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kafkay 's review for:
A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens
I started this book not because I wanted to read it, but because I thought that I should read it. It was the same thinking which led me to read mostly classics some years ago, and which ended up with me exhausted and decidedly against reading books that are ‘important’ and ‘essential to be a reader’. But yet, I started this, because Dickens is too big a name for me to only have read Great Expectation in my school days, and that too a copy that I’m fairly convinced was abridged. Anyway, I digress. I started this book with a tainted motivation, that’s my point. I ended it, a couple of hours ago, pacing through my house and smiling like an idiot. I am so, so impressed.
It’s the story of Paris and London, let’s get that out of the way. Before I read this I knew that it was supposed to be a story of a happy city and a sad city. Just as I was beginning, I found out that those cities were London and Paris. And all that I know about their history is that the American revolution happened and that the French revolution happened. That’s the base that we are starting at, so don’t be surprised when I was lost in the story.
What I expected from the book was a simple story. The basic reflections on war and poverty, class difference, and a tragedy to go along with it. A simple story that would make all those 19th century people introspect deeply and make me think ‘nice but nothing original’ (while acknowledging that this is the original). What I got, instead, was an expertly crafted story, written, somehow, amazingly well.
Like, I need to talk to someone about it, that’s why I am writing this so soon after finishing the book. There’s so much to talk about. I am so blown away by Dicken’s capabilities as a writer. No exaggeration, it feels like a generational talent. When the story began, I was quite lost, yet quite engaged. The first thing I noticed was the characters, their unapologetic uniqueness, how the book did not seem to shy away from showing funny and strange characters in very serious roles. I loved Mr. Lorry’s ‘recalled to life’, and then ‘it’s business, business’, and I really liked that the book did not take that basic classic novel route.
Yet, as the story moved on, I often stayed lost. This was on two accounts, both the reasons why this doesn’t have five stars, and also both not really flaws, but a difference in times. First, the sentence structures were really annoying at times. It was probably what was normal back then, I will glaze Dickens’ writing enough soon, but god, it became hard to understand. I would have to read and re-read paragraphs that were actually just one sentence stretched to no end. It became exhausting, and I was pretty happy to be able to read 12-15 pages a day. A lot of times I did not know what was happening, I simply trudged along. That is also partly because of the other reason, my being thoroughly unaware of old European culture and history. I just did not know what the words meant or what the characters were talking about when they were implying things and not speaking literally, which happened very often. Another thing that happened very often were long and deep descriptions. I really liked the book when the story was happening and the characters were talking, at those points it glided along. But for so many pages there were just descriptions and descriptions in those long sentences that I talked about and of those unknown things that I also talked about. I found those to be so dense, it was a struggle to get past them. And once I did get past them, I knew that I didn’t understand most of it. So it was definitely a hard read, and I would warn everyone who is going into this. I still don’t know a lot of what happened in the story, but I got the general idea.
Now, the first of the good things, the writing. I am so surprised, and so impressed. The writing was so innovative and ambitious. It feels so ahead of its time. It was poetic, it was metaphorical, it was really well done. The descriptions that I hated so were also so well written, I find it hard to describe. How Dickens is able to describe powerful things the guillotine, the rage of people, and even simpler things like buildings and gaits, it was so masterful. The feelings that the descriptions rouse, when I was not bored out of my mind, were perfect. It’s impressive to me that someone can execute it so well. I’m jealous even, thinking that this guy can do this incredibly difficult thing so perfectly and make it seem so effortless. It feels like this person was born to be a writer. I love how he leans completely into what he’s doing, no pulled punches, never going for the basic and safe writing style. I love that he does so much that makes the book so unique, not at all the basic classic novel that I was expecting. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like Dickens chooses a way to describe things that is perfect for the thing, then expands on it and shows why it is perfect. It’s really thoughtful, it’s really consistent, and as he keeps using the same analogies over the entire book, you see how it ends up fitting perfectly ten chapters after it was first told.
And speaking of things that pay off later, this story is so damn perfectly made. Everything happens for a reason, every character has a complete arc. This book was somehow serialized? Why can’t modern authors do this with the complete book in their hands? The story was perfect, like how lord of the rings was. Everything comes together just as they were meant to. No ass-pulls, no loose threads. Everything at the beginning that just happened for no real reason will come back in the end. And everything was presented so well. It was so unique how things were revealed to us, characters knew things before we did, and we found out only by their dialogues. It treats the readers as smart people, leaving things implied to be understood. And the timing of reveals was so on the mark. Just, so well done and so original. I am, again, so impressed.
All in all, I did not understand everything in this book, that was tough. But I am extremely in awe of Dicken’s writing style and story craft, he’s such a master. Read it if you want, I’m just fanboying because I liked enthusiastic and ambitious writing. Loved this.
It’s the story of Paris and London, let’s get that out of the way. Before I read this I knew that it was supposed to be a story of a happy city and a sad city. Just as I was beginning, I found out that those cities were London and Paris. And all that I know about their history is that the American revolution happened and that the French revolution happened. That’s the base that we are starting at, so don’t be surprised when I was lost in the story.
What I expected from the book was a simple story. The basic reflections on war and poverty, class difference, and a tragedy to go along with it. A simple story that would make all those 19th century people introspect deeply and make me think ‘nice but nothing original’ (while acknowledging that this is the original). What I got, instead, was an expertly crafted story, written, somehow, amazingly well.
Like, I need to talk to someone about it, that’s why I am writing this so soon after finishing the book. There’s so much to talk about. I am so blown away by Dicken’s capabilities as a writer. No exaggeration, it feels like a generational talent. When the story began, I was quite lost, yet quite engaged. The first thing I noticed was the characters, their unapologetic uniqueness, how the book did not seem to shy away from showing funny and strange characters in very serious roles. I loved Mr. Lorry’s ‘recalled to life’, and then ‘it’s business, business’, and I really liked that the book did not take that basic classic novel route.
Yet, as the story moved on, I often stayed lost. This was on two accounts, both the reasons why this doesn’t have five stars, and also both not really flaws, but a difference in times. First, the sentence structures were really annoying at times. It was probably what was normal back then, I will glaze Dickens’ writing enough soon, but god, it became hard to understand. I would have to read and re-read paragraphs that were actually just one sentence stretched to no end. It became exhausting, and I was pretty happy to be able to read 12-15 pages a day. A lot of times I did not know what was happening, I simply trudged along. That is also partly because of the other reason, my being thoroughly unaware of old European culture and history. I just did not know what the words meant or what the characters were talking about when they were implying things and not speaking literally, which happened very often. Another thing that happened very often were long and deep descriptions. I really liked the book when the story was happening and the characters were talking, at those points it glided along. But for so many pages there were just descriptions and descriptions in those long sentences that I talked about and of those unknown things that I also talked about. I found those to be so dense, it was a struggle to get past them. And once I did get past them, I knew that I didn’t understand most of it. So it was definitely a hard read, and I would warn everyone who is going into this. I still don’t know a lot of what happened in the story, but I got the general idea.
Now, the first of the good things, the writing. I am so surprised, and so impressed. The writing was so innovative and ambitious. It feels so ahead of its time. It was poetic, it was metaphorical, it was really well done. The descriptions that I hated so were also so well written, I find it hard to describe. How Dickens is able to describe powerful things the guillotine, the rage of people, and even simpler things like buildings and gaits, it was so masterful. The feelings that the descriptions rouse, when I was not bored out of my mind, were perfect. It’s impressive to me that someone can execute it so well. I’m jealous even, thinking that this guy can do this incredibly difficult thing so perfectly and make it seem so effortless. It feels like this person was born to be a writer. I love how he leans completely into what he’s doing, no pulled punches, never going for the basic and safe writing style. I love that he does so much that makes the book so unique, not at all the basic classic novel that I was expecting. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like Dickens chooses a way to describe things that is perfect for the thing, then expands on it and shows why it is perfect. It’s really thoughtful, it’s really consistent, and as he keeps using the same analogies over the entire book, you see how it ends up fitting perfectly ten chapters after it was first told.
And speaking of things that pay off later, this story is so damn perfectly made. Everything happens for a reason, every character has a complete arc. This book was somehow serialized? Why can’t modern authors do this with the complete book in their hands? The story was perfect, like how lord of the rings was. Everything comes together just as they were meant to. No ass-pulls, no loose threads. Everything at the beginning that just happened for no real reason will come back in the end. And everything was presented so well. It was so unique how things were revealed to us, characters knew things before we did, and we found out only by their dialogues. It treats the readers as smart people, leaving things implied to be understood. And the timing of reveals was so on the mark. Just, so well done and so original. I am, again, so impressed.
All in all, I did not understand everything in this book, that was tough. But I am extremely in awe of Dicken’s writing style and story craft, he’s such a master. Read it if you want, I’m just fanboying because I liked enthusiastic and ambitious writing. Loved this.