A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens - Discussion & Review

Here's a discussion and review of 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens, published in 1859.

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00:00 Why I chose this book
00:29 About the novel
03:07 Background info: history
05:19 Why it's relevant
06:05 Review

[Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales]

I still remember reading this novel in high school. It made a real impression on me, even though I cannot remember everything.

[darcy]

Hi! I love your channel and your personality, I love the emphasis you make on classics and trying to uunderstand and love them for what they are (instead of what we wish they were), but while I've read a fair number of classics (and loved most of them), you always manage to bring up books I have yet to get to. This one being one of them. I remember I have it on my Kindle, but upon trying to read it the first time, I was going through a stressful personal time and felt like I couldn't dedicate enough of my mental energy for it, at least not enough to do the work justice. This video encourages me to bump it up on my reading list, and it makes me want to give it a chance now, that I feel like I've read more and experienced more of that era of history, and I feel like I can give it enough attention and enjoy myself with it. Thank you for this video, it's dearly appreciated.

[Yesica]

I loved the opening. I loved the closing. I could not follow anything that happened in between. Getting the background information would have been wise. But I'm always open to trying again one day. I couldn't follow DUNE the first time I attempted it, either. I tried it again recently and totally loved it.

I do wish I could have experienced novels coming out in serialized form! I had no idea this was a practice until I heard about it on Ben McEvoy's channel. What a wonderful way to build community with other readers, all waiting for the next part of the story to be released!

[TheInternetBlows]

Interesting! The end of this book was heartbreaking to me and I loved it how it was written. Though I am used to reading a lot of dry history books where information on a figure may be sparse and characterization doesn't necessarily exist. So maybe my brain is used to filling in the gaps? But you're right, the high points of this book for me were also the vivid film-like scenes that have stuck with me!

[ToReadersItMayConcern]

I have not read it yet—this is based on the praise of readers I respect—but Bleak House is supposed to be Dickens' most accomplished work. It is, though, a more challenging work, one that circles around the London legal system and attempts to satirize failures of government and law at once. Still, I hear it brought up again and again as both complex and brilliant (supposedly packed with twists and turns and unorthodox, sparkling characters).

Fantastic research in this vid, by the way!

[nicolycoutinho]

I believe Oliver Twist is my favorite Dickens novel. I love the Chara and the story. Highly recommend it. 😊

[binglamb]

I read this quite a number of years ago so my recollection may be faulty but this Dickens novel always seems to me that it was written by someone else. It is tonally quite different than his other novels in my opinion so, perhaps, that is why I like it the best of all his work. It certainly helped that I had read Citizens by Simon Schama before A Tale of Two Cities so I had a comprehensive insight into the French Revolution. I won't make this a recommendation but my next favourite Dickens is Great Expectations. I always appreciate your honest and insightful reviews.👍

[DarrenRosenow]

The only Dickens that I have read was David Copperfield, which was several decades ago. I actually want to reread this book because I did have a sense of satisfaction in the characters and story, but felt some of the story went over my head.

[Heartonmysleeve-gjkp]

You make a lot of valid points in your review.
And yes authors use situations and events previously treated with
in other people's writings.Dickens used to work as a parliamentary
reporter I believe and would have used shorthand
as a necessary tool.In many ways some of his characters are written
in shorthand and the reader supplies the rest of the details.At other
times his characters are as substantially portrayed and are as extensively
realised as you would find in any other novel.Sometimes he leaves clues as to
the depth of feeling in both sets of characters and once again only
the emotional response of the reader will pick up on these clues.
Of course you will either learn to feel these things inwardly or they
will go unfelt.Maybe you could try Dombey and Son, Bleak House
or Little Dorrit for examples of enlarged stories and character development.

[MariaVivian-zn]

Hi Emmelie, I can get that Dickens is not your cup of tea. He's not really mine either. You mentioned not needing to see any adaptions of this novel. However, some of the film/TV series of Dickens are quite good. The old film of "A Tale of Two Cities" with Dirk Bogarde is a bit of a classic. It's worth a try at some stage.

[Skavop]

His characters being "one-dimensional" is, I think, a device Dickens uses to illustrate his social beliefs. He'll take one quirk, and tell us a lot about the society a character lives in through that quirk. He was big on social campaigning to improve the lives of the poor, and this comes through strongly in the preachy tones and sometimes even diversions from the plot itself, to discuss these social themes. These are, in fact, the real themes of his books, in my opinions, and the plot and characters are constructed to constitute a satirical commentry on these. That's not going to suit every reader well, of course, particularly if the reader likes to get into the mind of the character. For example, we never learn what Miss Havisham in "Great Expectations", which you mentioned in this video, is actually thinking, as she sits for years in her rotting wedding dress, in the room with the stopped clocks, but we readers are asked to imagine for ourselves, based on the one-dimensional (external) description alone. The Aged Parent in the same book is one of Dickens funniest characters, I think, perhaps, in part, because he is so one-dimensional, with his inability to discuss anything outside the one guiding principal of his life - that a man's home is his castle (and he has taken the phrase literally, too, if you remember, turning his humble home into a small castle, complete with drawbridge and union jack flying above the battlements- see chapter 37). Some love this, some don't. it's just a matter of what one's taste is, in reading, and styles of writing, and that's nice, that different people have different tastes, because it gives us lots to talk about, in relation to books.

[annamattos]

"A Tale of Two Cities" and "Great Expectations" were DNFs for me too and I only liked "A Christmas Carol", I didn't love it. Since we have similar tastes...

I suggest you try reading "David Copperfield", "Oliver Twist" or "Little Dorrit". They are all excellent, with iconic characters and interesting plotlines.

[DarrenRosenow]

Hi Emmeline... Interestingly enough, the YouTube channel by Benjamin McEvoy recently posted a video called "The 20 Greatest Characters of All Time". He pooled responses to his book club question for us to enjoy. Unfortunately characters by Charles Dickens didn't make the top 20 of the list, however you can expand the list to find characters. Hopefully this posting helps you find more multi-dimemsional characters that leave a lasting impression upon reading. Have a great day!

[estarestar]

Read Frankenstein first science fiction book. It’s very emotional also.

[johnmrke]

This is definitely a book I need to read.

[meryuk]

I had similar experience with Hugo. Actually I have never finished any of his books. The main reason, didn't like the style of his prose. On the other hand, The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the best books I've read. But my absolutely favourite writer is Dickens. And my humble opinion is, just drop Dickens 🙂

[katiejlumsden]

I love Dickens hugely, but A Tale of Two Cities is not my favourite. If you want a Dickens with more interesting characterisation, I recommend Our Mutual Friend or Dombey and Son.

[jessicafurtado]

You should definitely try "Oliver Twist". I love "Great Expectations" too, but I believe "Oliver Twist" has powerful characters and a beautiful story. <3

[Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales]

Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. You might find the character work better in that one.

[Hasan_mahmud]

Hi Prose & Petticoats, l Hope you are well. I watch your video and your video making is very good. Your content ideas are very good. Thank you so much