Review: A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I have to admit to skimming much of the book to get to the actual meat of the story - the parts that get close enough to the characters for me to care what's happening. They are there, they're just buried under a gluttony of description and scene setting, even more than usual for Dickens. I just wanted him to get to the point and stop reveling in words for the sake of them.

I find myself unable to be in raptures over this, the bloodthirstiest Dickens I've ever read (if you can skim well enough to realize when something exciting is actually happening). Yes, it has social upheaval, danger, revenge, and portrays very vividly the tumultuous time of the French Revolution. Yes, you feel for the characters on both sides, and feel the full horror of what is happening, once you actually get there. But there are maybe about 80 pages that actually matter. The setup gives you such a general, omniscient view that it takes too long to reach the point of knowing the characters enough to care. Or knowing which characters to care about! This is in contrast to other great novels that I love (David Copperfield, Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend) that build understanding and love of the characters while getting close to them, alongside them, instead of from far above. And although Dickens is always descriptive and wordy, in those it does not overwhelm, while in this one it chokes. As a result, the characters read more like vignettes.

I will admit that it is quite moving at the end, once everything comes together. It's also very sensational, with the immediacy of the mobs and daily guillotine executions. Again, once you get there. My guess is that this is what appeals to a lot of people compared to the pace of other Dickens' novels that slowly build sympathy and feeling but don't actually involve much action. 3 stars for the last 50 pages!




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