REVIEW: 'A TALE OF TWO CITIES' BY CHARLES DICKENS

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....

'A Tale of Two Cities' is a book that has been recommended to me a few times by people, mostly during my A-Levels because I really love reading Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris and London' and I needed another novel to compare with Orwell for my coursework.

In the end I used Orwell for my second, non-comparative piece with a feminist reading so I never read this novel and I never really wanted to in the first place.

The reason being: Charles Dickens and I do not get on. I don't know why it is, I have a great love of Victorian England and Dickens' literature is as good a picture of London during the time. You can't go through a 'literary guide to London' without most of the guide being dedicated to him.

But his books are just so long! And they never really seem to have much suspense in them, just overly complicated plots and too many characters to count.

'David Copperfield' is very popular in our house and it is the last Dickens book I've ever completed. Before that I read 'Oliver Twist' and 'A Christmas Carol' of course, but as children's classics. Then I found David Copperfield so long and complicated that it really did put me of Dickens altogether.

I picked up 'A Tale of Two Cities' because I was learning about the French Revolution and wanted something to supplement that picture, I also watched The Rose of Versailles which I've been waiting for an excuse to watch.

The novel was originally serialised, as most of Dickens' novels were, and is also divided into the traditional 3 volume novel. This particular story is also noted for having less sub-plots than his other novels which encouraged me to have a read.

So, the novel is set just as the French Revolution is beginning. It begins with Lucy's Father, Dr. Manette being rescued by Mr. Lorry from the Tellson's Bank and his long lost daughter Lucie. This is really all that happens in the first part of the novel. It's an introduction to the main characters and to the owners of the wine shop which will later become important.

I found the first third of the novel interesting enough although I didn't understand some of what was going in regards to the political implications of details that were described. All the characters introduced here turn out to be important in some way or another, even the man who rides the horse to catch up to the carriage, and I didn't understand this as I read it so by the time I encountered these characters again I found it a little difficult to match them up to those that I had read being described previously.

The second/middle of the book I did not understand at all! Or sometimes I did and then I would loose it. Again, all the characters are important and I didn't pay enough attention to them when they were introduced since I'm used to disposable characters as it were.

In this part we are introduced to a few more characters. It begins with a timeskip and Lucie is in the centre of a love triangle and it's a lovely little description on London life. The one subplot is introduced via a minor character called Jerry Cruncher who is a runner for Tellerson Bank and a couple of chapters are devoted to how he lives his life.

I started to get bored here. There isn't any particular conflict of such. Just a normal domestic family life and a little drama in the form of a love triangle. Two of the characters get married and they give birth and loose their son within a paragraph. I really didn't enjoy reading this and I contemplated giving it up.

However, I persevered and I'm very glad I did!

The end of the novel brings absolutely everything together. In a way the whole book reads a little like a mystery novel and you have to think about what the motivations for the characters really are, who holds the power and who's hiding what.

The end is touching and the whole last third of the novel, the part set completely in revolutionary France, gave me a real sense of terror and helped me imagine the plight of those aristocrats and friends of aristocrats who were endangered through their associations, rather than their actions.

Somehow... 'The Rose of Versailles' was more 'edge of your seat' stuff though

Summary: 

Best Part: The abrupt end and the mystery behind the final twist.

Worst Part: The middle which muddles through lots of plot, collecting pieces and leaving them scattered around for someone to find.

 What I learnt:  I expanded my picture of the French Revolution and the terrors. I also learnt that maybe a Charles Dickens novel can be enjoyable, and I wont be put of by that name in the future.