{"id":7056,"date":"2025-11-25T08:51:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T13:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.laserfarm.com\/?p=7056"},"modified":"2025-11-25T08:51:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T13:51:34","slug":"book-review-a-tale-of-two-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.laserfarm.com\/?p=7056","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: A Tale of Two Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A Tale of Two Cities<\/em>, by Charles Dickens\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Dickens? Your goddamn right there\u2019s more Dickens, and this is one of his heavy hitters (though actually one of his shortest novels). A Tale of Two Cities<\/em> was required reading when I was in high school. I didn\u2019t read it then. I was a smartass and coasted through high school.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I finally did read it during my Dickens kick in 2023, and I\u2019m glad I did. It\u2019s great! It\u2019s exciting! It\u2019s tense! It\u2019s perfect from iconic beginning to iconic end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the Dickens works I\u2019ve read, this is easily the darkest. Not only is the subject matter dour (beheadings and all that), but it also lacks the usual Dickens humor. There are a few oddball characters, but this is mostly a story about very serious folk dealing with dire circumstances. If this book were an instrument, it would be a pipe organ that plays only one low, sustained note. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because it doesn\u2019t have the Dickens zaniness I\u2019ve come to love, this isn\u2019t my favorite Dickens book \u2013 but it\u2019s certainly up there. The story is great. The characters are interesting. The descriptions are amazing. The themes of class struggle are as relevant as ever. And it helps that this is fast-paced (for Dickens) with all actions leading to the big finale.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you missed reading this in high school because you were too busy drawing 3D boxes in the margins of your notebook whilst pondering how Batman would handle a power outage in Jurassic Park, I recommend you revisit this, read it on your own terms, and see what all the fuss is, and was, about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Dickens Tuesday!!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m reviewing books from now until the end of the year to help raise money for Reading is Fundamental. Click here to donate!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n