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This is Tessa's favorite. The book that Will grew to love. It must have something special.
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Excuse me while I'm CRYING over this MASTERPIECE.
[I know I promised a review, but the truth is, I am at loss for words. Who am I to talk about Dickens? Who am I to talk about a gut-wrenching, brilliant story that brings out the magnitude of human nature? A Tale of Two Cities haunts me. Follows me everywhere. And I have to thank Will Herondale and Tessa Gray for cultivating the need to read it.]
[I know I promised a review, but the truth is, I am at loss for words. Who am I to talk about Dickens? Who am I to talk about a gut-wrenching, brilliant story that brings out the magnitude of human nature? A Tale of Two Cities haunts me. Follows me everywhere. And I have to thank Will Herondale and Tessa Gray for cultivating the need to read it.]
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DNF at page 150
Well, I can't believe I am abandoning a Charles Dickens novel but I do not want to go on. It is so different from the other two works that I've read by him and loved. I don't know, I don't like the tone of the story (it might be the translation), cannot connect with the characters and I just don't like it. I thought that something is wrong with me but my mum saw the book on my shelf Today and she confessed that it was the only Dickens she could not read...and my mum finishes everything. Just recently I begged her without success to DNF a novel that she told me repeatedly how much she hated.
I might give this a try later, but for now I have other books in line. I promised myself I will not torture myself anymore with books I don't like so next, please.
Well, I can't believe I am abandoning a Charles Dickens novel but I do not want to go on. It is so different from the other two works that I've read by him and loved. I don't know, I don't like the tone of the story (it might be the translation), cannot connect with the characters and I just don't like it. I thought that something is wrong with me but my mum saw the book on my shelf Today and she confessed that it was the only Dickens she could not read...and my mum finishes everything. Just recently I begged her without success to DNF a novel that she told me repeatedly how much she hated.
I might give this a try later, but for now I have other books in line. I promised myself I will not torture myself anymore with books I don't like so next, please.
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“He had never seen the instrument that was to terminate his life. How high it was from the ground, how many steps it had, where he would be stood, how he would be touched, whether the touching hands would be dyed red, which way his face would be turned, whether he would be the first, or might be the last: these and many similar questions, in no wise directed by his will, obtruded themselves over and over again, countless times…”
-tCharles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
The opening of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities is one of the most celebrated in the history of literature. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Dickens writes, beginning a lengthy, single-sentence paragraph that is marked by its rhythmic contradictions. “[I]t was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…” By the time you reach the end of this ambitious tease, you are compelled – at the least – to finish the page. In terms of grasping the reader’s attention, and convincing him or her to continue, Dickens succeeds marvelously.
Aside from hooking your attention with the skill that Quint uses to hook great white sharks, the first sentence of A Tale of Two Cities marvelously grasps the paradox of the French Revolution, which serves as the novel’s backdrop.
Begun in 1789 as a revolt against the poverty and hunger suffered by huge masses of the population, the French Revolutionaries sought the noble ideal of equality. In achieving this end, however, they unleashed a torrent of blood. They toppled a king, and then beheaded him. They killed thousands of people who resisted, many of those resisting in thoughts or words only. Finally, they started to kill each other, in a dispute over who was most pure. The result was a tumultuous decade in which lofty ends crashed against lethal means, leaving us with an event that is still hotly debated to this day.
***
For me, reading Dickens has been a lot like eating my vegetables. Both are good for you, but I have never been able to fully like either.
It has never been a question of talent. Dickens is an incredibly skilled writer with an unmatched eye for creating memorable characters. The problem I’ve had with many of the works I have read – or attempted to read – is that the whole is often less than the sum of their parts. That is, Dickens published many of his novels in serial form, and it often feels like he is actively inflating his word count in order to pad his (oft-troubled) bank account. The resulting digressions, plot contrivances, and weak endings tend to dampen the enjoyment I get from the worlds he creates.
The best Dickens is – in my humble estimation – A Christmas Carol. The novella is slim, symmetrical, and achieves the perfect balance between character and plot. Though it has been adapted so often that the whole thing feels like a cliché, there is a real genius to its structure and execution. There is not a single unnecessary moment, not a single misplaced beat. Compared to the shaggy meanderings of Great Expectations or Bleak House, A Christmas Carol is a breath of pine-scented winter air. Despite Dickens’s struggles to complete it, the finished novel knows exactly what it is trying to do, and exactly where it is going.
A Tale of Two Cities, one of two works of historical fiction Dickens published in his life, straddles the extremes. Certainly, it is not an endlessly growing story, such as the weighty, ever-expanding David Copperfield, but neither is it as sleek and efficient as Scrooge’s yuletide transformation. It is a bit of both, actually.
One is almost tempted to say it was the best of books, it was the worst…
But no, I would not give into that temptation.
***
The two cities referenced in the title – Paris and London – provide Dickens with his setting. We begin in the year 1775, with a messenger flagging down the mail-coach between London and Dover. The passenger who receives this message is a banker named Jarvis Lorry, who has just learned that Dr. Alexandre Manette, a French physician, has been released from the infamous Bastille prison in Paris, after serving an eighteen-year sentence. Dr. Manette, it turns out, has a daughter named Lucie, who has always believed her father to be dead.
While Lucie reunites with her father, we are introduced to the cruel Marquis St. Evrémonde, who gets our attention by running over a child in a carriage, and then yelling at the peasants for endangering his horses. The Marquis has a nephew, Charles Darnay, who narrowly escaped a conviction for treason against Great Britain.
Ultimately, Lucie and Charles fall in love, but Charles returns to France as the City of Lights is roiled by a storm of revolutionary violence. At the risk of spoiling anything, I will end my summary there. Suffice to say, the results are both entirely predictable and also entirely unpredictable. This is a function of Dickens’s propensity for over-plotting, as well as his habit of utilizing sheer melodrama to obscure the reality that his twists and turns aren’t all that clever. There are parts of A Tale of Two Cities that rely on reveals that would shame the writers of Scooby Doo.
Still, the storylines get so tangled and confused, it almost feels like a surprise when things happen. More importantly, Dickens seems to write with a clear idea of where he is going. In that sense, the plot is actually rather satisfying. It also helps that A Tale of Two Cities is less than four-hundred pages long. Thus, despite being serialized in weekly installments from April to November 1859, I didn’t feel like Dickens was trying to get paid by the word.
As I mentioned above, Dickens is famed for his fictional creations, whether that is flinty Ebenezer Scrooge, sycophantic Uriah Heep, or the sadistic Miss Havisham. Here, that list is added to greatly, especially Madame Defarge, a devoted Revolutionary who chillingly knits patterns that represent the names of people to be killed. At one point, her husband starts to worry about the excesses of the Revolution. Not Madame Defarge. She says to him: “Tell the wind and fire where to stop, but don’t tell me.” The supporting cast alone makes A Tale of Two Cities worth reading.
Not all the characters are winners, though. The blonde, saintly Lucie, for instance, described as “the golden thread” holding her family is together, is absolutely insufferable, to the extent I can only surmise she is the love child of Pip from Great Expectations and Esther from Bleak House. Every moment I spent with her, I darkly hoped that Madame Defarge was adding some stiches to her list.
***
Dickens’s novels shone a light on the lower classes. He had an obvious social conscious when it came to the poor and the downtrodden, a consciousness fervently expressed by the Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol. To that end, he clearly has sympathy for France’s peasantry, and the way their daily bread was subject to powers far outside their control. His outrage is nearly glowing when he describes the Marquis, who kills a child and pays the father off with a coin. It is just as clear, however, that the violence attending the French Revolution disturbed him. The most affecting part of this novel – or perhaps any of his novels – is the tumbril ride one of his characters takes to the guillotine. Meanwhile, the zealous Revolutionary Madame Defarge is portrayed as a villain.
In that way, A Tale of Two Cities really captures the tension of the French Revolution, where bad acts gave way to good intentions, which gave way to bad acts in the name of good intentions.
-tCharles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
The opening of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities is one of the most celebrated in the history of literature. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Dickens writes, beginning a lengthy, single-sentence paragraph that is marked by its rhythmic contradictions. “[I]t was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…” By the time you reach the end of this ambitious tease, you are compelled – at the least – to finish the page. In terms of grasping the reader’s attention, and convincing him or her to continue, Dickens succeeds marvelously.
Aside from hooking your attention with the skill that Quint uses to hook great white sharks, the first sentence of A Tale of Two Cities marvelously grasps the paradox of the French Revolution, which serves as the novel’s backdrop.
Begun in 1789 as a revolt against the poverty and hunger suffered by huge masses of the population, the French Revolutionaries sought the noble ideal of equality. In achieving this end, however, they unleashed a torrent of blood. They toppled a king, and then beheaded him. They killed thousands of people who resisted, many of those resisting in thoughts or words only. Finally, they started to kill each other, in a dispute over who was most pure. The result was a tumultuous decade in which lofty ends crashed against lethal means, leaving us with an event that is still hotly debated to this day.
***
For me, reading Dickens has been a lot like eating my vegetables. Both are good for you, but I have never been able to fully like either.
It has never been a question of talent. Dickens is an incredibly skilled writer with an unmatched eye for creating memorable characters. The problem I’ve had with many of the works I have read – or attempted to read – is that the whole is often less than the sum of their parts. That is, Dickens published many of his novels in serial form, and it often feels like he is actively inflating his word count in order to pad his (oft-troubled) bank account. The resulting digressions, plot contrivances, and weak endings tend to dampen the enjoyment I get from the worlds he creates.
The best Dickens is – in my humble estimation – A Christmas Carol. The novella is slim, symmetrical, and achieves the perfect balance between character and plot. Though it has been adapted so often that the whole thing feels like a cliché, there is a real genius to its structure and execution. There is not a single unnecessary moment, not a single misplaced beat. Compared to the shaggy meanderings of Great Expectations or Bleak House, A Christmas Carol is a breath of pine-scented winter air. Despite Dickens’s struggles to complete it, the finished novel knows exactly what it is trying to do, and exactly where it is going.
A Tale of Two Cities, one of two works of historical fiction Dickens published in his life, straddles the extremes. Certainly, it is not an endlessly growing story, such as the weighty, ever-expanding David Copperfield, but neither is it as sleek and efficient as Scrooge’s yuletide transformation. It is a bit of both, actually.
One is almost tempted to say it was the best of books, it was the worst…
But no, I would not give into that temptation.
***
The two cities referenced in the title – Paris and London – provide Dickens with his setting. We begin in the year 1775, with a messenger flagging down the mail-coach between London and Dover. The passenger who receives this message is a banker named Jarvis Lorry, who has just learned that Dr. Alexandre Manette, a French physician, has been released from the infamous Bastille prison in Paris, after serving an eighteen-year sentence. Dr. Manette, it turns out, has a daughter named Lucie, who has always believed her father to be dead.
While Lucie reunites with her father, we are introduced to the cruel Marquis St. Evrémonde, who gets our attention by running over a child in a carriage, and then yelling at the peasants for endangering his horses. The Marquis has a nephew, Charles Darnay, who narrowly escaped a conviction for treason against Great Britain.
Ultimately, Lucie and Charles fall in love, but Charles returns to France as the City of Lights is roiled by a storm of revolutionary violence. At the risk of spoiling anything, I will end my summary there. Suffice to say, the results are both entirely predictable and also entirely unpredictable. This is a function of Dickens’s propensity for over-plotting, as well as his habit of utilizing sheer melodrama to obscure the reality that his twists and turns aren’t all that clever. There are parts of A Tale of Two Cities that rely on reveals that would shame the writers of Scooby Doo.
Still, the storylines get so tangled and confused, it almost feels like a surprise when things happen. More importantly, Dickens seems to write with a clear idea of where he is going. In that sense, the plot is actually rather satisfying. It also helps that A Tale of Two Cities is less than four-hundred pages long. Thus, despite being serialized in weekly installments from April to November 1859, I didn’t feel like Dickens was trying to get paid by the word.
As I mentioned above, Dickens is famed for his fictional creations, whether that is flinty Ebenezer Scrooge, sycophantic Uriah Heep, or the sadistic Miss Havisham. Here, that list is added to greatly, especially Madame Defarge, a devoted Revolutionary who chillingly knits patterns that represent the names of people to be killed. At one point, her husband starts to worry about the excesses of the Revolution. Not Madame Defarge. She says to him: “Tell the wind and fire where to stop, but don’t tell me.” The supporting cast alone makes A Tale of Two Cities worth reading.
Not all the characters are winners, though. The blonde, saintly Lucie, for instance, described as “the golden thread” holding her family is together, is absolutely insufferable, to the extent I can only surmise she is the love child of Pip from Great Expectations and Esther from Bleak House. Every moment I spent with her, I darkly hoped that Madame Defarge was adding some stiches to her list.
***
Dickens’s novels shone a light on the lower classes. He had an obvious social conscious when it came to the poor and the downtrodden, a consciousness fervently expressed by the Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol. To that end, he clearly has sympathy for France’s peasantry, and the way their daily bread was subject to powers far outside their control. His outrage is nearly glowing when he describes the Marquis, who kills a child and pays the father off with a coin. It is just as clear, however, that the violence attending the French Revolution disturbed him. The most affecting part of this novel – or perhaps any of his novels – is the tumbril ride one of his characters takes to the guillotine. Meanwhile, the zealous Revolutionary Madame Defarge is portrayed as a villain.
In that way, A Tale of Two Cities really captures the tension of the French Revolution, where bad acts gave way to good intentions, which gave way to bad acts in the name of good intentions.
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A Tale of Two Cities holds the dubious honor of being the first book I ever picked up and failed to finish. The very first.
From there, it's all gone downhill. Just look at my reviews where I casually admit to throwing away classics unread. A Light in August, Lolita, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, etc, etc...
If you enjoy the little things, like being sane and not hating life, then I recommend you never pick this up.
From there, it's all gone downhill. Just look at my reviews where I casually admit to throwing away classics unread. A Light in August, Lolita, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, etc, etc...
If you enjoy the little things, like being sane and not hating life, then I recommend you never pick this up.
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Sentimental and predictable, in how everyone knows each other and how constructed the story works to a neat conclusion and contrast at the end, but the author his sarcastic wit helped me appreciate the book nonetheless!
Charles Dickens has a sarcastic wit in this novel and doesn’t hold back in anyway in scathing the French bourgeois and nobility, you can viscerally imagine the poverty and wretchedness based on the vivid descriptions provided. However the bourgeois English fear for a rising of the mobs is very clear as well. At its heart A Tale of Two Cities in my view is less about the French Revolution (if that interest you primarily I'd recommend A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel) perse and more about morality and how people carry themselves under extreme circumstances.
Some characters revert to an “it’s all business” sentiment and quite breezingly make it through. Other characters turn saint like and faint multiple times (looking at you Lucy). We have someone turning full on ninja assassin at a chateau, and a madam who is constantly knitting while the guillotine (almost a character in itself) "shaves off" a new pattern in the tapestry of society.
The courtroom scene, the discovery of the father in Paris, overdone love declarations and schemes reminded me a lot to a more quick (and in my opinion better executed) versions of what Victor Hugo did in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
There is a death speech (and a letter) of a chapter long at the end of the book which is probably the most over the top melodramatic writing I’ve read.
Everyone is acquainted or full on related to each other in the two metropoles London and Paris, and the overarching plot and desired symmetries completely supersede any sense of reality in the story.
Still the biting humor, and the idiosyncratic characters made this quite an enjoyable read for a book of its age. A solid three stars overall!
Charles Dickens has a sarcastic wit in this novel and doesn’t hold back in anyway in scathing the French bourgeois and nobility, you can viscerally imagine the poverty and wretchedness based on the vivid descriptions provided. However the bourgeois English fear for a rising of the mobs is very clear as well. At its heart A Tale of Two Cities in my view is less about the French Revolution (if that interest you primarily I'd recommend A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel) perse and more about morality and how people carry themselves under extreme circumstances.
Some characters revert to an “it’s all business” sentiment and quite breezingly make it through. Other characters turn saint like and faint multiple times (looking at you Lucy). We have someone turning full on ninja assassin at a chateau, and a madam who is constantly knitting while the guillotine (almost a character in itself) "shaves off" a new pattern in the tapestry of society.
The courtroom scene, the discovery of the father in Paris, overdone love declarations and schemes reminded me a lot to a more quick (and in my opinion better executed) versions of what Victor Hugo did in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
There is a death speech (and a letter) of a chapter long at the end of the book which is probably the most over the top melodramatic writing I’ve read.
Everyone is acquainted or full on related to each other in the two metropoles London and Paris, and the overarching plot and desired symmetries completely supersede any sense of reality in the story.
Still the biting humor, and the idiosyncratic characters made this quite an enjoyable read for a book of its age. A solid three stars overall!
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Charles Dickens is a demanding writer. The narratives of Great Expectations and Oliver Twist are relaxed and simple when compared to this. Reading Dickens requires concentration, and a will to carry on when sometimes the writing gives you a headache.
This is a historical novel. Dickens tells the story of the storming of the Bastille, some fifty years after it happened. Unlike most of his work, all traces of humour are removed. There are no caricatures and quirkiness within his writing. This is all very serious material, which, of course, it needs to be. But, for me, this is what Dickens does best. His ability to juxtapose themes of human suffering, poverty and deprivation with ideas of the grotesque, ridiculous and, at times, the plain mad, are where his real master strokes of penmanship come through.
That’s what I like the most about Dickens, so I knew my enjoyment of this very serious novel would be hindered immediately. What we do have though is a strong revenge plot running through the book, and the revolt which occurred two thirds of the way in. And, like the name of the book suggests, this is a tale about two cities: London and Paris. Dickens loved to criticise society, and all its stupid aristocratic nuances. Here he takes great pains to show that London is no symbol of societal perfection. The aftermath of the French revolution placed the British on a pedestal, at least, to their own minds. They could not believe that their own current systems of ruling could cause such a travesty within their own capital. Dickens shows that the men in power were just as corrupt and corruptible wherever they sit, revolution can happen again.
“I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss. I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
The streets of Paris are seen before and after the bloodshed, and all the strands of seemingly unrelated plots are artfully (perhaps slightly forcefully?) woven together. Dickens brings the lives of a huge cast of characters, spanning over two cities, and two nations, all of which have a varied station in life and political beliefs, into one final conclusion. And it’s a strong conclusion, though heavily reliant of coincident. This is nothing unusual for fiction of the Victorian era, though it did feel very much like a construct. The modernists would address such issues in the next century, mainly to criticise them heavily due to their incapability at capturing the essence of life within fiction. Perhaps they have a point here?
So this is a very strong story, one that is highly perceptive and intuitive at times. As a reader, I need a certain degree of entertainment when reading. I find that the wonderfully comic elements that are in some of Dickens’ other books help to break up the more intense moments of the plot. Even Jane Austen would interpose her narrative with moments of scathing sarcasm and wit. For me, this is far from the finest work of Dickens despite the fact that it seems to be his most popular.
This is a historical novel. Dickens tells the story of the storming of the Bastille, some fifty years after it happened. Unlike most of his work, all traces of humour are removed. There are no caricatures and quirkiness within his writing. This is all very serious material, which, of course, it needs to be. But, for me, this is what Dickens does best. His ability to juxtapose themes of human suffering, poverty and deprivation with ideas of the grotesque, ridiculous and, at times, the plain mad, are where his real master strokes of penmanship come through.
That’s what I like the most about Dickens, so I knew my enjoyment of this very serious novel would be hindered immediately. What we do have though is a strong revenge plot running through the book, and the revolt which occurred two thirds of the way in. And, like the name of the book suggests, this is a tale about two cities: London and Paris. Dickens loved to criticise society, and all its stupid aristocratic nuances. Here he takes great pains to show that London is no symbol of societal perfection. The aftermath of the French revolution placed the British on a pedestal, at least, to their own minds. They could not believe that their own current systems of ruling could cause such a travesty within their own capital. Dickens shows that the men in power were just as corrupt and corruptible wherever they sit, revolution can happen again.
“I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss. I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
The streets of Paris are seen before and after the bloodshed, and all the strands of seemingly unrelated plots are artfully (perhaps slightly forcefully?) woven together. Dickens brings the lives of a huge cast of characters, spanning over two cities, and two nations, all of which have a varied station in life and political beliefs, into one final conclusion. And it’s a strong conclusion, though heavily reliant of coincident. This is nothing unusual for fiction of the Victorian era, though it did feel very much like a construct. The modernists would address such issues in the next century, mainly to criticise them heavily due to their incapability at capturing the essence of life within fiction. Perhaps they have a point here?
So this is a very strong story, one that is highly perceptive and intuitive at times. As a reader, I need a certain degree of entertainment when reading. I find that the wonderfully comic elements that are in some of Dickens’ other books help to break up the more intense moments of the plot. Even Jane Austen would interpose her narrative with moments of scathing sarcasm and wit. For me, this is far from the finest work of Dickens despite the fact that it seems to be his most popular.
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Alright, I've mentioned before that I majored in English in college. If you've been following my reviews you'll notice that I've been knocking off a lot of classics that I missed out on in that time. Now here it is, my big dark secret… I've never read a proper Dickens novel. Prior to this I've only read some of his short stories and A Christmas Carol.
Well, it's been corrected! I've finally read a Dickens novel! Huzzah! Hooray! I went with the one it seems like… well, everyone has read.
Okay, so yes, I went with his most commonly read book, and yes I chose it entirely because it was his most commonly read book. I confess though, other than that it took place during the French revolution and those most famous and often quoted opening and closing lines, I knew very little about the book. Seems like the perfect introduction to Dickens proper, right?
Well, yes and no. Let me start by saying that yes, I did greatly enjoy this book. I liked it very much and was impressed at how intricately plotted it was. Scenes that I genuinely thought might have been comedic padding actually turned out important. Little details mentioned early on are used in interesting ways throughout. There are some genuinely beautiful, almost reflecting passages of the book where a scene early on is somewhat repeated with characters changed. There is a lot I loved about this book and I think my rating reflects that.
Here's the thing… my two favorite aspects of the book? The moments of humor and the interesting side characters. I'll be honest here, I didn't really care much about Charles Darnay or Lucie. They were frankly bland and uninteresting. Charles had the charisma of a board of wood and Lucie is so overly sweet that I feared diabetic issues if there were many chapters from her point of view. Dr. Manette was an interesting character because Dickens gave him more of a psychological depth to him… but really, the characters I liked reading about? The humorous messenger, grave robber and occasional bodyguard Jerry Crutcher, the man of business Jarvis Lorry, the clever and snide Sydney Carton and the sinister Madame Defarge. The side characters were all interesting, I loved seeing these quirky and interesting people come and go.
In other words, from what I gather, the thing I liked about this book the most (humor and the interesting side characters) are the aspects that show up more prominently in Dickens's other works.
So, apparently I picked wrong.
That said, this was a lovely and wonderful read. The writing was beautiful, I enjoyed my entire time with it and it will almost certainly not be my last Dickens novel… though it is a relief to finally cross him off my list of authors I'm embarrassed to say I had not read. 4/5 stars.
Well, it's been corrected! I've finally read a Dickens novel! Huzzah! Hooray! I went with the one it seems like… well, everyone has read.
Okay, so yes, I went with his most commonly read book, and yes I chose it entirely because it was his most commonly read book. I confess though, other than that it took place during the French revolution and those most famous and often quoted opening and closing lines, I knew very little about the book. Seems like the perfect introduction to Dickens proper, right?
Well, yes and no. Let me start by saying that yes, I did greatly enjoy this book. I liked it very much and was impressed at how intricately plotted it was. Scenes that I genuinely thought might have been comedic padding actually turned out important. Little details mentioned early on are used in interesting ways throughout. There are some genuinely beautiful, almost reflecting passages of the book where a scene early on is somewhat repeated with characters changed. There is a lot I loved about this book and I think my rating reflects that.
Here's the thing… my two favorite aspects of the book? The moments of humor and the interesting side characters. I'll be honest here, I didn't really care much about Charles Darnay or Lucie. They were frankly bland and uninteresting. Charles had the charisma of a board of wood and Lucie is so overly sweet that I feared diabetic issues if there were many chapters from her point of view. Dr. Manette was an interesting character because Dickens gave him more of a psychological depth to him… but really, the characters I liked reading about? The humorous messenger, grave robber and occasional bodyguard Jerry Crutcher, the man of business Jarvis Lorry, the clever and snide Sydney Carton and the sinister Madame Defarge. The side characters were all interesting, I loved seeing these quirky and interesting people come and go.
In other words, from what I gather, the thing I liked about this book the most (humor and the interesting side characters) are the aspects that show up more prominently in Dickens's other works.
So, apparently I picked wrong.
That said, this was a lovely and wonderful read. The writing was beautiful, I enjoyed my entire time with it and it will almost certainly not be my last Dickens novel… though it is a relief to finally cross him off my list of authors I'm embarrassed to say I had not read. 4/5 stars.
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I first read this in high school as a substitute for "Oliver Twist" which was not in my high school library catalog. Come to think of it now, I have never read that book. Weird... If ever I get a chance to meet "high-school-me", I bet she will be over the moon and back to know that the world is her library! Any book, on demand! I guess it would distract her enough not to realize she has no social life. Anyway...
"A Tale of Two Cities" is, once again, one of those books I have read when I was too young to understand. I still struggle reading this book, but this time around, it generated more empathy from me. Charles Dickens wrote this novel long after the French revolution but it was still timely. Centuries later, in the here and now, it's major themes still hold true. Any generation, in my opinion, could start their story with, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...."
Dickens explores human emotions and reactions that aren’t specific to any one historical event. Human suffering isn’t simply an 18th-century French problem. The novel, with all of the poverty and injustice it displays, is an exploration of conditions that will persist just as long as violence and inequity continue to flourish.
Although this book is a major social critique, it’s also an exploration of the limits of human justice. What is justice really? When does justice start becoming injustice? It provokes big questions and they’re still pretty relevant today. Can you imagine a country in which innocent people are persecuted for their political view? The closer I look, the more the false imprisonment of Dr. Manette or Charles Darnay becomes something that we deal with in the real world, as well as the fictional one.
"A Tale of Two Cities" is also a meditation on some of the most pressing existential questions that trouble humankind. Do we really know anything at all about the people around us, even the people we love? Can a single life make a difference in a world filled with hatred, rage, and violence? Times of strife make these questions all the more pressing to answer, but, as Dickens reminds us, that doesn’t mean that the answers are easy to find.
This was difficult to read but it still managed to captivate me and forgo doing the dishes. I'm quite happy to give this book another chance. Books that disappointed me before might change my mind at some point in my life. As always, I don't confuse my own lack of sympathy with the assumption that, if I don't get it, the book is necessarily flawed. I think that's why classics endure.
"A Tale of Two Cities" is, once again, one of those books I have read when I was too young to understand. I still struggle reading this book, but this time around, it generated more empathy from me. Charles Dickens wrote this novel long after the French revolution but it was still timely. Centuries later, in the here and now, it's major themes still hold true. Any generation, in my opinion, could start their story with, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...."
Dickens explores human emotions and reactions that aren’t specific to any one historical event. Human suffering isn’t simply an 18th-century French problem. The novel, with all of the poverty and injustice it displays, is an exploration of conditions that will persist just as long as violence and inequity continue to flourish.
Although this book is a major social critique, it’s also an exploration of the limits of human justice. What is justice really? When does justice start becoming injustice? It provokes big questions and they’re still pretty relevant today. Can you imagine a country in which innocent people are persecuted for their political view? The closer I look, the more the false imprisonment of Dr. Manette or Charles Darnay becomes something that we deal with in the real world, as well as the fictional one.
"A Tale of Two Cities" is also a meditation on some of the most pressing existential questions that trouble humankind. Do we really know anything at all about the people around us, even the people we love? Can a single life make a difference in a world filled with hatred, rage, and violence? Times of strife make these questions all the more pressing to answer, but, as Dickens reminds us, that doesn’t mean that the answers are easy to find.
This was difficult to read but it still managed to captivate me and forgo doing the dishes. I'm quite happy to give this book another chance. Books that disappointed me before might change my mind at some point in my life. As always, I don't confuse my own lack of sympathy with the assumption that, if I don't get it, the book is necessarily flawed. I think that's why classics endure.
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" كان أحسن الأزمان، وكان أسوأ الأزمان. كان عصر الحكمة، وكان عصر الحماقة. كان عهد الإيمان، وكان عهد الجحود. كان زمن النور، وكان زمن الظلمة. كان ربيع الأمل، وكان شتاء القنوط. كان أمامنا كل شيء، ولم يكن أمامنا شيء. "
قرأتُها للمرة الأولى في سن الخامسة عشر، وحين أنشأت حسابي في غودريدز أضفتها وقيمتها بخمسة نجوم رغم أني لم أكن أذكر شيئاً من تلك القراءة غير أنها أبهرت عقلي الغضّ حينذاك؛ ربما لم أعيها تماماً في ذاك الوقت، لكنني اليوم - وقد وجدت نفسي فيها - أتسائل إن كان ما قرأته قد رسخ في أعماق لا وعيي.
أقرأها اليوم للمرة الثانية بعد أن عشت ما فيها ورأيته رأي العين، وأعيد تقييمها بخمسة نجوم كاملة، وأنا أعي تماماً ما وراء كل حرف، كل شعور، كل عقلية، وكل قطرة دم سُفحت.
إن أعدت قراءتها بعد عشرات السنين، سأكرر إكباري لهذا العمل الذي لم ولن يموت، وسيبقى منهاجاً على كل فرد فينا دراسته والتوقف عنده طويلاً، طالما هناك أناس بيننا لا يستطيعون النظر خارج أنفسهم، طالما بيوتنا ما زالت تخرج أشخاصاً يسلمون أعنتهم للحقد والمطامع لتقودهم، وإلى أن يأتي اليوم الذي يفتحون فيه أعينهم وقلوبهم للحياة .. اقرؤوها وعلموها لأولادكم.
" إني أرى صفوفاً طويلة من الظلّامين الجدد الذين نهضوا على أنقاض السابقين يلقون نحبهم بهذه الآلة المنتقمة، قبل أن تتم مهمتها الحاضرة. إني أرى مدينة جميلة، وشعباً عظيم الذكاء ينهضان من هذه الهاوية السحيقة ...
إني أرى أولئك الذين فديتهم بحياتي يعيشون عيشاً آمناً، نافعاً، رغداً، سعيداً. "
قرأتُها للمرة الأولى في سن الخامسة عشر، وحين أنشأت حسابي في غودريدز أضفتها وقيمتها بخمسة نجوم رغم أني لم أكن أذكر شيئاً من تلك القراءة غير أنها أبهرت عقلي الغضّ حينذاك؛ ربما لم أعيها تماماً في ذاك الوقت، لكنني اليوم - وقد وجدت نفسي فيها - أتسائل إن كان ما قرأته قد رسخ في أعماق لا وعيي.
أقرأها اليوم للمرة الثانية بعد أن عشت ما فيها ورأيته رأي العين، وأعيد تقييمها بخمسة نجوم كاملة، وأنا أعي تماماً ما وراء كل حرف، كل شعور، كل عقلية، وكل قطرة دم سُفحت.
إن أعدت قراءتها بعد عشرات السنين، سأكرر إكباري لهذا العمل الذي لم ولن يموت، وسيبقى منهاجاً على كل فرد فينا دراسته والتوقف عنده طويلاً، طالما هناك أناس بيننا لا يستطيعون النظر خارج أنفسهم، طالما بيوتنا ما زالت تخرج أشخاصاً يسلمون أعنتهم للحقد والمطامع لتقودهم، وإلى أن يأتي اليوم الذي يفتحون فيه أعينهم وقلوبهم للحياة .. اقرؤوها وعلموها لأولادكم.
" إني أرى صفوفاً طويلة من الظلّامين الجدد الذين نهضوا على أنقاض السابقين يلقون نحبهم بهذه الآلة المنتقمة، قبل أن تتم مهمتها الحاضرة. إني أرى مدينة جميلة، وشعباً عظيم الذكاء ينهضان من هذه الهاوية السحيقة ...
إني أرى أولئك الذين فديتهم بحياتي يعيشون عيشاً آمناً، نافعاً، رغداً، سعيداً. "
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A Tale of Two Cities was the first Charles Dickens novel I read on my own, not because an English class required it (looking at you, Great Expectations). I was going on a cross-country trip and decided this would be a good book to while away the hours.
From the first immortal words:
Set in the years 1775 - 1790, before and during the French revolution, this long Victorian novel follows the lovely, kindhearted Lucie Manette and the people whose lives she touches, especially her father Dr. Alexandre Manette, imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years and driven nearly insane; Charles Darney, an emigre from France; Sidney Carlton, a cynical English barrister. We meet the infamous Defarges, a husband and wife who embrace the revolutionary cause and (especially Madame Defarge) descend into bloodthirsty proponents of Madame Guillotine.
I'll never forget reading the last pages on the plane, trying (probably in vain) to hide my tears from the strangers sitting around me on the plane.
From the first immortal words:
It was the best of times,to the very last ones, it was an absorbing story that ties in many themes, including love, loyalty, war, revolutionary fervor, justice, and sacrifice for a greater cause.
It was the worst of times,
It was the age of wisdom,
It was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity ...
Set in the years 1775 - 1790, before and during the French revolution, this long Victorian novel follows the lovely, kindhearted Lucie Manette and the people whose lives she touches, especially her father Dr. Alexandre Manette, imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years and driven nearly insane; Charles Darney, an emigre from France; Sidney Carlton, a cynical English barrister. We meet the infamous Defarges, a husband and wife who embrace the revolutionary cause and (especially Madame Defarge) descend into bloodthirsty proponents of Madame Guillotine.
I'll never forget reading the last pages on the plane, trying (probably in vain) to hide my tears from the strangers sitting around me on the plane.
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done ..."
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”It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
It rarely happens that a quote from a book haunts me but this one, well, this one does. I finished “A Tale of Two Cities” about two weeks ago, yet I’m still not over the ending. But how could I? After all, this is one of those rare books that keep you thinking even after you finished the last page and already closed the cover of the book.
The most intriguing thing about this all is the following though: I had a really, really tough time getting into “A Tale of Two Cities” when I first started to read it. XD The sentences were too long and complicated and Dickens writing style is lengthy and so full of superfluous words that every editor, no matter the century she/he lives in, would have had a field day crossing them out. *lol*
”O Miss Manette, when the little picture of a happy father’s face looks up in yours, when you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you!”
So what happened? I can’t explain it, but I think Dickens’s magic happened. At least that’s the only thing I can come up with while I’m trying to explain my sudden love for this book. I mean we have a little bit of comedy in here when three different suitors attempt to ask for Lucy Manettes hand, yet at the same time Doctor Manette’s mental condition is making the situation as serious as it could possibly be.
”What can I do for my friend? No man ever can have been more desirious in his heart to serve a friend, than I am to serve mine, if I knew how.”
Every character in here is either an angel (Miss Manette) or a precious snowflake (Mr. Lorry & Charles Darnay) or it’s bloodthirsty and evil. (Madame Defarge & The Marquis) There is no grey area, well not unless you count Sydney Carton who is by far the most intriguing character in the entire book! I loved him! <3 Yes, he might have been a drunkard (and I’m pretty sure he suffered from depression) but of all the characters that made an appearance in “A Tale of Two Cities” he’s certainly the most honourable and pure soul!
”It is too late for that. I shall never be better than I am. I shall sink lower, and be worse.”
And this, Ladies and Gentleman, is the true tragedy of this book! That Sydney thinks he’s worth nothing even though he DESERVES THE FREAKING WORLD!!!! Excuse my screaming but ADKFASKDFKASDFKSDFKASD! I get all emotional just thinking about this lovable man! He is worthy, he is wantable, to hell with it, I’m actually going to compare him to my precious boy Adam Parrish now! *LOL* Both of them deserve so much and they are always trying to fit in, to make their life better, yet there’s always something that holds them back. That makes their lives difficult.
”You are a good man and a true friend,” said Carton, in an altered voice. “Forgive me if I notice that you are affected. I could not see my father weep, and sit by, careless. And I could not respect your sorrow more, if you were my father. You are free from that misfortune, however.”
No one notices the struggle he’s going through and a lot of people judge him for his actions. Not outright into his face but behind his back. Truth be told, I think Miss Manette might have been the only person who ever got a decent glimpse at his true character and nature. And this only because he let her see it! Because he loved her and because he wanted her to know that there was a part of him, the part that loved her, that actually was worthy of her love as well. T_T
”I would ask you, dearest, to be very generous with him always, and very lenient on his faults when he is not by. I would ask you to believe that he has a heart he very, very seldom reveals, and that there are deep wounds in it. My dear, I have seen it bleeding.”
But we’re in the time of the guillotine, the time of change, of liberté, égalité et fraternité! And forgiveness and compassion, let alone justice aren’t truly on the agenda. People like the Marquis had no mercy with their subjects and their former servants pay them back in kind. Unfortunately this also means that innocent people, regardless of their actions and their lack of involvement are sentenced to death as well. Casualties in a war that gained momentum way too fast.
And so it happens that the storyline swells to a crescendo that ends in a climax I didn’t expect!
Boy, did that ending throw me! O_o
It was a beautiful ending, tragic, but beautiful, hopeful and sad. And it taught me that Dickens was indeed a great writer. ;-)
”Are you dying for him?” she whispered.
“And his wife and child. Hush! Yes.”
“O you will let me hold your brave hand, stranger?”
“Hush! Yes, my poor sister; to the last.”
I cried an ocean reading this scene!!! Sydney Carton deserved so much better than that!!! What a noble and gentle and compassionate soul!! What a brave man that gives comfort while he’s going to his death as well!!! I can’t even!!! T_T I just can’t… *cries and ocean again*
Conclusion:
I really loved this book! Dickens might write long sentences, he might take his time until everything gets into motion but damn, he certainly knows how to deliver a punch line! If you like classics and don’t mind books with a lengthy build-up you definitely should go for this! It was so worth it! XD
”It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
___________________
3 Things:
1.) I’m finally doing this and I got myself some backup! XD
This book always kind of intimidated me but I think with the help of this awesome boy I’ll eventually manage to read it!
Thank you so much for doing this buddy read with me! =))
2.) Yesh!!! I can’t wait to know what Will and Tessa meant when they compared themselves to characters from “A Tale of Two Cities”!!! I’m sure my reread of “Clockwork Angel” later on this year will make so much more sense after reading this. *lol*
3.) It’s Charles Dickens, n ANDn it’s about time I finally read one of his books!!!
It rarely happens that a quote from a book haunts me but this one, well, this one does. I finished “A Tale of Two Cities” about two weeks ago, yet I’m still not over the ending. But how could I? After all, this is one of those rare books that keep you thinking even after you finished the last page and already closed the cover of the book.
The most intriguing thing about this all is the following though: I had a really, really tough time getting into “A Tale of Two Cities” when I first started to read it. XD The sentences were too long and complicated and Dickens writing style is lengthy and so full of superfluous words that every editor, no matter the century she/he lives in, would have had a field day crossing them out. *lol*
”O Miss Manette, when the little picture of a happy father’s face looks up in yours, when you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you!”
So what happened? I can’t explain it, but I think Dickens’s magic happened. At least that’s the only thing I can come up with while I’m trying to explain my sudden love for this book. I mean we have a little bit of comedy in here when three different suitors attempt to ask for Lucy Manettes hand, yet at the same time Doctor Manette’s mental condition is making the situation as serious as it could possibly be.
”What can I do for my friend? No man ever can have been more desirious in his heart to serve a friend, than I am to serve mine, if I knew how.”
Every character in here is either an angel (Miss Manette) or a precious snowflake (Mr. Lorry & Charles Darnay) or it’s bloodthirsty and evil. (Madame Defarge & The Marquis) There is no grey area, well not unless you count Sydney Carton who is by far the most intriguing character in the entire book! I loved him! <3 Yes, he might have been a drunkard (and I’m pretty sure he suffered from depression) but of all the characters that made an appearance in “A Tale of Two Cities” he’s certainly the most honourable and pure soul!
”It is too late for that. I shall never be better than I am. I shall sink lower, and be worse.”
And this, Ladies and Gentleman, is the true tragedy of this book! That Sydney thinks he’s worth nothing even though he DESERVES THE FREAKING WORLD!!!! Excuse my screaming but ADKFASKDFKASDFKSDFKASD! I get all emotional just thinking about this lovable man! He is worthy, he is wantable, to hell with it, I’m actually going to compare him to my precious boy Adam Parrish now! *LOL* Both of them deserve so much and they are always trying to fit in, to make their life better, yet there’s always something that holds them back. That makes their lives difficult.
”You are a good man and a true friend,” said Carton, in an altered voice. “Forgive me if I notice that you are affected. I could not see my father weep, and sit by, careless. And I could not respect your sorrow more, if you were my father. You are free from that misfortune, however.”
No one notices the struggle he’s going through and a lot of people judge him for his actions. Not outright into his face but behind his back. Truth be told, I think Miss Manette might have been the only person who ever got a decent glimpse at his true character and nature. And this only because he let her see it! Because he loved her and because he wanted her to know that there was a part of him, the part that loved her, that actually was worthy of her love as well. T_T
”I would ask you, dearest, to be very generous with him always, and very lenient on his faults when he is not by. I would ask you to believe that he has a heart he very, very seldom reveals, and that there are deep wounds in it. My dear, I have seen it bleeding.”
But we’re in the time of the guillotine, the time of change, of liberté, égalité et fraternité! And forgiveness and compassion, let alone justice aren’t truly on the agenda. People like the Marquis had no mercy with their subjects and their former servants pay them back in kind. Unfortunately this also means that innocent people, regardless of their actions and their lack of involvement are sentenced to death as well. Casualties in a war that gained momentum way too fast.
And so it happens that the storyline swells to a crescendo that ends in a climax I didn’t expect!
Boy, did that ending throw me! O_o
It was a beautiful ending, tragic, but beautiful, hopeful and sad. And it taught me that Dickens was indeed a great writer. ;-)
”Are you dying for him?” she whispered.
“And his wife and child. Hush! Yes.”
“O you will let me hold your brave hand, stranger?”
“Hush! Yes, my poor sister; to the last.”
I cried an ocean reading this scene!!! Sydney Carton deserved so much better than that!!! What a noble and gentle and compassionate soul!! What a brave man that gives comfort while he’s going to his death as well!!! I can’t even!!! T_T I just can’t… *cries and ocean again*
Conclusion:
I really loved this book! Dickens might write long sentences, he might take his time until everything gets into motion but damn, he certainly knows how to deliver a punch line! If you like classics and don’t mind books with a lengthy build-up you definitely should go for this! It was so worth it! XD
”It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
___________________
3 Things:
1.) I’m finally doing this and I got myself some backup! XD
This book always kind of intimidated me but I think with the help of this awesome boy I’ll eventually manage to read it!
Thank you so much for doing this buddy read with me! =))
2.) Yesh!!! I can’t wait to know what Will and Tessa meant when they compared themselves to characters from “A Tale of Two Cities”!!! I’m sure my reread of “Clockwork Angel” later on this year will make so much more sense after reading this. *lol*
3.) It’s Charles Dickens, n ANDn it’s about time I finally read one of his books!!!
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