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fletcherflute 's review for:
A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens
4 stars-
How do I give one of the most famous works of literature only four stars?
It really is an amazing novel. The plot is brilliant, and the social critique is so timely and so well done.
Given this was the 5th or 6th Dickens novel I read, I just felt like I missed a lot of the things that I expect when I read Dickens. I missed the humor, (there is some present here, but not as much as normal) I missed his amazing characters, and I missed his complex, multi-layered subplots.
I suppose my biggest problem is probably Lucie Manette. I don’t know what she’s doing in the second half of Dickens’ career. She’s so flat, boring, and angelic. Dickens has already proven he can write great women. Edith Dombey, Amy Dorrit, and even Esther Summerson (who is even a little angelic herself) are far more interesting and well drawn female characters. There’s nothing *wrong* with the characters and with Lucie Manette, I just know that he can do better.
For what the book sets out to do, it is a masterpiece. But it’s an anomaly in Dickens’ output.
How do I give one of the most famous works of literature only four stars?
It really is an amazing novel. The plot is brilliant, and the social critique is so timely and so well done.
Given this was the 5th or 6th Dickens novel I read, I just felt like I missed a lot of the things that I expect when I read Dickens. I missed the humor, (there is some present here, but not as much as normal) I missed his amazing characters, and I missed his complex, multi-layered subplots.
I suppose my biggest problem is probably Lucie Manette. I don’t know what she’s doing in the second half of Dickens’ career. She’s so flat, boring, and angelic. Dickens has already proven he can write great women. Edith Dombey, Amy Dorrit, and even Esther Summerson (who is even a little angelic herself) are far more interesting and well drawn female characters. There’s nothing *wrong* with the characters and with Lucie Manette, I just know that he can do better.
For what the book sets out to do, it is a masterpiece. But it’s an anomaly in Dickens’ output.