422 / 6 - Ένα υπέροχο κλασικό βιβλίο του Ντίκενς. ΄Ενα ορφανό αγοράκι περιφέρεται σε ιδρύματα , όπου κακοποιείται σωματικά και ψυχολογικά . Ο αδερφός του πληρώνει μια συμμορία να τον εκπαιδεύσει ως κλέφτη για μη μπορέσει να διεκδικήσει τη περιουσία του . Με τη βοήθεια κάποιων ανθρώπων που του συμπαραστέκονται υιοθετείται και βρίσκει τη πραγματική του οικογένεια. Δραματική ιστορία , με ευτυχώς αίσιο τέλος . ( )

For a long time after it was ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble, by the parish surgeon, it remained a matter of considerable doubt whether the child would survive to bear any name at all; in which case it is somewhat more probable that these memoirs would never have appeared; or, if they had, that being comprised within a couple of pages, they would have the inestimable merit of being the most concise and faithful specimen of biography, extant in the literature of any age or country.

Note: Dickens frequently refers to Fagin as "the Jew" or "the old Jew". There is another secondary character who shows up a few times who is called "the young Jew".I listened to this book & found it jarring even knowing the time period in which Dickens lived.

Written in 1837, during Dickens' astronomical rise to success, Oliver Twist is his third major work, second novel, and the negative counterpart to its exact contemporary, The Pickwick Papers. One could argue it's still the work that has had the greatest impact on the public psyche: Dodger, Fagin, Nancy, and Bill loom large in the collective cultural consciousness, don't they? Who can forget Oliver asking for more, or the climactic tightrope walk? In truth, this is not a brilliant work. Only Fagin has any sparks of internal life, and he's an unfortunate anti-Semitic caricature common to the era. Oliver Twist, carrying the torch from some of Dickens' sentimental Sketches is a rather lifeless little twig. What works in the story is the vividness of "low" culture, and Dickens' already fierce moral stance on the inhumanity of much of 19th century English culture. Certainly a worthwhile read, but possibly the least of Dickens' "Big Fifteen". The relatively straightforward Twist will give way to the diffuse, picaresque Nicholas Nickleby, and then the real Dickens will be formed. ( )

Interesting, kinda hard to follow with the writing style/language, but I got the gist. ( )

3.4