A Tale of Two Cities in Pick-a-Shelf

Feb 14, 2012 Lucinda Elliot rated it liked it

I have been meaning to read this for ages. I eventually read it because I needed the background information on the French Revolution. For sure, Dickens is more objective in his depiction than many nineteenth century critics,but you would not think from this that he was a suporter of the Revolution, as he was,though not the Terror.As Geroge Orwell commented, all the political action is depicted in terms of hatred while the extent of the Terror is ridiculously exaggerated.

It's a good story, if mel I have been meaning to read this for ages. I eventually read it because I needed the background information on the French Revolution. For sure, Dickens is more objective in his depiction than many nineteenth century critics,but you would not think from this that he was a suporter of the Revolution, as he was,though not the Terror.As Geroge Orwell commented, all the political action is depicted in terms of hatred while the extent of the Terror is ridiculously exaggerated.

It's a good story, if melodramatic. As have been so many critics, Angus Wilson, etc I was disappointed in the two dimensional characters of 'Charles Darnay' and Lucie. He noble but oddly passive and dull, she almost a caricature of a Victorian heroine and Angel in the House.

When they fall in love (well, he does; she is too ladylike to fall in love until the man declares himself) when he is on trial for trumped up charges of treason and she is forced to give evidence against him,knowing he is facing the sentence of hanging, drawing and quartering, it is psychologically realistic; she is overcome by compassion and horror, remembering his kindness to her on the only occasion they met previously, while he is more upset by her sorrow for him than all the stares of the ghoulish crowd.

Sadly, they are not portrayed so vividly again; they dwindle into a dull, ideal married couple.

It is ironic that one of the most damning pieces of evidence against
Darnay is that he made a joke about George III and Washington; for sure he doesn't make any more witticisms throughout the remainder of the book. Perhaps he has decided that it is too dangerous, as even without making any funny remarks from then on, he is on trial for his life two more times.

For some reason, Dickens gives few insights into Darnay's mental processes, so that one feels that he couldn't be bothered, though in fact it seems he was trying a new technique of presenting character. Mystery of a character's thoughts and motives can be a great advantage (Gaskell did it to perfection with Kinraid in 'Sylvia's Lovers') but it doesn't work here.

Sydney Carton, the dissolute but brilliant lawyer, is more rounded,and his reformation is intriguing, though he chooses to devote himself to a very insipid object of passion in his eventual sacrifice of himself for Lucie (and Darney as her chosen one).

Perhaps most of these characters are better viewed, as some critics suggest, as instruments for the plot or presonifications of particular qualities.

Fascinating historical information and evocative description enliven this story, which is so unlike most of Dickens that I have encountered so far, but his depiction of the Revolution is far too simplistic to be just.

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Jun 25, 2011 Louise Lacy rated it really liked it

I found the story a little slow to start with but by 150 pages through I was happily enjoying the novel which contains some of the best narrative writing I have read in any book I have ever picked up. Once you reach those 150 first pages then you are on your way to an enjoyable read.

I remember reading this book when I was a wee girl and I would say it is a good starting point for the younger readers, of course Dickens is hard work for those of us living in the 21st century I find his paragraphs ...more

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Oct 15, 2022 Nat rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics

This book takes forever to get going and the whole middle section is honestly very dull. But I have to admit that the last section is good, and once the story picks up you find yourself getting through it quickly, despite the dense sentences and proliferation of unnecessary words. Perhaps the most impressive part here is the complexity that lets you sympathize with characters on both sides of the central plot conflict. Despite the brutality of the French Revolution, Dickens manages to keep the h ...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Annmarie McQueen rated it did not like it

I know it's a classic and the writing it sophisticated and all that. Considering I want to study English, I know that I should like it. But I just don't. I couldn't get more than 50 pages in, let alone finish it. ...more

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