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abelk 's review for:
A Far Better Thing
by H.G. Parry
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is probably embarrassing to admit, but I didn’t know this was a retelling of the Tale of Two Cities! Even when the first chapter ended with a play on “the best of times the worst of times”, I just thought that was clever allusion. It wasn’t until they were talking about being helped by a couple in a wine shop called Defarge that I had an inkling…
I think it was a great decision not to market the book this way, though, because discovering that was fun! It also let me ease into the situation. But being modeled on a well-known book was also interesting because I knew how the book would end. That let me be more interested in the journey, and what led up to Sydney making that decision in the end!
This book was remarkably well-written, naturally. I was also very impressed by the idea of the importance of finding purpose in life, in making your own decisions and how even death is freedom if you’ve chosen it for a good reason. I liked the comparison of the three mortal servants, who all figured out a way to take back their life but had huge differences in how, from just wanted to protect himself, to protecting one person to wanting to stop the system entirely and save everyone. And obviously some of these are more noble than others, but they are all treated as valid decisions.
I may not remember the story of ATOTC perfectly, but I was nonetheless impressed by how well the story fit with this explanation of fairy involvement. It’s so perfect, the changelings especially, that I’d almost believe dickens had the fairies in mind originally! For awhile there it seemed like we wouldn’t get all the answers for plans and motivations, that it would be explained as fairy politics or something else inscrutable to humans. So I was also greatly relieved at how everything fit together so perfectly. Overall, I’m a huge fan of this book and would highly recommend it, whether you know the source material or not!
I think it was a great decision not to market the book this way, though, because discovering that was fun! It also let me ease into the situation. But being modeled on a well-known book was also interesting because I knew how the book would end. That let me be more interested in the journey, and what led up to Sydney making that decision in the end!
This book was remarkably well-written, naturally. I was also very impressed by the idea of the importance of finding purpose in life, in making your own decisions and how even death is freedom if you’ve chosen it for a good reason. I liked the comparison of the three mortal servants, who all figured out a way to take back their life but had huge differences in how, from just wanted to protect himself, to protecting one person to wanting to stop the system entirely and save everyone. And obviously some of these are more noble than others, but they are all treated as valid decisions.
I may not remember the story of ATOTC perfectly, but I was nonetheless impressed by how well the story fit with this explanation of fairy involvement. It’s so perfect, the changelings especially, that I’d almost believe dickens had the fairies in mind originally! For awhile there it seemed like we wouldn’t get all the answers for plans and motivations, that it would be explained as fairy politics or something else inscrutable to humans. So I was also greatly relieved at how everything fit together so perfectly. Overall, I’m a huge fan of this book and would highly recommend it, whether you know the source material or not!