highlights the all-too-common failures of society in general. While we may have come a long way since the time of Dickens, there remains much that we would rather not have to face about our own culture. Abuse and neglect of innocent children has not altogether faded away, but maintains its evil hold on parts of society.

Not to make you think that this book is all about the negatives of humanity. It is also a tale of triumph over evil, goodness coming from love and compassion, and innocence being preserved. Oliver's friends in the second half of the book represent all the best things about humankind and turn this tale into an essentially happy one. That being said, I actually liked the first half of the book (prior to the failed house-breaking attempt) better than the second, primarily because from that point on, while events occur at an increased rate, they are essentially taken out of Oliver's hands.

This is a great book, highly enjoyable, humorous, and evocative of powerful emotion. The famous wit of Charles Dickens is in full display here, with puns (Master Bates), sarcasm, and all manner of plays on words and phrasings, being found throughout. It is also a good example of Dickens' penchant for overly verbose writing. Sentences that simply HAVE to be run-ons are found in nearly every paragraph, to the point where you forget the subject of interest as you get lost in flowing descriptive writing (was that a run-on?). For that reason only, I'd suggest this book for more experienced readers looking to sit down and enjoy one of my favorite classics.

for more information click here

Oliver Twist

I love this book...it is easy because of the glossary and the historical notes about the times that this book was written...we think that our poor cause all or our troubles, but Charles Dickens maintains that evil or good come from rich and poor alike.

A Classic - If You Can Get Beyond the Anti-Semitism

Perhaps one of Dickens' darkest novels, Oliver Twist is a bittersweet experience throughout. There are some charming Victorian characters here, including the gentleman Mr. Brownlow, the angelic Rose Maylie, and (of course) the innocent Twist himself. There is the somewhat ambiguous character of Nancy, who is brutally murdered in the midst of her scheme to do good. There is also a range of dark villains, including the housebreaker Bill Sikes (who for my money is one of the most despicable villains in literary history), and, of course, Fagin.

Fagin, however, is so heavily influenced by anti-Semitic stereotypes that it is difficult to even call him a character. He is rather the ghost of something we would rather forget. Like Shylock (and he is very much like Shylock indeed), Fagin forces us to come face to face with the dark ignorance entertained by our society in the past. It almost makes one like Dickens less for having created Fagin, but hopefully it also motivates us to take a critical look at the world we live in now.

Oliver Twist may not be Dickens' greatest novel, but it is worthwhile for the critical reader.

for more information click here