Hey everyone! So, I aspire to be a writer (do you like the slant rhyme? :)), and writing is already one of my hobbies. Specifically, I want to write novels. Probably because I love to read novels. I am addicted to stories. People say they don't have time to read; I make time to read. In a bad way, like "Let's just drop everything and read! It'll be great!" And it is, until I go to school the next day without any homework done. Oops. Reading is what I do when I'm in the mood to indulge, feel, relax. Writing is what I do when I'm in the mood to create, be poetic, put beauty into words.
Anyway, I read a lot, and I try to read like a writer - read to find ways to improve my writing. In other words, I can be very critical. I'm not afraid to say I don't like a book, and I'm not afraid to say I'm in love with it. Because I read so much, I thought maybe I should just comment on the books I read - how I felt, what I liked, what I disliked, etc. Isn't that what blogs are for? Plus, I'm not very good at analyzing reading, so...you know... practice makes perfect and stuff. And then when my wonderful aunt (thank you Becky!) suggested I do book reviews, I decided to do it.
I recently finished A Tale of Two Cities, which is probably one of my new favorites. Yeah, definitely. Written by Charles Dickens in 1859, it is undoubtedly an unforgettable, timeless classic. Perfect for my first book review :). I give it a PG.
I read A Tale of Two Cities for my Honors English class - we could choose any classic to read for our last outside reading novel. Don't ask me why I chose it; it was probably divine inspiration. Because this book moved me. It begins with one of the most famous literary quotes of all time - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" - and concludes with another - "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known." Isn't that powerful? I loved the ending. Which is saying something, because I am very picky about my endings. The ending wraps up the book, ties everything together, resolves everything. It is the sigh of relief or wonder or awe that every gasp, held breath, laugh, sob, and whisper throughout the book leads up to. Endings are important.
The end of A Tale of Two Cities (and don't judge me for starting at the end; I'm just eccentric) was a true conclusion. And a terribly good one. Throughout the book there are so many characters and subplots and stories, and in the last couple chapters you realize that they are all connected and they all lead to one final ending. The connections are beautifully revealed through conversations, letters, etc. - the characters reveal them. I think using characters literally to tell the story is a sign of great writing.
The very end of the book - the tying up of loose ends, the final conclusion, the finishing touch - is depicted by the words the dying character might have said if he could see the future. And that glimpse of the future is a glimpse of hope, a light at the end of the tunnel, because when the book ends, we are still stuck in the dreadful, sick, horrifying French Revolution where it seems there is no light at all. But the one man who is our hope, because he is selfless love and bravery and goodness midst a swirling, treacherous sea of evil and hatred and fear and revenge, gives us hope of a beautiful ocean soon to come before he is swept under the waves.
A Tale of Two Cities is a story of fear, a story of anger, a story of pushing a person, or a whole people, to the breaking point until they are hardly even people in their thirst for revenge. But it begins and ends with the idea that love redeems. Even in the darkest of times, even in the most hopeless cases, even after the most scarring trials, love redeems.
In short, A Tale of Two Cities is a story of the French Revolution. A time when a people starving for food and starving for freedom began to thirst for blood, a thirst that wasn't quenched until it had swallowed the very people that had began it. Dickens boldly captures the horror of the French Revolution and even emphasizes it by making it the center of the story. He leads up to it with beautifully sinister foreshadowing, he depicts it with sickening imagery and metaphor, he allows it to destroy everything innocent and good. Almost. Because then love steps in.
I like the reality of the book. There are monsters out there. There is evil, there is horror, but above it all and redeeming it all is love. Love gave courage, love gave hope, love gave healing. I think that is the theme - love overcomes even the darkest of nights, saves even the most condemned of souls, redeems the most lost people. Love overcomes.
I will admit, it was wordy. Dickens was paid by the word; we have to accept that it is going to be wordy. And at some points it was long and drawn out, but there weren't wasted words. A Tale of Two Cities is completely void of fluff. Every word and moment and action contributes to the plot and is necessary to the book.
A strength of the book was characterization - there were so many characters, but every one of them was vividly depicted and unforgettable. Jerry, the Resurrection man with unconquerable, spiky hair; Charles, with his confidence and goodness and manners; Sydney, with his reckless manner and ruffled, careless appearance; Lucie, with her lovely personality and endearing expression on her forehead that appeared whenever she was confused or curious or really anything at all; Mr. Lorry, with his little brown wig; Mr. Stryver, with his shouldering in and out and of everything; Miss Pross, with her wild red hair; so many more. I'm telling you, every character was important at one point or another, and there were so many.
Okay, now I'm just rambling. *Sigh*. This post had basically no structure and probably didn't make any sense, either. I'm much better at ranting about books I don't like. But I liked this book. In fact, I loved this book. I loved the fear in the imagery of foreshadowing, I loved the vibrant, lovable characters - and the vibrance of the evil, hated ones - I loved the weaving of so many characters into one huge plot, I loved the idea of love emerging and overcoming in the end. I don't care if it's wordy, I don't care if it's long, I don't care if it's hard - I'm sick of "hard" - you need to read this book. Because it will change your outlook on life and on love, and it will move your heart, and it will provoke your mind, and it will shake your soul.
-Mikela
