Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Neither the Best of Books, Nor the Worst of Books

Arguably the most famous literary quote of all time comes from A Tale of Two Cities, a novel about the French Revolution by Charles Dickens: "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 alone."

That one quote can quite possibly sum up the entire novel. While it has some amazingly intelligent parts and quite unforgettable characters, it also can be extremely boring in other sections. The action of the novel is often juxtaposed with a chapter of introspection and ambiguity. However, the good parts eventually outweigh the bad, and it results in a satisfying read, if not completely interesting.

While there is not a definite main character of the novel, there are many protagonists and antagonists who define the social classes of the French Revolution. The story opens with a drab banker, Mr. Jarvis Lorry, on his way to Dover. There, he is to speak with Lucie Manette, a beautiful young woman. Her father, thought dead, has actually been imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years, and he is finally being released. Dr. Alexandre Manette, though once a happy, young doctor, is now a near insane and socially awkward shoemaker. Soon brought into the story is Charles Darnay, a handsome man on trial for treason against the throne, and Sydney Carton, a depressed barrister who looks almost exactly like Darnay. These five people comprise the main protagonists of the novel, who live and work in London.

Meanwhile, across the English Channel, the Defarges live together in Paris. M. Defarge is a wine shop owner, who has moderate revolutionary ideas. His wife, Mme Defarge, is a violence-driven bloodthirsty revolutionary with no thoughts but to destroy the nobility and as many innocent Frenchmen as possible. These two, along with their various comrades, form the antagonists of the novel.

Dickens tells the story of the French Revolution as both parties mentioned become involved in it. His recurring themes of resurrection and redemption throughout the novel are very good means by which to tell the tale, although the delivery of it occasionally falls flat. The novel starts out slow, accelerates quickly, drops to a high level of monotony, and then becomes extremely suspenseful and exciting in the last hundred pages. While this is certainly not as entertaining as Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities is a fulfilling novel.

http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Cities-Charles-Dickens/dp/1448625025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257981704&sr=8-1

Grade: 7.5

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