"One year and three months. During all that time Lucie was never sure, from hour to hour, but that the Guillotine would strike off her husband's head next day. Every day, through the stony streets, the tumbrils now jolted heavily, filled with Condemned. Lovely girls; bright women, brown-haired, black-haired, and grey; wine for La Guillotine, all daily brought into light from the dark cellars of the loathsome prisons, and carried to her through the street to slake her devouring thirst. Liberty, equality, fraternity, or death;---the last, much easiest to bestow, O Guillotine!"
WHEN was the last time I enjoyed reading (and finishing) a book so much? This was my first foray into the writings of Charles Dickens, excluding kid-versions of A Christmas Carol, and I was thoroughly pleased. Sure, there were many times that the old and eloquent English had me grasping for the author's meaning, as well as my Thesaurus, but there's a reason why this is considered a classic in English literature. Since its publishing in 1859, A Tale of Two Cities has sold over 200 million copies. It's a wonder that more people have not read it. Sadly, the reason is probably because its language is becoming more and more inaccessible to your average book-goer.
A Tale of Two Cities is, for lack of better, less cliche terms: a sweeping epic. How woefully inadequate I feel to accurately summarize it! The years surrounding the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror (c. 1793) provide a historical backdrop for Dickens' characters. The author begins with the years that lead up to the Revolution, providing numerous examples of the senseless decadence of the wealthy French nobility. The famous opening words of this work provide an illustration of the vast difference between the two social castes, between rich and poor:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
The most notable case I can remember of the abuse of the poor by the rich was when a certain Frenchman, counselor to the King, said of the hungry impoverished "Let them eat grass".When the Revolution occurred, this man was captured and executed, his mouth stuffed with grass and mounted on a pole.
While Dickens plays your heart-strings with a black picture of the cruelty of the wealthy, he masterfully throws your emotions back in your face. Once the Revolution occurs, the rage of the mob quickly seems to outweigh the crimes of the nobility as thousands are imprisoned and sent to La Guillotine, often times for no clear crime at all. A book which I at first thought to be an indictment against the nobility, and thus a proof that the Revolution needed to happen, turns out to be, while not precisely the opposite, it turns out to be something altogether different. A Tale of Two Cities does not seem to take sides. It writes against the abject moral corruption of the nobility and then goes on to condemn the responsive immoral vengeance of the poor that rise up to take their revenge.
I did not know much about the French Revolution prior to this book. My only lesson in it came from Les Miserables (which is not a text-book). I confess that I still know very little about this historical period, but I feel I know enough to empathize with the characters involved in this dark time: the amiable businessman, Mr Lorry; the long thought lost and falsely imprisoned Dr. Manette; his beautiful fond-of-fainting daughter Lucie; the noble Charles Darnay; and the drunkard Sydney Carton. Dickens himself said he wanted to write a story such as should more of the characters than they themselves should in dialogue. Dickens says "I mean in other words, that I fancied a story of incident might be written (in place of the odious stuff that is written under that pretence), pounding the characters in its own mortar, and beating their interest out of them."
You really feel this when you read A Tale of Two Cities. You feel like its characters are suffering under the weight of colossal events. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this work, a true work of literature. It was difficult to get into; the last book I'd read was Sphere by Crichton, a book of hugely varying style and genre. But once into Cities, I became engrossed by the plot and characters. I remember gasping aloud upon the relapses of Dr. Manette. I remember speeding through the trial-scenes. I remember cloudy eyes upon the final words: "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"... words which are sources themselves of mortal finality for a certain character, but I felt myself that when I closed this book that I closed it upon a great triumph of the English language and upon a story which can truly be called a Classic. And yet it transcends 'classicality' in my mind, since it felt so very real and touched so very close. In this manner, I can definitely recommend Cities, although I feel that not just anyone can get past the language barrier to truly enjoy the tale which Dickens has put down. If you are able to make yourself read (I had to do that numerous times through), then read this book.
I must confess that I decided to read Cities because I watched (and fell hopelessly in love with) the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises, which apparently has a plot based loosely upon the events and ideas involved in this particular book. For example, a major theme in Cities is the concept of redemption or resurrection. Dr. Manette is resurrected from the dark years of imprisonment in the first third of the book (Recalled to Life); Charles Darnay is rescued from a death sentence at trial in the second third (the Golden Thread); even the presumably worthless Sydney Carton finds redemption from a wasted life in the final third (the Track of a Storm). Bruce Wayne, similarly, undertakes his redemption. If you've seen TDKR and read Cities, you may find all kinds of parallels. I was surprised by joy to discover the similarities between the Defarges and the Al Ghuls, the French Revolution and Bane's plan to remove the corrupt from power in Gotham, and the comparison of Darnay's false accusation, Dr. Manette's innocent imprisonment and Sydney Carton's final act to the story of Batman. It's a guilty pleasure, sue me.
So congratulations, Charles Dickens, on a beloved work which shall survive generations. I give A Tale of Two Cities...
8 out of 10 guillotines!
This is a Book
Cities ascends the label of simply classic, although its greatest hindrance is its dated, though beautifully eloquent, use of the English language.
If you have not read A Tale of Two Cities, you should. There's a reason why Charles Dickens is considered one of the greatest writers of English literature. This was my first Dickens' novel. It will not be my last.
-norton
A Tale of Two Cities is, for lack of better, less cliche terms: a sweeping epic. How woefully inadequate I feel to accurately summarize it! The years surrounding the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror (c. 1793) provide a historical backdrop for Dickens' characters. The author begins with the years that lead up to the Revolution, providing numerous examples of the senseless decadence of the wealthy French nobility. The famous opening words of this work provide an illustration of the vast difference between the two social castes, between rich and poor:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
The most notable case I can remember of the abuse of the poor by the rich was when a certain Frenchman, counselor to the King, said of the hungry impoverished "Let them eat grass".When the Revolution occurred, this man was captured and executed, his mouth stuffed with grass and mounted on a pole.
While Dickens plays your heart-strings with a black picture of the cruelty of the wealthy, he masterfully throws your emotions back in your face. Once the Revolution occurs, the rage of the mob quickly seems to outweigh the crimes of the nobility as thousands are imprisoned and sent to La Guillotine, often times for no clear crime at all. A book which I at first thought to be an indictment against the nobility, and thus a proof that the Revolution needed to happen, turns out to be, while not precisely the opposite, it turns out to be something altogether different. A Tale of Two Cities does not seem to take sides. It writes against the abject moral corruption of the nobility and then goes on to condemn the responsive immoral vengeance of the poor that rise up to take their revenge.
I did not know much about the French Revolution prior to this book. My only lesson in it came from Les Miserables (which is not a text-book). I confess that I still know very little about this historical period, but I feel I know enough to empathize with the characters involved in this dark time: the amiable businessman, Mr Lorry; the long thought lost and falsely imprisoned Dr. Manette; his beautiful fond-of-fainting daughter Lucie; the noble Charles Darnay; and the drunkard Sydney Carton. Dickens himself said he wanted to write a story such as should more of the characters than they themselves should in dialogue. Dickens says "I mean in other words, that I fancied a story of incident might be written (in place of the odious stuff that is written under that pretence), pounding the characters in its own mortar, and beating their interest out of them."
I must confess that I decided to read Cities because I watched (and fell hopelessly in love with) the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises, which apparently has a plot based loosely upon the events and ideas involved in this particular book. For example, a major theme in Cities is the concept of redemption or resurrection. Dr. Manette is resurrected from the dark years of imprisonment in the first third of the book (Recalled to Life); Charles Darnay is rescued from a death sentence at trial in the second third (the Golden Thread); even the presumably worthless Sydney Carton finds redemption from a wasted life in the final third (the Track of a Storm). Bruce Wayne, similarly, undertakes his redemption. If you've seen TDKR and read Cities, you may find all kinds of parallels. I was surprised by joy to discover the similarities between the Defarges and the Al Ghuls, the French Revolution and Bane's plan to remove the corrupt from power in Gotham, and the comparison of Darnay's false accusation, Dr. Manette's innocent imprisonment and Sydney Carton's final act to the story of Batman. It's a guilty pleasure, sue me.So congratulations, Charles Dickens, on a beloved work which shall survive generations. I give A Tale of Two Cities...
This is a Book
Cities ascends the label of simply classic, although its greatest hindrance is its dated, though beautifully eloquent, use of the English language.
If you have not read A Tale of Two Cities, you should. There's a reason why Charles Dickens is considered one of the greatest writers of English literature. This was my first Dickens' novel. It will not be my last.
-norton
