Across the Page

There: an awkward retitling of a classic. That’s about all that can be said about A Tale of Two Citiesthat hasn’t already been said.

I missed this one, even though it’s apparently the most frequently assigned Dickens novel in high school classes. Missed it again in other likely academic settings as well. It’s like a missing tooth in my smile as a reader — but no more.

All I can offer is my own reading experience, which leaves me reflecting on what a wide gamut my reactions run with Dickens. On the one hand, books I love: David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol. Great stories. Entertaining characterizations. An author who’s obviously enjoying himself. On the other hand, books I endure: Martin Chuzzlewit, Hard Times, Our Mutual Friend, Dombey and Son. In these, Dickens the moral sledgehammer, Dickens the sarcastic and grim, Dickens the “How many pages till the end?” gains the upper hand.

I got fully halfway through this tome before it started to roll by itself. Then it captured me. Somehow a balance fell into place among all the different ingredients of the writing. This has been called the least Dickensian of all Dickens’ novels, but it has what look to me like some typical features: melodrama, idealization of characters (such as Lucie Manette as the “angel in the house”), totally implausible surprise plotlines that tie everything up. I remember one professor saying that a common phenomenon with Dickens is to look at people in the world as being like Dickens characters, rather than vice versa, and this story seems no exception.

But there is also a compelling theme and a passion for the subject that eventually melted through these other distracting features and drew me in. The scenes of mob violence in France are vivid and horrifying; they take the bloodthirstiness evident in the earlier scenes of the English justice system, and magnify them, underscoring that even ideals of justice roll hellishly amok when motivated by hate and revenge. Though the narrative is wordy and tortuous to get through at times, the shrewdness of Dickens’ insight into the human heart kept me engaged.

My husband’s Netflix this week has been the HBO series John Adams. I’ve caught bits and pieces out of the corner of my eye while reading this. It too focuses on a revolution, and I found myself comparing the French Revolution as it’s portrayed in this book, in which grand ideals degenerate to mere rhetoric perpetuated by the most brutal injustice, with the American Revolution. Our revolution could have tipped that way; watching the king’s man tarred and feathered in Boston impressed me differently than it did when I learned about it in school. Tarring and feathering was a cruel act, oppressed people venting against the wrong person. But America also had some powerfully steadying, visionary minds undergirding those days of imbalance and flux. Reading A Tale of Two Cities reminded me of my gratitude for that.

9 Responses to “Private: A narrative of twin urban centers”

1 | Barbara H.
August 21, 2008 at 7:20 pm | edit

I think I tried to read this 3 times before I finally got through it — and immediately read it again. It ties with Les Miserables for the top spot of my favorite novels.

One of my favorite passages in regard to Dicken’s descriptiveness is when he discusses the murder of the marquis — he writes of the stone figures on the building and then says something like, “In the morning there was one stone figure more” (only much more eloquently!) I remember it being chilling because I wasn’t expecting it.

I also loved Sidney Carton’s walking around the city quoting “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” to himself.

That’s an interesting observation about looking at people like Dickens’ characters, and so true.

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

2 | Barbara H.
August 22, 2008 at 3:13 pm | edit

I just reread that comment and realized it could give the wrong impression: when I said I tried to read “this” three times, the “this” referred to was the novel, not your post. I enjoyed your post very much!

3 | Janet
August 22, 2008 at 7:36 pm | edit

LOL — It never occurred to me to take your comment the wrong way!

4 | debd
August 22, 2008 at 8:07 pm | edit

I have attempted Dickens 2x without much success (I seem doomed to be a Masterpiece Theater Dickens devotee – which isn’t all that bad). Someday I want to give it another go. Thanks for the review.

5 | Sherry
August 23, 2008 at 2:30 pm | edit

I love Dickens. And I have fond memories of reading Tale of Two CIties in eighth grade. I’ll have to admit that I’ve never read the ones you “endured.”

6 | Sarah M.
August 24, 2008 at 3:38 am | edit

Excellent review! This book is on my list to read and I have only waited until the “mood” struck, but I expect it will happen soon. I’ve only ever heard good things about this book. I couldn’t help but notice that the books by Dickens you enjoyed are books I’ve either read and enjoyed or books I’ve loved the movies and have been curious to read. Likewise, I can totally identify with your feelings towards some of the other books by Dickens… a sledgehammer is a great way to describe those… you might add to that list The Pickwick Papers. I never got past the second page, though I tried and tried.

I will be reading Bleak House in Oct and can hardly wait.

Thanks for your review.

PS I found your blog/this post via Semicolon’s Sat Review.

7 | Carrie K.
August 24, 2008 at 5:27 am | edit

I took my halfway through, too – and then I couldn’t put it down.

8 | Janet
August 24, 2008 at 1:57 pm | edit

I think ‘Bleak House’ is my favorite — and I like the BBC television version, too.

I’m ashamed to say I’ve never attempted Pickwick! That’s a worthy goal for the near future — at least to give it a try.

9 | Heather J.
August 25, 2008 at 4:33 pm | edit

This is my all-time favorite Dickens book – I’m glad you did get into it finally.