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There are currently 13 member reviews
for Fagin the Thief
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Dan W. (Fort Myers, FL)
Oliver Twist Revisited
I admit at first that I was struggling with the narrative of this book. In fact, I reread the beginning chapters several times to comprehend the content and format of this book. However, the more that I continued reading this book, I became a captive reader. By the time I had read more than 50 percent of this book, I became so engrossed in the book I that anxiously awaited the availability of my time to read as many pages as possible. I couldn't foresee how the book would end, but when I reached that end, I was totally captivated. What an enjoyable experience I had reading this book and encourage others to embark on the trials and tribulations experienced by the characters in this book.
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Karen P. (Silver Spring, MD)
Alterate take on Oliver Twist
Fagin the Thief treads the now familiar trope of an alternate POV of a classic story. It does so without the Antisemitism of the original and makes Fagin out to be a sympathetic character dealing with the extreme poverty of 19th century London and early loss of parents. he is given a childhood thieving mentor which he in turn becomes to other boys over time. I'll not spoil the ending but it was satisfying.
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Laurie B. (Jacksonville, FL)
Well written
An interesting re-telling of Oliver Twist. The author writes well and offers interesting insight into the characters. The historical background and depiction of the "justice" system was intriguing.
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Sylvia G. (Scottsdale, AZ)
A twist on Oliver Twist
I loved the first 3/4 of this novel. The Dickens novel, Oliver Twist, is the basis of this story but told from the point of view of Fagin. Unfortunately, I never read Oliver, although I did see the musical, so I'm not sure his much of Epstein's novel is complete reinvention. London of the 1800's comes alive and I felt a lot of empathy with many of the characters, who are complicated and multi dimensional. The ending was less successful for me, although I'm not sure of a satisfying ending was possible.
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Amanda B. (Moneta, VA)
Fagin - An Accounting
I was immediately drawn to the premise of the plot and wanted to learn more about the infamous Fagin from Dickens' Oliver Twist. However, the first half of the story is told at almost arm's length – a distance. It feels more like an accounting of Fagin's life, rather than being in his head to understand why he is who he is. Why does Fagin find pickpocketing so exciting in the first place? It's never explored, he just does. How did his loss drive him? That's never explored, just a summary of the early years he has on the streets. The plot was slow this first half as the author struggled to give Fagin motivation. But the second half of the novel was plot-driven and a page turner and fun to read. I enjoyed the author's take on what happened to the characters, but felt the point of this story was to show why. And I feel that question was never answered.
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Amber H. (Asheville, NC)
Not for me
Sadly, I found this book quite boring. So much of the book was detail after detail about petty theft. I didn't get a good feel for Fagin or the other characters in the book. I wish there was more insight into the characters relationships with each other, their own thoughts/beliefs, etc. I don't know that I feel like I took away a backstory to Fagin of Oliver Twist, which was a disappointment. This one just wasn't for me.
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