Introducing Oliver Twist | Mega Dickens Readalong

[@Lu.G.]

This will be my first read of Oliver Twist and I'm looking forward to _diving_ in. 📚 Thank you, Katie.

[@SheriMaple]

I've watched and listened to your thoughts on Oliver Twist. What caught my ear was about the Oliver Twist character not written like a child. I have to think about how Dickens comes up with the name Oliver Twist, especially the surname Twist. It leads me to question how Oliver can be a child in a world he has been thrown into by circumstances beyond his control. Our idea of childhood in Dickens' book is twisted by a dark criminal world and poverty. Oliver's name means peace, dignity, fruitfulness, and beauty. The joining of Oliver Twist gives a person an idea of what Dickens attempted to bring to the work. The wealthy during that time didn't see the poor. There was a class separation that, unfortunately, continues today. Dickens gave us what children cannot be when dire material conditions exist. Oliver Twist wasn't designed to be an enjoyable read, and we are supposed to find truth in the parable he wrote.

[@markwheats]

I love how the “green bottle” at the beginning of Oliver Twist symbolically connects Oliver to “the old gentleman” (Mr. Brownlow) who is donning a “bottle-green coat”. The more I look at things that may seem trivial in Dickens’s works, the more I see how they are meticulously related, as if everything down to the minutest detail is not written by chance, but serves as a literary device that propels the story. For this reason, Charles Dickens is by far my favorite author.

[@johnkelland]

Rather an astute observation . Do you have others ?

[@markwheats]

@@johnkelland… “The Squire of Gad’s Hill” had so many. Not only in the narrative but in dialogue as well. If you have any, please share.

[@markwheats]

Want to hear something funny? I’ve been researching Dickens’s “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” for a fiction book I wrote (and should be out soon); however, by reading the first half of Dickens’ story over and over and over again (for he died halfway through completing it), I stumbled upon what I believe to be a major clue that points to the solution and the primary antagonists of the story. (I am so convinced that I almost feel as if I need to write :::spoiler alert::: lol). I am going to put it together soon and respectfully submit it to the Dickensian.

[@jf8559]

Looking forward to joining in for this one! I am still working on my read of The Pickwick Papers but will read Oliver on audio as well. Thanks for mentioning that format!

[@theworth123]

I've just discovered your channel (thank you) and looking forward to doing a few hours of work, watching many of your previous vids, a pleasurable workload I think it will be. I'm male 68 sporting a poor formative education, after I read Oliver Twist for the first time as a boy some 60 years ago there were many things I didn't cotton on to due to my age no doubt. But I loved Fagin, he was like an interesting uncle gone a little wrong, I believed he was a victim of poverty as were the rest of the characters like Nancy etc, just surviving in a cruel world with the odds stacked against them. I didn't like Bill though nor his dog, probably because many of their ilke walked the streets of my home town when I was young or should I say I perceived them so, Lol, the mix of their presence and the realism of Dickens had worked on me, Nancy's murder made me cry and I suffered from it for many years (a depression). These men in their dowdy work clothes who walked the streets to their dirty steelwork jobs, were in fact good family men, but I gave these men and their dogs a wide berth until my mid-teens. I've not read the book since then, and I'm looking forward to learning how much I have changed in my outlook and opinions towards it, I hope a lot in some respects and not in others... :)

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks very much! Oliver Twist is a really interesting book, and I found myself thinking much more about Fagin as a character this time. Bill, too, is very interesting - I think Dickens explores very interestingly in this book the idea of who is actually to blame?

[@donnakirby6998]

I’ll be joining in Katie! I’m still reading The Pickwick Papers, I’m a slow reader, but I can read both.

[@mikesnyder1788]

Pickwick Papers is THE best! I hope you are enjoying it as much as I did. Happy reading!!!

[@charlenepollano9527]

I just found your readalong. I started my Dickens reading in order of publication last July and I just finished #6 Martin Chuzzlewit. I will be jumping in to your videos since it’s so much better “sharing” Dickens!

[@Matildajude]

Delighted to find your intro video this morning! I will certainly be joining in! Probably do my usual trick of starting to read the book in print and flit between audiobook and book!

[@mimishimaineko1173]

Thank you for the preview! I will set my expectations accordingly.🧡

[@CharlieBrookReads]

I am excited to read this book in Dec 😊 Thank you for introducing it to us!! Yes Pip is just a fantastic character so it will be interesting to see the differences in characterisation with Oliver. I didn’t realise about how different the book will be from the adaptations so thank you first the heads up re that!!

[@GilbertHorn1]

Looking forward to a reread of this early Dickens classic, read originally back in the 1970's. As someone once said;" Let's Twist Again!"

[@LisaOfTroy]

Hi Katie!!!!!! Although this video is a bit old, thank you for posting this. I just finished Oliver Twist and totally agree that this is also my least favorite Dickens's work (admittedly I have only read David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol but for an American that's pretty good). While I appreciate the morally grey characters and the use of dialect, the pacing on this is just so slow. For example, when there is a woman dying and wants to say something. It took an entire chapter to get to that point! It's like, "Come on! Spit it out already!" Dickens hadn't yet refined his storytelling. Even the first line of the book.....goodness me! It was a disorienting, confusing mess. Hard to believe that Dickens would later write some of THE BEST opening lines in all of history. And last but not least, I found the tone that Dickens pulled off nearly impossible. Last year, I visited the Dickens House in London, and he actually lived as a child in debtor's prison. Yet in the novel, he isn't heavy handed--he isn't jaded even though he has every right to be (or at least the tone isn't jaded). It was personal to him. Really fantastic case study in writing what you know without revealing the bitterness of the experience.

[@MartinDSmith]

There are brilliant moments in this book which elevate it above an ordinary read.Before Oliver sets off for London the orphan child who kisses him is the angelic pledge of protection in his sojourn in the underworld.The Dodger is literally a hound of Hell who physically drags him thence in a wonderfully written scene.Fagin is one of Dickens's great villains slithering around the slimy dark Victorian London streets.If your enjoyment of the book hasn't increased after this reread "I'll eat my own head"(as Mr Grimwig would say).😁💝

[@markwheats]

I love that expression, “I’ll eat my own head”, and occasionally use it (along with “hat”).

[@janetcampbell4124]

I will be joining in the Oliver Twist readalong. It will be a re-read for me. I remember being appalled by the death of Nancy, but I felt equally traumatised by the demise of Bullseye, poor thing x

[@aspilurch]

I was quite interested to hear your thoughts on 'Oliver Twist' because it is actually one of my favourite Dickens stories and yet I've only begun reading it for the first time. Obviously there's the nostalgic element, (the films, the musical etc.) But I actually grew up reading a beautiful, fully illustrated child edition of the book which told the whole story while omitting some of the more unsavoury elements (I.e. Fagin's religion/ethnicity). Like yourself I was always disappointed to see adaptations omitt many of the plotlines, until I discovered a wonderful tv serial released by the BBC in 1984, starring Eric Porter, Michael Attwell, and Amanda Harris. Not only does it cover the entire plot, but it portrays the characters with wonderfully nuanced and grounded performances, particularly Eric Porter as Fagin, giving the character more perplexity, while not steering too far from the source material (controversy avoided by removing all references to his Jewishness). My only complaint is that it was fairly slow paced, so I set about making my own fan-edit of the serial, turning it from twelve 30 minute episodes to one 3 hr film. I'm sorry for being so long winded, but I'd be very interested to have your opinion on it, as a fellow lover of Dickens.

[@katiejlumsden]

Interesting, I haven't seen the 1984 adaptation - perhaps I should!

[@Dinadoesyoga]

Yay! I started OT a few days ago and I'm really enjoying it so far. The only Dickens I've read is Great Expectations so I don't have much to compare it to but it's exciting to read his novels for the first time in chronological order. I expect that to be a fascinating and deeper way to enjoy his work.

[@mikesnyder1788]

OT is a very fine novel and Great Expectations is quite popular for new readers of Dickens. What really turned me onto Dickens (forty years ago) was when I tackled one of his BIG books, Nicholas Nickleby, Little Dorrit, Our Mutual Friend, etc. After reading one of these great novels, your reading tastes will never be the same. Enjoy!

[@Dinadoesyoga]

@@mikesnyder1788 great! I have so much to look forward to. I have a feeling I will be ruined on other writing once I've read Dickens' works. 🙃

[@mikesnyder1788]

@@Dinadoesyoga I totally believe you will enjoy your reading of Dickens! So many funny and funky characters and such delightful prose! Enjoy and kind regards.

[@launchedathousand]

Im hoping to join in on this one, but depends on how fast I get through the other books on my TBR.

[@adamhasideas6813]

I just finished re-reading Oliver Twist a few weeks ago, my first read was a condensed version in 8th grade!! It was a compelling read, but I also like it the least of the Dickens novels that I have read. The characterization is not as strong as his later novels. I appreciate that he was trying to draw attention to the condition of the very poor in London. Bill Sikes still seems to me to be pretty evil, his treatment of Nancy is unacceptable, but you may be right in saying that it is colored by the way he is portrayed in the movies that are so prevalent. I was surprised with the way the book concludes Dodger's plot line. This is always changed in the movie versions. I'll be interested hear your thoughts when you are finished with your re-read!!

[@garyrutland1119]

Just finished it. Much better than when I read it in the early 80's. Agree with a lot of your points about the characters and the difference between the adaptations and the actual novel. Reads like the work of a writer beginning to find his voice and style. Now I have to wait for January for Nickleby! Bah humbug 😂

[@YourTrueShelf]

I did really love pickwick but I am appreciating the novel structure of Oliver Twist so far. I'm listening to the same narration as you, and also brilliantly done. As a mum I'm finding the treatment of children so sad to listen to!

[@katiejlumsden]

It's definitely a great audiobook!

[@alicialozano2802]

I haven't read Oliver Twist but I'd read 12 other Dickens' , I tried but couldn't progress on that book, I hope I can read it next time.

[@katiejlumsden]

Yes, it's not one of my favourites!

[@yeet8627]

Though I have issues with the story (the antisemitism ugh, and the way the plot kinda gets messy starting from the point after Oliver gets shot) i still love this story to death and I may be a bit biased. I think it’s because of the musical and my attachment to the characters (literally i love all of them, even the villains). It’s the only dickens book I’ve read and i’ve only read it because i was into the musical, but i do hope to read more of his works!

[@amykaczorowski7027]

Hello! Love your KZbin channel & love CD. Just finished OT for first time (Believe it or not; one of the few CDs I haven’t read yet!)! I’d like to join the discussion platform… is there a link or user name that might help me find it? Thanks!

[@amykaczorowski7027]

Found link in another comment- thank you!

[@davidleonard8547]

Oliver might be the least realized character in the book. He's almost a McGuffin, a vehicle by which the story unfolds. I think the real tale is the "seedy underbelly" of society, Dickens pondering the hard elements and villainous type souls he encountered while his family suffered his father's debt. As to those villainous types: Bumble and Sowerberry are nasty figures who profit from child labour (Dickens must have thought people like them were destined to a special Hell). Fagan being Jewish is unfortunate; but he's vivid, as well, pathetic at the end (I wonder if Dickens chose Fagan to be what he was to illustrate how limited a Jewish person's prospects were if they were not born into a trade or profession?). Dodger is brilliant; but he's obviously destined for a bad end when we meet him. Fagan has taught him well, as he does not seem to love anyone. Bill? Bill is Bill, a big ol' baddie as one expects the worst villains to be in early fiction: one faceted, rotten to the core. One wonders how Nancy could love him or consider Fagan a mentor or father figure. I read Oliver Twist last year. And watched the Alec Guiness and Oliver Reed versions soon after. Each are very different from each other. I must say I do like Dicken's book. I must also say that I have not read as much of Dickens' works as you have. Nor studied him.

[@katiejlumsden]

Agreed, Oliver does feel a bit flat to me! I think Nancy trusts and loves Bill and Fagin because she has no one else to trust and love, maybe? I've just finished my reread and it's been very interesting.

[@stevencarsley2446]

i am Reading Christmas carol have you started Oliver Twist

[@jessicarabbit1164]

I have been considering listening to Oliver Twist on Audible but I never know, unless others know and mention it, it the reading is abridged or not. I really feel they should have to say if it is... It is read by Fiona Hardingham and is 16h 14m long. If anyone knows if this is the complete book or not I would realy appreciate it if you would let me know.

[@katiejlumsden]

I imagine that will be the complete book. A good way to judge is to look at other audiobooks of the same book, when it's a classic, and see if they all seem to be the same length - then it's probably unabridged.

[@jessicarabbit1164]

@@katiejlumsden Thank you so much, I'll remember to do that! 💜

[@chanahminuk8485]

I was never convinced that Fagin is Jewish. What I mean by that is that there is no indication as to his religious beliefs, practices or ancestry in the book. What makes him "Jewish" is that he is referred to as "The Jew" more times throughout the book than I care to count. Whenever that term is used, it is just another word to remind the reader that he is evil and the villain of the book. This makes my blood boil every time I read this book. It's too bad too, because I think I would really love Oliver Twist otherwise. I am glad that someone spoke up at the time, and that Dickens tried to make up for it. The problem is that I am more familiar with Oliver Twist than Our Mutual Friend, and so I remember Fagin and the negative portrayal more than anything else.

[@sylwuskak7065]

I've got an information "Invite Invalid" when I want to join the discord server

[@katiejlumsden]

Is this the link you're using? discord.gg/zaeZ3HCPSf This one should work

[@sylwuskak7065]

@@katiejlumsden Yes, I used this link. I don't know why there was a problem because now I've managed to join.