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A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens

Start date: August 15, 2015

Finish date: September 14, 2015

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Why we're reading this: First in the Poll for August. Recommended by Member Pham
[close] First in the Poll for August. Recommended by Member Pham

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May 29, 2012 midnightfaerie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, rory-gilmore

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

Why have I always assumed that quote was from Shakespeare? I've always loved Dickens but this book moved me to tears. Definitely one of his best works of all time, and my conclusion is this:
I am thoroughly in love with Carton. To be able to have that peace and finally put my sin to rest, how blissful that would be! To find an act that might possibly make me feel th "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

Why have I always assumed that quote was from Shakespeare? I've always loved Dickens but this book moved me to tears. Definitely one of his best works of all time, and my conclusion is this:
I am thoroughly in love with Carton. To be able to have that peace and finally put my sin to rest, how blissful that would be! To find an act that might possibly make me feel that it has the ability to blot out all else I have done - really, Dickens is brilliant. I don't care if he got paid by the word. I don't care if he takes a whole chapter to describe a character. His verbosity is my weakness and I constantly learn from him.

For anyone who has read Dickens, you know that the coined phrase "Dickinsonian characters" is highly accurate. The depth he goes to make us fall in love with them and his talent for giving them names that describe their character so accurately is surely one of his greatest talents and should be always noted in his work. I have also noted another trait that I cannot so easily put into words. It's almost as if his stories are soap operas (and I use this term loosely because it seems so derogatory), but in the way that you never quite know what to expect. The stories might at first seems straightforward and the plots simple, but then, when you least expect it, new clues are released and each of the characters become intertwined in a way you least expect. So much so, that by the end of the book, the actions of each of the characters carry so much more weight. I see this in many of his books and wish I could come up with an adjective to describe it. If anyone has simple word or sentence from their own repertoire to describe this, please share it with me!

Besides the obvious character depth and plot building aptitude, Dickens rouses every major emotion of mankind into this tale. At first, I thought it was mostly about the love triangle. Wasn't this supposed to be about the French Revolution? But just when I was getting exasperated with the story line, it exploded into so much more. The themes of the human condition Dickens expounds upon are vast. From love to bitterness, from revenge to heroism, from sacrifice to friendship, and back to love again, he touches upon them all.

Of the many themes this novel touches, I think my favorite is that of imprisonment. There are the obvious characters such as Manette and Darnay which are actually sent to jail, but then there are others that are imprisoned by other things in their life; Lorry seems unnaturally tied to Tellson's bank, Darnay is trying to escape his past, and of course Carton, who is trapped by his restlessness. This struggle of man verses nature is also seen in echoes of other scenes, such as Manette's attempts with letting go of his time in prison as he makes his shoes, the memories of his time there still torturing him, and Lucie's habit of sitting in her parlor as she hears the echo of the footsteps in the street, bringing a foreboding of what's yet to come combined with the mingling of her personal battles and the political conflicts of the age. This theme is a personal one for me, because of events I've endured during my life as well as how much easier I can relate to a character because of it.

I can't speak to them all, because I'd be writing a book, but this story covers almost all of the major themes in literature. Man struggling against nature, overcoming adversity, death being part of the life cycle, and of course, sacrifice, are just some of them. I also love learning new words, and Dickens never fails to disappoint me there. Prevaricate and tergiversation were two of my favorites.

The only faults that I could see with this book were two, Dicken's loquaciousness and his predilection for flat female leads. I've already discussed my love of his verbosity, so those people out there who want shorter books, well, go read the Twilight Saga. And as for his insipid female characters, well, these innocuous beings are more than forgiven when taking into consideration his resplendent female characters that come along every once in a while, such as Madame Defarge in Tale of Two Cities or Miss Havisham in Great Expectations.

So overall, I truly enjoyed reading this book even though I was impatient to see the action start a little quicker. But his writing is so eloquent, I soon forgot my misgivings and got lost in this novel. Dickens is a brilliant writer. One of my favorites and so different than anything I've ever read. I like him better than Austen or Shakespeare or any other classicist I've read thus far. I'm so relieved that he wrote so many books, that I can continue to enjoy him for a very long time. I highly recommend this book and leave you with another passage that touched me:

"For the first time the Doctor felt, now, that his suffering was strength and power. For the first time he felt that in that sharp fire, he had slowly forged the iron which could break the prison door of his daughter's husband, and deliver him."

And yet another beautiful passage I leave you with:

"Physical diseases, engendered in the vices and neglects of men, will seize on victims of all degrees; and the frightful moral disorder, born of unspeakable suffering, intolerable oppression, and heartless indifference, smote equally without distinction." ...more

32 likes · Like · see review

Nov 10, 2020 Shirley (stampartiste) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-classics, challenge-bingo-2020, favorite-author-dickens-charles

Late 18th century France. The Age of Enlightenment. The French Revolution. The Reign of Terror. Years of oppression and suppressed rage. Liberation. Uncontrolled mob violence against enemies and suspected enemies. The guillotine. No mercy. No pity.

Against this backdrop, Dickens placed his characters in Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror. Through them, we experience this brutal period in French history. Like all Dickens novels, the characters come to life for the reader. Without giving aw ...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Antonomasia added it · review of another edition

Shelves: divine-comedy-booklovers, 1993-97, 1001-books, 19th-century

My favourite Dickens novel as a teenager; haven't revisited it so as not to spoil the memories. (I'm sure now that Bleak House is a far better book.) My main reason for preferring it to the others was simply a huge crush on Sidney Carton: brilliant, drunk, yet noble and self-sacrificing. A template...

(The other - earlier - notable male literary crushes I remember from c.10-14 were Sherlock Holmes and Percy Blakeney. I never did understand what everyone saw in Rochester, Heathcliff, Darcy etc.) ...more

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