Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Richard Maxwell.
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It took a while to get a handle on so many characters, but once they locked together I was totally gripped. And, man, Dickens knows how to play a m... (show more)
It took a while to get a handle on so many characters, but once they locked together I was totally gripped. And, man, Dickens knows how to play a moment. I was really drawn into the situations and haven't found myself so affected in a book before. Great stuff. (show less)
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." begins "A Tale of Two Cities" and the book itself felt like that to me. Some of it was re... (show more)
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." begins "A Tale of Two Cities" and the book itself felt like that to me. Some of it was really good and some of it was quite a struggle to get through.
In the first parts of it I only really enjoyed the scenes that took place around Fleet Street and The Strand in London, places it was easy for me to imagine after wandering around there quite a bit on a business trip, and I didn't really get into it again until all the main characters had made their way to Paris.
I didn't enjoy the comic aspects of Jerry Cruncher or Miss Pross, feeling they were completely unbelievable and out of place in what was otherwise pretty dramatic. But once in Paris they weren't funny anymore and had pretty serious roles to play.
I certainly didn't understand Sydney Carton. I knew he loved and would never have a relationship with Lucie Manette, but he kept going on about his life was a waste and making it sound like he'd done bad things, but there's no hint what anything might've been. All we see of him is his heavy drinking, deep thinking and general rudeness to everyone else. It was only clear at the end what he was willing to do for Lucie's happiness...
The heaviest hitting line in the book was Madame Defarge, one of the leaders of the French Revolution after her own personal revenge against the aristocrats, when her husband asks if they might've executed enough people so far and she replies "tell the Wind and Fire where to stop. But don't tell me."
Overall, it wasn't my favorite Dickens book. It had some good parts but I had to really work hard to not give up reading it. (show less)
"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." Oh, MAN! Thanks, CHARLES, for making me dissolve into tears on a crowded commuter train.
I was totally hooked on this book, right from the whole "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" thing. Romance! Violence! Drama! 250,000 characters names Jacques! This book was right up my alley. I don't know if it's something in the air ... (show more)
"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." Oh, MAN! Thanks, CHARLES, for making me dissolve into tears on a crowded commuter train.
I was totally hooked on this book, right from the whole "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" thing. Romance! Violence! Drama! 250,000 characters names Jacques! This book was right up my alley. I don't know if it's something in the air or what, but I am on a wicked Dickens kick lately. I tore through David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities, and now I'm feasting on The Pickwick Papers. Yesterday, I got a package from Barnes and Noble and what do you suppose was inside? DICKENS (well, not literally) - copies of Little Dorrit and Hard Times, as well as the Masterpiece Theater interpretation of David Copperfield (p.s., I stayed up way too late watching it, and now I feel like hell). (show less)
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One of the most famous works of literature known. It possibly holds the most recognizable line in a book with: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'. In typical Dickens style we have a world of subplots that twist their way toward a common goal. Set in the French Revoution, the story starts with a small group of people who secretly lead the revolution in their wine shop. They don't look like they'd do this and that is the beauty of Dickens. Then comes in the charact... (show more)
One of the most famous works of literature known. It possibly holds the most recognizable line in a book with: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'. In typical Dickens style we have a world of subplots that twist their way toward a common goal. Set in the French Revoution, the story starts with a small group of people who secretly lead the revolution in their wine shop. They don't look like they'd do this and that is the beauty of Dickens. Then comes in the character of Charles Darnay, whose connected in all aspects with the story as it moves forward between England and France. It winds it's way through most of the book with the reader wondering how these things will connect and understanding that a connection is inevitable in some way. Darnay is imprisoned twice in the book and escapes on the wits of Mr. Carlton each time. This is an historical novel and I was fortunate to purchase a book with footnotes abound to help me with the pertinent events along the way. It is a well written book that deserves all the accolades it has received through time and should grace anyone's personal library. (show less)
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Sydney Carton's Sacrafice
I read this book over the summer and could not put it down.
I was completley blown away by the books hero, Sydney Carton.
How could he possibly be able to stand in the shadows, secretly admiring and loving Lucie while someone he has no regard for sweeps her off her feet?
And finally, to show his love and admiration he sacrifices himself for her happiness. Happiness, that he himself would wish for, and pine for.
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