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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
i was surprised to find out dickens was in fact not paid by the word bc this sounds like he was
This was my first experience with Dickens, and although it was undeniably a quality work, it will not rank among my top books. The primary issue I had was his overly ornate style. The counter point to that is, his wordy and descriptive writing left such a powerful impression, in certain spots, that I can vividly imagine many of the scenes even now. I worry that the fault of my struggle might be simply that I am accustomed to the writing style of modern authors and did not easily adjust to this more long and complicated method.
Of all the books I read this year, this took me almost three times as long as the next longest read. Keeping track of all the plot elements, characters, and even timelines was such a task I often found myself searching for a chapter summary just to make sure I hadn't missed anything important. I would end up reading for about an hour most times, and then I would not have the will to pick it up again until days later. Once again, I mostly blame this on myself. If I were to read more of the old classics I might begin to appreciate the slog, but as I am, it was a bit of a chore.
I found the story to be fantastic. It was quite simple, but this worked in Dickens favor and allowed him to deliver dramatic and powerful moments unlike I have ever read. The release of Dr. Manette from the bastille as well as the magnificent climax of the book were so beautifully written that I can easily recollect the emotions I experienced reading them.
The characters are another area where Dickens excelled. Some of his characters are intentionally one dimensional, but there are a couple that I found utterly fascinating. Madame Defarge would be my first example of a perfectly written antagonist. She soaks up the spotlight almost without trying. I enjoyed every moment she existed on the page and thought her ending was absolutely poetic. The other character I would call out for his complexity and nuance, would be Sydney Carton. His nihilistic and cynical disposition complemented by inspired action for the sake of others is absolutely intriguing. I hesitate to claim he has a redemption arc, since there is no clear change in him. It's more that he remains his pessimistic and hopeless self but never lets that get in the way of any heroic acts.
To summarize my feelings on this book, I think it had top notch characters and the story was fantastic. However, it was a laborious read and certainly not one I will be re-reading any time soon.
Of all the books I read this year, this took me almost three times as long as the next longest read. Keeping track of all the plot elements, characters, and even timelines was such a task I often found myself searching for a chapter summary just to make sure I hadn't missed anything important. I would end up reading for about an hour most times, and then I would not have the will to pick it up again until days later. Once again, I mostly blame this on myself. If I were to read more of the old classics I might begin to appreciate the slog, but as I am, it was a bit of a chore.
I found the story to be fantastic. It was quite simple, but this worked in Dickens favor and allowed him to deliver dramatic and powerful moments unlike I have ever read. The release of Dr. Manette from the bastille as well as the magnificent climax of the book were so beautifully written that I can easily recollect the emotions I experienced reading them.
The characters are another area where Dickens excelled. Some of his characters are intentionally one dimensional, but there are a couple that I found utterly fascinating. Madame Defarge would be my first example of a perfectly written antagonist. She soaks up the spotlight almost without trying. I enjoyed every moment she existed on the page and thought her ending was absolutely poetic. The other character I would call out for his complexity and nuance, would be Sydney Carton. His nihilistic and cynical disposition complemented by inspired action for the sake of others is absolutely intriguing. I hesitate to claim he has a redemption arc, since there is no clear change in him. It's more that he remains his pessimistic and hopeless self but never lets that get in the way of any heroic acts.
To summarize my feelings on this book, I think it had top notch characters and the story was fantastic. However, it was a laborious read and certainly not one I will be re-reading any time soon.
I managed to avoid reading this in high school, and wanted to remedy that. The story was very familiar - I definitely had read a lot of it previously, and seen some movie versions of it. Dickens's language is quite flowery, and his detailed descriptions of nearly everything in the story can make it difficult to keep track of what the overall story is really about, so I found http://www.gradesaver.com/tale-of-two-cities/study-guide/summary very helpful, particularly towards the end of the book. I listened to a Libra Vox audio version on a mobile app, and found it went by very quickly.
It has many well written descriptions but suffers from a simple, poor, story, paper-thin characters, and an inability (probably due to political reasons) to draw parallels from the suffering & revolution in France to the same treatment of the poor in England. Also, heavy-handed foreshadowing in the beginning gave away a bit of the very unrealistic, too-neat, twist ending.
“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it! Something of the awfulness, even of Death itself, is referable to this. No more can I turn the leaves of this dear book that I loved, and vainly hope in time to read it all. No more can I look into the depths of this unfathomable water, wherein, as momentary lights glanced into it, I have had glimpses of buried treasure and other things submerged. It was appointed that the book should shut with a spring, for ever and for ever, when I had read but a page. It was appointed that the water should be locked in an eternal frost, when the light was playing on its surface, and I stood in ignorance on the shore. “My friend is dead, my neighbour is dead, my love, the darling of my soul, is dead; it is the inexorable consolidation and perpetuation of the secret that was always in that individuality, and which I shall carry in mine to my life’s end. In any of the burial-places of this city through which I pass, is there a sleeper more inscrutable than its busy inhabitants are, in their innermost personality, to me, or than I am to them?”
“Above all, one hideous figure grew as familiar as if it had been before the general gaze from the foundations of the world—the figure of the sharp female called La Guillotine. It was the popular theme for jests; it was the best cure for headache, it infallibly prevented the hair from turning grey, it imparted a peculiar delicacy to the complexion, it was the National Razor which shaved close: who kissed La Guillotine, looked through the little window and sneezed into the sack. It was the sign of the regeneration of the human race. It superseded the Cross. Models of it were worn on breasts from which the Cross was discarded, and it was bowed down to and believed in where the Cross was denied.”
“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it! Something of the awfulness, even of Death itself, is referable to this. No more can I turn the leaves of this dear book that I loved, and vainly hope in time to read it all. No more can I look into the depths of this unfathomable water, wherein, as momentary lights glanced into it, I have had glimpses of buried treasure and other things submerged. It was appointed that the book should shut with a spring, for ever and for ever, when I had read but a page. It was appointed that the water should be locked in an eternal frost, when the light was playing on its surface, and I stood in ignorance on the shore. “My friend is dead, my neighbour is dead, my love, the darling of my soul, is dead; it is the inexorable consolidation and perpetuation of the secret that was always in that individuality, and which I shall carry in mine to my life’s end. In any of the burial-places of this city through which I pass, is there a sleeper more inscrutable than its busy inhabitants are, in their innermost personality, to me, or than I am to them?”
“Above all, one hideous figure grew as familiar as if it had been before the general gaze from the foundations of the world—the figure of the sharp female called La Guillotine. It was the popular theme for jests; it was the best cure for headache, it infallibly prevented the hair from turning grey, it imparted a peculiar delicacy to the complexion, it was the National Razor which shaved close: who kissed La Guillotine, looked through the little window and sneezed into the sack. It was the sign of the regeneration of the human race. It superseded the Cross. Models of it were worn on breasts from which the Cross was discarded, and it was bowed down to and believed in where the Cross was denied.”
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did! Filled with love stories, intrigue, spies, French Revolution, court scenes, PTSD, prison, deceit etc.. any scene with Jarvis Lorry and Tellson’s bank was a guaranteed giggle and I loved the twists and gasp moments that Dickens was able to spin. I do find his characterisation of the working class extremely cringe and often icky but what else can you expect from the period - at least he tried to write about them..
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really didn't like this book. First off, the main girl is so weak its sick, and the fact that she has three men pining after her is a little ridiculous. But I actually found that Sydney was my favorite character because of his sacrifice at the ending, and also he was the mysterious type. There was so much drama in this book, but I guess that is Dicken's signature move. Well, it was okay...
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes