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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I know now what I did not know then (when I first read this book) - that Dickens is an acquired taste. But somehow as a tiny seventh grader I fell in love with this book and the romance of the French Revolution. Only at that point I didn't know just how many revolutions there had been in France.
It contains one of the most quotable lines in English literature, it is historical, it was a serial novel. All of this and more are amongst the academic reasons to read this book.
However, I still think that Dickensian prose has the power to captivate us all if we let it. The trick is to read it a chapter at a time, just like they would have when it was released as a serial.
It contains one of the most quotable lines in English literature, it is historical, it was a serial novel. All of this and more are amongst the academic reasons to read this book.
However, I still think that Dickensian prose has the power to captivate us all if we let it. The trick is to read it a chapter at a time, just like they would have when it was released as a serial.
I haven’t read ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ since I was in high school. So, as a bookclub selected this novel as the winner for the book of the month to read, I dusted off my old copy…ok, actually it was my Kindle app and it did not have any dust (artistic license, right?)… I re-read this high school favorite.
It probably will earn me some nerf balls tossed at my head to say this, but the author's style of writing in this novel occasionally has not held up to Time. The first 100 pages or so in particular are so full of narrative filler and writing excess, I wondered if I had a debased copy. Alas, no. I also have an old Audible audiobook which I bought almost twelve years ago (yes, I became an Audible member before Amazon bought the company - I still have my original Audible player they gave away free) and listened while I read. While that made me happier as I cleaned or walked or traveled, I did not enjoy every minute. There were wordy parts and paragraphs I could not understand until Dickens finally spoke to the point. However, I am happy to say the plot definitely was still exciting and the characters were as complex or heroic as I like today. Dickens being Dickens, the twists and turns miraculously end in bizarre coincidences which force guffaws from most of us as we read; nonetheless most of us are as pleased as kittens playing with a feather from the literary game Dickens plays with us. The ending had me in tears, surprisingly, gentle reader, although I knew how it ended.
I honestly think nothing should be said of this plot, other than it needs patience to read, especially for the first half of the story. However, most people know the story already. (The opening lines of the first paragraph are particularly familiar and still thrilling.) There have been dozens of movies made based on the book. I will say the book is more complex, nuanced, thematically universal, and sad than movie adaptations I have watched. Also movie watchers most emphatically will miss almost all of the twisting and turning coincidences Dickens always tosses in for pure reader enjoyment. Movies cut out two-thirds of the characters and scenes, leaving often only a bastardized sentimentality and a simplified tale of good and evil.
I couldn’t help thinking as I finished the last page: I must read [b:Animal Farm|7613|Animal Farm|George Orwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1424037542s/7613.jpg|2207778] again; and what will it take to anger people enough today to rise against reactionary oppression?
Did anyone else think, yeah, Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, when Madame Defarge was described? (Batman Returns, 1992, Tim Burton)
https://youtu.be/IPKZl6P89u0
I did.
It probably will earn me some nerf balls tossed at my head to say this, but the author's style of writing in this novel occasionally has not held up to Time. The first 100 pages or so in particular are so full of narrative filler and writing excess, I wondered if I had a debased copy. Alas, no. I also have an old Audible audiobook which I bought almost twelve years ago (yes, I became an Audible member before Amazon bought the company - I still have my original Audible player they gave away free) and listened while I read. While that made me happier as I cleaned or walked or traveled, I did not enjoy every minute. There were wordy parts and paragraphs I could not understand until Dickens finally spoke to the point. However, I am happy to say the plot definitely was still exciting and the characters were as complex or heroic as I like today. Dickens being Dickens, the twists and turns miraculously end in bizarre coincidences which force guffaws from most of us as we read; nonetheless most of us are as pleased as kittens playing with a feather from the literary game Dickens plays with us. The ending had me in tears, surprisingly, gentle reader, although I knew how it ended.
Spoiler
I had forgotten the little seamstress who holds Sydney Carton’s hand.I honestly think nothing should be said of this plot, other than it needs patience to read, especially for the first half of the story. However, most people know the story already. (The opening lines of the first paragraph are particularly familiar and still thrilling.) There have been dozens of movies made based on the book. I will say the book is more complex, nuanced, thematically universal, and sad than movie adaptations I have watched. Also movie watchers most emphatically will miss almost all of the twisting and turning coincidences Dickens always tosses in for pure reader enjoyment. Movies cut out two-thirds of the characters and scenes, leaving often only a bastardized sentimentality and a simplified tale of good and evil.
I couldn’t help thinking as I finished the last page: I must read [b:Animal Farm|7613|Animal Farm|George Orwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1424037542s/7613.jpg|2207778] again; and what will it take to anger people enough today to rise against reactionary oppression?
Did anyone else think, yeah, Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, when Madame Defarge was described? (Batman Returns, 1992, Tim Burton)
https://youtu.be/IPKZl6P89u0
I did.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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:
Complicated
adventurous
fast-paced
Another classic under my belt, I feel accomplished. I went for this one as I am very familiar with Oliver and Great Expectations but not of this one (bar the opening line).
I must say though, I’ve always struggled with Dickens writing style - I know this could partly because it’s Victorian era, but even putting that aside, I often find that he goes to great lengths to be overly descriptive and I can get lost in it finding it hard to concentrate. I mention this more as a failing on me, because as a result, I feel like I end up not enjoying his books as much as I could.
That said, a fantastic beginning and a powerful ending. I love the commentary about class, and think it’s very clever at how it examines tensions between rich and poor, showing how and why those come to boiling points. And yet, revolution comes, and the people you feel sorry for then become the menace.
As a Londoner who loves Paris, I also loved jumping between the UK and France. I found the story of the father fascinating and scary. And omg, the trial scenes had me on the edge of my seat.
If I had a better grasp of Dickens writing style, I’m sure I would’ve found so much more here - but at the same time, I’m just happy I can finally put this book down haha.
I must say though, I’ve always struggled with Dickens writing style - I know this could partly because it’s Victorian era, but even putting that aside, I often find that he goes to great lengths to be overly descriptive and I can get lost in it finding it hard to concentrate. I mention this more as a failing on me, because as a result, I feel like I end up not enjoying his books as much as I could.
That said, a fantastic beginning and a powerful ending. I love the commentary about class, and think it’s very clever at how it examines tensions between rich and poor, showing how and why those come to boiling points. And yet, revolution comes, and the people you feel sorry for then become the menace.
As a Londoner who loves Paris, I also loved jumping between the UK and France. I found the story of the father fascinating and scary. And omg, the trial scenes had me on the edge of my seat.
If I had a better grasp of Dickens writing style, I’m sure I would’ve found so much more here - but at the same time, I’m just happy I can finally put this book down haha.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
“The great grindstone, Earth, had when Mr Lorry looked out again, and the sun was red on the court-yard. But, the lesser grindstone stood alone there in the calm morning air, with a red upon it that the sun had never given, and would never take away”
And also
“I’ve known myself to be quite undeserving. And yet I have had the weakness, and have still the weakness, to wish you to know with what sudden mastery you kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire—a fire, however, inseparable in its nature to myself, quickening nothing , lighting nothing, doing no service, idly burning away.”
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-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