Fagin the Jew: A Graphic Novel Summary and Reviews

Fagin the Jew: A Graphic Novel
by Will Eisner

Fagin the Jew: A Graphic Novel
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Book Summary Information

Author: Will Eisner
Brand: Double Day
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-09-16
ISBN: 0385510098
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Doubleday

Book Reviews of Fagin the Jew: A Graphic Novel

Book Review: A new twist on Oliver Twist
Summary: 4 Stars

Will Eisner, a master of the graphic novel, has given the story of Oliver Twist a new perspective by presenting Fagin in the accurate historical context of the Ashkenazic Jewish community in Dickensian London. The first third of the story invents a back-story for Fagin that shows how mistreatment and prejudice forced him into a life of crime as his only means of survival. This section also makes an impassioned statement about the hardship faced by the German and Middle European Jews, who had problems integrating into British life. The rest of the story is mostly a rehashing of the original Dickens story in Fagin's voice.

In the book's foreword and epilogue, Eisner says that his awareness of the influence of imagery on popular culture led him to create graphic novels with themes of Jewish ethnicity and prejudice. He discusses how Dickens portrayed the Jews as a criminal element in London and provides prints by George Cruickshank and other artists of that time who perpetuated the visual Jewish stereotype. Although his illustrations are rendered in sepia tones that recall the illustrations of Dickens' novels, Eisner has tried to counter the stereotypical portrayal of Fagin by drawing him as he might really have looked. All in all, this novel provides new insight into the complex character of Fagin and a fresh and innovative retelling of the Dickens classic.

Eileen Rieback

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