The pauper and orphan that is Oliver is Born into a bad world where having his kind of history instantly bestowes upon the owner the grand title of "BAD". In line with such a title Oliver, and others with a similar histories, are treated with the contempt deserving of such a title. From his home town to London Oliver encounters luck that one would not wish on one's worst enemy. Even when thing's appear to be going well - more sorrow stands around the next corner.

Oliver is, in actuality, purer than pure, uncorruptable - GOOD. The book is full of corrupt people who, for the purpose of the moral story, are corrupt but see themselves as upright people with good standing, but are as just as corrupt as the villians the Oiver falls in with.

The story attempts to argue that, as was the beleif at the time, simply being born in to poverty and orphanhood etc. are not in themselves causes of Evilness. Instead Dickens tries to show that corruption may come from a corrupt society.

Twist himself has been accused of being unbeleiveable, but one should always remember that Dickens was having to sell his books to people that had exactly the same prejudices as those in the book, so oliver had to be pure in heart and in act to get the reader to sympathise with the message. Readers of the day would have not bought the book if Oliver was as normal as any boy born into such circumstances.

The characters are all larger than life and extremely well developed, carrying the story apace. This is satire as much as anything, full of humour and horror.

The language is fantastic, but for people new to Dickens it can be difficult to follow - I would recommend that you give it a go though and persevere - it is a fantastic read, a real page turner.


Classic   October 12, 2003
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

I had read Christmas Carol at some point in my life, but never the original version. I realized that I actually hadn't read anything by Dickens then. Still he is considered one of the greatest of all times. A swap in New Zealand helped me to an omnibus. Having to wait in Perth gave me plenty of time to start it. I had heard about Dickens being interesting, historically relevant and a brilliant author.

But nobody told me about the wit, about the sarcasm and irony. Nobody told me about the underlying political message. I discovered it all through this book. And I enjoyed reading Dickens. It was good to have a book that reads slowly once in a while. Everybody knows the story of Oliver, be it from a children's book version, be it from a film or musical. But who has actually read the book? The original version I mean. I'm glad I did. Even though it did drag on a bit, nearly 300 pages is quite a lot for such a simple story, I have to say that this book has raised my appetite for more Dickens. Anybody interested in reading a classic? Reading about the 19th century? A story that is more than just that? A book that can be read by both children and adults? Say yes to any of these questions and Dickens might be your answer.


Timeless storytelling   August 1, 2002
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

An immensely enjoyable read but newcomers to Dickens are not advised to start here. Despite it's famous name which has developed over the last 30/40 years thanks to the stage play and film Oliver Twist is not Dickens' best novel but it can be seen as a blueprint for later masterworks such as 'Great Expectations' and 'David Copperfield'.
Some of the coincidences in the storyline are a bit far fetched and the ending is a little bit too "neat" but it is easy to put these to one side and revel in the beauty of its telling and character development over 500 plus pages. As usual with Dickens the story is very sad and you can't help but feel very emotional by the final page.


oliver twist   April 3, 2000
 1 out of 11 found this review helpful

oliver twist is an orphan who was born in a workhouse .. then he run away to london..where he falls in with thieves .. headed by fagin. I LIKE THE BOOK BECAUSE THE STORY IS BOUT A CHILD AND IT ALSO TALKS ABOUT A BAD LIFE.. THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS STORY (THIEVES, AND KIND, NICE PEOPLE)I THINK THAT IT IS A TRAGIC STORY BUT IN THE END MANY HAPPY THINGS HAPPENED.