A Tale of Two Cities
A book starting and ending with two of the most evocative and well known quotes in the English language:
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 is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.
They sum up this brilliantly told story. It has a brutality beyond any other I've come across in Dickens. It has his usual pathos for characters, good and bad combined for many of them, evoking both sympathy and malevolence during the book. His commentary on the French Revolution displays Dickens' usual trick of having us in two minds as to whether it is right or not - or rather getting us to understand the source of brutality and why it is inevitable. At times the pathetic nature of the characters reminds me of Jane Austen but I guess she was a little more genteel. There's an obvious link to the Scarlet Pimpernell story that I've found out was written later.
It's a truly gripping story which as it gets to the end is impossible to put down. Descriptions of the terror of the time are remarkable. No wonder people queued to get their hands on the latest installment.
Charles has to give us a little light relief and amongst the grimness there is some fun had at the expense of the working class supporting characters. The climax has reference back to earlier domestic strife which brings a bittersweet comedy at the height of tension for the reader.
For me, as I suppose many others, the focus on the rich and privileged compared to the poor and downtrodden is brought together in the final scenes when the poor frail girl is supported by one of our privileged heroes.
Like Thomas Hardy and John Irving I've come to the conclusion that I should really read all Dickens' novels.
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