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What Members Thought
A finely honed masterpiece! I love Dickens' novels, but I do not usually expect them to be as pristine and disciplined and poetic as this novel of redemption and resurrection. Dualities throughout--two cities, two classes of people, two philosophies, a man and his double, sin and redemption, death and resurrection, characters with dual identities, old and young, bound and free, and on and on and on. I think Dickens just about reached perfection in this, his twelfth novel.
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Contains probably two of the most iconic opening and closing sentences in all of Dickens. This book just rips your heart out, and also has one of the most chilling women characters in all of Dickens - Madame Defarge. There are no winners here, more an obsession for vengeance and revenge after being pushed to the extreme. What times they must have been. An extraordinary tale, dipped in the blood of the guillotine.
Dickens is one of the Best, and this is one of the best of Dickens. A memorable opening, the finest close, and, in between, an exciting tale with more than the usual Dickensian eye for deeper truths.
Classic Dickens, and a gripping story.
Listened to the audiobook narrated by Simon Vance.
