Has anyone read a Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens ? ?

Question

I got halfway through and had to give up. I was just lost as to what was going on.

Answer 1

I've read it from "It was the best of times.........." through to "it's a far far better thing....."

Great story. Trouble with Dickens that I find is he's a bit full of himself. Gets to waffling on about his political opinions. Try skimming over the boring bits.

Answer 2

Which city didn't you like?

Answer 3

If you can’t get through the book, I suggest you watch the film version. Either listed below are pretty faithful representations of the book. You’ll get it. then read the book again. You'll love it or you are a heathen! (just joking!) (LOL)

Also below a précis of the book.

Answer 4

Yes I have read it. It's well worth perservering. The ending is brilliant. I won't tell what happens but it's one of the most powerful scenes in any book I've read.

Answer 5

Yes, I'm pretty sure someone has read it.

Answer 6

No, but I did see the adult film version of it, "A Sale of Two T*tties"...

Answer 7

Yes, I've read it--years ago, but I read it.

Dickens, first of all, never uses one word when ten will do.  This isn't surprising, considering that he started out during a time when authors were paid by the word.  

The story, as I see it, is how Sydney Carton is redeemed through his love for Lucie Manette Evremonde.  He uses his resemblance to her husband to get him out of prison and a quick trip to the guillotine, thus 'atoning' for his lifetime of wasted opportunities, cynicism, and drunkenness.  

At the bitter end, Sydney becomes, for one brief moment, the sort of man he could have been all along, and this transformation is brought about because he loves, and has loved, Lucie for years and is aware that she is devoted to her husband.  

Rather than do what one would expect from someone of his nature, Sydney Carton does NOT just let Lucie's husband go to his execution and then pay his addresses to the widow after a suitable time elapses.  Instead, he sacrifices his own life in order for her to be happy.

Also, keep in mind that A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel, not hard history.  It's set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, but, like the Scarlet Pimpernel novels, is still fiction.  Keep that in mind, otherwise you could get a bit misguided.  Yes, aristocrats were guillotined, but many more of the victims were members of the bourgeoisie.  

Answer 8

A true piece of genius at work, I loved it. A story of redemption through sacrifice I highly recommend.

Answer 9

Yes, although I have to agree with other answers. If Dickens were alive today, I would advise him to cut down on the detail and get on with the story.

Answer 10

The Victorian writers, such as Dickens, can be hard to read if you are not familiar with them.

To begin with, they use a LOT of words and the language is quite formal.

Also, Dickens often assumes the reader will know all about the background of his story, and understand everything that has led up to that point. He's also much more sentimental than writers today.

Remember he was writing to an audience that was not very sophisticated, many could not even read and would hear the stories read to them by someone else. They didn't have tvs and radios to give them any idea of the world, so he uses a lot of 'big' scenes and activities which create fine images for his readers to imagine.

Like all his books, A Tale of Two Cities has many different characters, and it's sometimes hard to remember who they all are and what their role in the story is.

Seeing a movie version where a lot of the minor characters and plotlines have been deleted would give you an idea of the basic story (which is a lovely tale), and you might then find the book a bit easier to work out!

I hope you'll try again, because it is a very beautiful story!

Cheers :-)