A Tale of Two Cities
discussion
does it get better?
it does get better - but YOU have to decide if it is worth the wait
thx Julie.but i'd like to hear why others think its worth it.
One of the more interesting parts of a Tale of Two Cities is the comparison between London/England and Paris/France. In a way the contrasting societies are characters. As you are reading, see if looking at it that way makes it more palatable. Of course Dickens is English, so you know who will come out "on top".
thx Marea. i had my suspicions but i guess as i kept putting a few pages behind me i kept hoping that "THIS" was THE CHARACTER... or that it would be THAT ONE... so i guess not. i don't like giving up on books, and i can't recall the last one i did, but this one has been trying. so i'll extend the leash a little longer, but i'm just not sure how long i can do it for.
The first time I read this book I found it boring and difficult. I think I was just in the wrong frame of mind or some such. Years later when I decided to try it again after reading almost all of the rest of Dickens' works and adoring those, I fell in love with this book. It's one of my favorites by him. So I'd say if you're having trouble getting through it, maybe put it away for awhile. It will be worth it if you can get into it I promise!
Stick with it. Wait for the scene where they find the mystery letter in the Bastille. Great scene.Oh, and the ending is sad, but it's not without beauty.
And one of the best quotes from the book comes toward the end ...
Whenever the divide between the rich and the poor becomes too great, the result is social unrest and upheaval. Dickens was trying to warn the British not to follow in the footsteps of the French. The peasants were so downtrodden! But the violence and excesses of the Revolution were also deplorable. And the Brits *were* able to avoid following that same path. I'm not s student of history, but it would be interesting to know what effect the novel had at the time.
Cathy wrote: "The first time I read this book I found it boring and difficult. I think I was just in the wrong frame of mind or some such. Years later when I decided to try it again after reading almost all of t..."i think you're right that i may need to revisit it. having loved Great Expectations after the first read, i presumed i would have the same experience from his other works. but knowing that it wasn't for you the first time around is hopeful. which is your favorite work of his?
Karl wrote: "Stick with it. Wait for the scene where they find the mystery letter in the Bastille. Great scene.Oh, and the ending is sad, but it's not without beauty."
very good to know. just the right kind of motivation. thx Karl.
Marea wrote: "Whenever the divide between the rich and the poor becomes too great, the result is social unrest and upheaval. Dickens was trying to warn the British not to follow in the footsteps of the French. ..."thx again Marea. and that would be interesting to know too. hmmm?
Yes, the payoff is sticking with it to the end. The book picks up in pace, clarifies its themes, and is a splendid portrait of a people (the French) as well as a splendid portrait of certain characters. Think of it as a mystery that unfolds for you, for in a way, it is indeed a mystery. :)
I think that the beginning of the middle can be difficult to get through, but relax and get to know the characters. The ending is beautiful, noble, and humbling. I cry every time I read it!
i felt the same whilst getting into this book, it almost gave me a headache with the effort of concentrating. now however, it is firmly in my top three fave books. :) stick with it.
It does get more interesting as the characters develop... As I recall it took me a looong time to get into this book. It may be because it's one of Dickens' slower moving stories, but the payoff is huge once you get emotionally invested in the characters, Sydney Carton especially. And as I reread it, I could see the build-up to the climax better... so it might even take a few readings.
It is very differently written than other Dickens novels. I struggled with the first chapter for some time. Finally I slogged through and got into the real meat of the book. To anyone wanting to read this I would suggest actually skimming over the first chapter and start seriously with the second. After you finish the book, go back and the first chapter makes sense. It is like a poetic thesis telling you what the book is about.It has become my favorite Dickens novel next to 'A Christmas Carol'. I especially loved the show down between the housekeeper and Madame De Farge, but the execution still makes me cry.
This is my favorite Dickens novel so far, although the long introduction chapter is rather tedious. I admit considering putting it down whilst making myself fight through the first pages.But the 'real' story has so much action and drama (there are a few chapters that seem to noticeably slow in the flow of narration, but I think that this is purposefully composed to provide the contrast from London to Paris), and it is one of Dickens books that has a very close resemblance to a Dumas novel (who I love to read as well!).
Angel wrote: "from the first 60 pgs i feel like this book is just not worth it. i have read Great Expectations and love it. i've read Hard Times and found it difficult initially but at least in Hard Times Dicken..."As a former English teacher, I used to teach this book. I think it might possibly be the best Engish novel ever. I always told my students that the beginning was slow, but it definitely picks up.
I found this tough going as well, and attempted it several times before I finally began enjoying it. The very good Librivox audiobook version really helped me with a dramatic reading. But once I got into it, I enjoyed it immensely, and am now looking forward to re-reading it. One thought is that it does not have a sympathetic main character like Pip in Great Expectations. It has an ensemble cast of minor characters, some of whom prove surprisingly nuanced. Although Sidney takes center stage and gets the famously big finish, it's really about comparing and contrasting the two societies and how history gets made. Worth the effort, for sure!
I never liked TTC. I am really not much of a Dickens fan. Having said that I think is is worth slogging on to the end. If for no other reason that to say you read it.I have to say it does get better the further you get into the book.
I just finished the book today, so I feel like I'm in a decent position to answer this question. It's pretty slow until partway through Book 2; it took me almost two weeks to force my way through the first 250 pages, at which point I kind of burned out on it and left it alone for a week. But yesterday I started reading it again and read through the final 150 pages in about a day. The end is great, and it's every bit worth making your way through the slower parts to get there.Interestingly (for me, anyway), I tried reading this book about ten years ago in high school, and it was actually the first book I ever resorted to Sparknotes for -- I think I gave up toward the end of Book 1. I'm definitely glad I gave it another shot.
I finished A Tale of Two Cities after a long, long slog. Like you, I found the beginning hard going - it was tedious and a bit ploddy. To be honest the writing didn't improve or the pace. Although there are sections, like the description of the fall of the Bastille, that are very beautifully written. The sense of the violence of the Revolution is one of the lasting memories I will have of the novel. Am I glad I've read it - yes. Immensely. Did I enjoy it? No, not really, but I did like the way the novel shifted, and under the mask of writing the violence of Revolution it turned, from almost nowhere, into actually being a silent love story.
This book has a great ending. Definitely worth plowing through some of the slow parts in the beginning.
Ah the Western Canon. How I ZZZZ at thee.
I thought it was one of the greatest love stories. To really love someone that much.
Angel wrote: "from the first 60 pgs i feel like this book is just not worth it. i have read Great Expectations and love it. i've read Hard Times and found it difficult initially but at least in Hard Times Dicken..."I had the same feeling when i read it the first time. Stick with it, it get SO much better.
This book has the best, most intense ending ever. The first half or so is rough, but once she gets the knitting needles out, shit gets real. If you've already read Dickens, and can manage the language, I'd definitely say keep going.
Stacy wrote: "I thought it was one of the greatest love stories. To really love someone that much."Is it love or narcissism?
Erik said: "This book has the best, most intense ending ever. The first half or so is rough, but once she gets the knitting needles out, shit gets real." I absolutely agree with this. Parts of this book make me so nervous I can barely keep reading, wondering who is going to Madame Guillotine next! And I've read the book several times, so I already know...I also agree that if you don't get this book the first time around, revisit it. I recommend Bleak House as Dickens best ever, though, with David Copperfield close behind. When I read Copperfield the first time, I DID NOT want the book to end- these people were like my family and how could I live not knowing what was going to happen in their lives??
I absolutely loved this book; it is my favorite of all Dickens, but I agree that it is different in style. However, I read this as a really great audiobook, so it might have made a difference. I also agree with Erik that the ending is incredible. I also remember really being entranced by the description of the French countryside and the English courtroom.
I really disliked this book. However, erveryone else in my class at school thought it was the best Dickens we'd read, so make of that what you will.
This book's beauty is in the reading of it, not the plot, events or even characterizations. There is beauty in the language and imagery of the piece. I recommend you find a specific trope as you read through the novel. Follow it through the book to the end. There are so many: footsteps, blood, shadows, burying, digging up, faces, etc. But find one and watch for its many varieties. Every time I read this book, I find more. And though I have read it several times, the ending and the realization of who is ultimately the contender for the main character gets me every time.
I read this book first when I was 14. I've read it at least a dozen times since, and am about due for a reread. It has always been one of my favorite Dickens. The plot is simplistic, but the characters and language are the crux of the book.
TTC was the book that turned me on to Dickens. I'd ended up with a copy of Bleak House and after about a hundred pages of that I'd had enough. One night I was talking about it with a friend and they recommended that I try TCC, been a Dickens fan since.
Its my favorite dickens. Some of his are so verbose and exhausting. I would reread it
Taylor wrote: "It was not the best of books, it was not the worst of books, but it was a far, far better thing that Dickens did in 1859 than Stieg Larsson ever did, that’s for sure."This is a great comment, Taylor, and I agree 100%!
L. Darby wrote: "This book's beauty is in the reading of it, not the plot, events or even characterizations. There is beauty in the language and imagery of the piece. I recommend you find a specific trope as you r..."This discussion has definitely made me want to go back and read this again, and your comment, Darby, will have me looking for these things. Thanks!
This is the only Dickens novel that I actually enjoyed reading. They are all tedious, I just found this one less so. The first paragraph is undoubtedly his worst ever and demonstrates his 'paid by the word' style. You can almost hear the meter ticking. Having said all that TTC always seemed to me to be a departure from his normal run of stories. It is almost an actioner and that always raised a suspicion in my mind that he didn't actually write it.
This is one of the few books that I read TWICE IN A ROW in high school. I loved it so much I shut the book, sighed, and opened it again and read it a second time through...in two days. I find that it takes a little while to get into any older language when adapting from the more modern prose line, but once you get into Dickens' rhythm and get hooked by the characters, it is completely worth the effort.
It's one of my favorites! Can you think of any other novel with such memorable first AND last lines? (Well, once I brought up the question with my husband, we thought of a few more.)Has anyone else noticed how, near the end, Dickens refers to Sydney Carton as "the Advocate"? Yes, just another term for a lawyer, but why capitalized?
Then there's someone else who rises to magnificent heights about that time! Remember Miss Pross's knock-down,drag-out fight With Mme. DeFarge? (I may be a bit influenced by that old movie, the one in which Ronald Coleman plays Sydney, in which they knock over a sofa and roll across the floor ina flurry of petticoats.)
BTW, Marea, are there lamp-posts on Wall Street?
The book is smooth moving at first, but once it gets going its worth it. The story gets better once you meet Mme Defarge. (The woman constantly knitting).
I read this book relatively recently, and it's really really good. If you're 60 pages in then you're already a fair bit into the book, I believe. I would highly suggest it. Dickens has a wonderful style, and "A Tale of Two Cities" is full of characters that I was able to really enjoy.
I hope this helped, and I wish you luck on your reading!
I hope this helped, and I wish you luck on your reading!
everyone,thanks for all the opinions. i REALLY appreciate them.
and there were definitely more "yay" votes than "nays". as an update, it has remained on the shelf since i posted my ques back in august. but i definitely am more encouraged to see it through, especially since i have been teased about the ending. and again, i'm not one to give up on a book so i knew i was always going to eventually finish it, its just that now i know i do have some good things to look forward to.
but what i was surprised at in the responses were some of the anti-Steig Larson feelings. hmmm...
Mary wrote: "It's one of my favorites! Can you think of any other novel with such memorable first AND last lines? (Well, once I brought up the question with my husband, we thought of a few more.)Has anyone ..."
hey Mary, your lamp-posts on Wall Street ques, is that a ref to something in the book or is it just a ques?
Julie wrote: "it does get better - but YOU have to decide if it is worth the wait"I really liked the ending.... if you've read other Dickens and liked it, I'd keep going with this one.
Because I was a high school English teacher, I read this book many, many times. It definitely gets better the more you know it, chapter by chapter. It's been years now since I read it, but the parts I recall as being so moving are the parts that deal with Sydney Carton and his struggles as a man. And of course.....the end. Despite the old English language and grammar, Sydney was real and suffered because of his flaws. You actually feel this after a few times reading the book!!
I have always loved this story - it appeals to the (literally) hopeless romantic in my soul. As a Christmas treat BBC Radio4 did a five part adaptation of the story with a superb cast. It is probably available as a download through their website.
Marea wrote: "Whenever the divide between the rich and the poor becomes too great, the result is social unrest and upheaval. Dickens was trying to warn the British not to follow in the footsteps of the French. The peasants were so downtrodden! But the violence and excesses of the Revolution were also deplorable. And the Brits *were* able to avoid following that same path. I'm not s student of history, but it would be interesting to know what effect the novel had at the time. "Um, well considering the French Revolution took place in the late 18th century, and Dickens wrote during the Victorian period, the book did not have a direct impact on the lack of a similar revolution in Britain. I think it's safe to say the fear of the French Revolution "spreading" to England had greatly subsided by then. However, Dickens did write in many ways as an advocate for the poor, and (I think) was perhaps in some ways trying to remind his countrymen of the fears of the past, and what can happen when the divide between rich and poor grows too large.
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