{"id":7071,"date":"2025-12-02T10:33:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.laserfarm.com\/?p=7071"},"modified":"2025-12-02T10:33:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:33:20","slug":"book-review-oliver-twist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.laserfarm.com\/?p=7071","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Oliver Twist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Oliver Twist<\/em><\/strong>, by Charles Dickens<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s Giving Tuesday and it\u2019s Dickens Tuesday! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking for a great charity to support this holiday season, I recommend clicking on the link at the end of this book review and checking out my Reading is Fundamental page! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you want to learn my thoughts on silly orphan kids, read on\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s why Oliver Twist<\/em> isn\u2019t my favorite Dickens book:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the lack of super powers. This is the rare book about an orphan in which the orphan doesn\u2019t get super powers, or wishes, or, like, some shoes that let you communicate with bees\u2026or something. Their existence is not prophesied. They don\u2019t have a mysterious connection to ancient alien races. Nope. He\u2019s just a kid without parents. His super power is poverty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second reason I didn\u2019t love this is the ol\u2019 fashioned anti-semetism. The main antagonist, Fagen, is a jewish caricature, and is often called The Jew in the book. I\u2019m half-Jewish but it takes a lot to offend me. I was never clutching my pearls in disgust while reading this, but you come along some lines in this book and\u2026well.. it\u2019s not cool that this villain is so closely associated with that specific religion\/culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, Dickens didn\u2019t think he was being anti-semtic when he wrote it. In fact, the legend goes that as the serialized chapters were being published, a friend took him aside and said, \u201cCharley, my dude! This is really offensive!\u201d And Charles was shocked and sad and felt bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He revised the story and softened the language as the book went along. So\u2026yay? I guess? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It still isn\u2019t cool, my dude. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps the biggest reason this book didn\u2019t connect with me is that the titular Oliver doesn\u2019t do a lot. A lot of things happen, sure, but Ollie does nothing \u2013 things just happen to him. Granted, he\u2019s a kid and so it makes sense that he\u2019s not running around making big choices and taking great agency with his life (something David Copperfield is better at, IMHO). So you have a story about a poor orphan (sans magic shoes) in which the supporting (culturally insensitive) characters are really the stars of the show.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t hate the book. I\u2019m glad I read it. But it\u2019s not my favorite Dickens work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you haven\u2019t read it, but really want to read Dickens\u2019 take on kids who don\u2019t have parents, I\u2019d recommend picking up Copperfield<\/em> or Bleak House<\/em> or Great Expectations <\/em>instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just really wish he had magic shoes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of magic, you can help spread the magic of literacy by supporting Reading is Fundamental! Click here for more information! <\/a>Thank you!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n