Book Review #66 - A Tale of Two Cities

My nephews were assigned to read this classic Dickens story as an honors English assignment over the summer. Seeing as I should have read this in high school (once again, I think I had the worst English classes possible), I told them I'd read it with them. School started for them this week, so I don't think I'm going to be spoiling anything by reviewing it now. At least, they should be done with it by now (Michael? Jacob?).

Surprisingly, I knew very little about this very famous book. I knew it had a great opening line and an oft quoted last sentence. But the stuff in between? Nothing. I didn't know the two cities were London and Paris. I didn't know it was about the french revolution and class warfare and sacrifice. All of that intellectual blindness came in handy as I was able to read and react to this novel without its fame interfering with my opinion.

If I take the dazzling name "Dickens" away and judge it on its own merits, I'd say I liked this book very much but with reservations. Characters who do interesting, noble or even bad things aren't great characters if you don't know or care why they do them. None of the players in Tale felt like real people to me. Charles Darnay, while good and true, was too good to be true. Same with Dr. Mannette. His unjust incarceration only felt unjust because Dickens told me it was so. Not knowing anything of his nature, until very close to the end, made it hard to cheer for his recovery when he was so dramatically "recalled to life." In fact, most of the character's motivations, including Sydney Carton's ultimate act of love, were given too late. I don't know if the slow character development (if any) was part of some great Dickensian strategy, but his flat characters did little to embellish the peaks and valleys of his very thoughtful story.

Characterization flaws aside, I can't deny the timelessness of A Tale of Two Cities. While very obviously about the french revolution, including colorful references to tri-colored sashes (I had a Les Mis song or two in my head), red caps and blood soaked guillotines, I felt Dickens knew then that the themes of retribution, injustice and class distinction were applicable for any group, family, or country at war with itself. Even more than the stories of my own country's more familiar (to me) Revolutionary War, or even its Civil War, Tale invoked images of Town Hall discontent over health care and the angry chatter found in comment sections online. Hate, in any form, is never flattering.

Dickens seemed to agree with this, and I felt it was fair of him to portray both sides, the aristocracy and peasants, as part of the problem. The book's tone at the beginning makes it clear that Dickens sympathizes with the powerless and poor. He exposes and ridicules the flaws of both France's and England's legal systems and both's inability to adequately administer appropriate justice. However, he doesn't stay in the working class's corner for long, as he's soon disapproving of their blood lust and anarchy.

Amazingly, anger, fear, and injustice are not really what this book is about. Instead, each negative is counterbalanced with love, friendship and selflessness. It was, in fact, the best of times AND the worst of times. Pretty much like today. Or, any period of time, if you think about it. Because light always pushes away darkness.

Dickens ends his famous tale by focusing on the better part - the positive. In Carton's own dying words, "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."

You can't end a story much better than that.