Book #44: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities has been one of my favorite books for quite some time. I first read it in my early years of college, maybe, and the first few times I read it I cried at the end. I cried because I couldn't believe Sidney Carton was sacrificing himself, because it was so beautiful and touching and amazing that he would do that. I LOVED that that was how the book ended. I loved Lucie and her selflessness, and her father and his recovery and strength, and I loved the detail of the lives in London and Paris (although not exactly what those details were, since the time in Paris was so gruesome and terrifying).

I don't know about this read-through, though. I feel like this time I noticed a lot of things that I didn't really love. Lucie's character is completely fantasized and made-up and not believable at all. She's the perfect, never-ruffled, always selfless female who never once thinks of herself. I do think there are people who are very selfless and all, but come on. People get exasperated sometimes, or tired, or wanting to do something for themselves--but not Lucie. I felt like Charles Darnay was also unbelievably good at the same time--so good, that he couldn't imagine anyone else being bad, so he keeps walking into traps that end in him getting put on trial. Come on, Charles! It was OBVIOUSLY a bad idea to go to Paris. He kind of was asking for it! And why did Sidney consider himself to be so bad and beyond saving? He totally was capable of being better (OBVIOUSLY, see the end of the book) but kept insisting he wasn't.

So I kind of feel like the characterization in this book is not Dickens's strong point. But the story really is compelling to me still. I like how Dickens shows that both sides of the French Revolution were horrific and nightmarish, and how he creates imagery that sticks in your mind of the conditions of life there (the one that stands out is when the wine-cask breaks and the people are licking it out of the streets). And once I got into the book, I was into it--and had a hard time putting it down until I was finished (even though I knew what was coming). I still would say this is one of my favorite books.