Book Review A Tale of Two Cities

 

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

Ok, that was terrible, I know.  But it's also a little bit true.  There are no spoilers in this review.  I truly want to get a copy of the Penguin Clothbound edition below.  I love it! 

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was originally published in installments, the first being April 30th, 1859 and the last November 15, 1859. The book was also published in its entirety the same year. 

The novel takes place in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. It has one of the best-known beginnings of any book: 

"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, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only" 

The opening sentence is actually one of my favorite parts of the book.  There are moments of sheer brilliance in the novel.  Dickens can turn a phrase.  His descriptions are remarkable and sometimes humorous.  

There was a large part of the novel that I did not love, however.  I found it slow and a bit grueling. But other parts were so, so good that I found myself staying up to keep reading.  I was on the edge of my seat at one point and near tears another.  

Overall, I'm very glad that I read it, and I will read more from Dickens - but I might give it a year or so before I do. 

One of the main storylines throughout is about a young woman who thought her father was dead for 18 years.  They are reunited and a good deal of the book is about their relationship and how her love and devotion gives him his old life back. 

There is a love story, there is mystery, betrayal, twists and turns, and an ending ..... WHAT an ending!  Just so full of emotion and excitement and sadness   -   basically it is all the feels. 

I am so glad that I stuck it out.  Parts of the book (for me) were a very weak 3, while other parts were a super strong 5 - therefore, I'm giving it a 4/5.