Book #3 - "A Tale of Two Cities"

Phew. Completing this book was a personal victory! A few times, I have picked it up, attempted to read it, I got to maybe the third chapter and gave up. I am so glad I persevered this time as it is such a fantastic book. I really wish that one of my professors had taken it up in one of my classes where we could have spent up to two weeks, peeling back the many layers that exist and exploring the multiple themes and ideals that run throughout the book. When I finished reading the last sentence and closed the book, the first feeling I got was of being overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed with the deplorable things that occurred during the French Revolution. I was overwhelmed with the many accounts of intense sacrifice that Charles Dickens takes up. I was overwhelmed with the fact that a seemingly "stuffy" and somewhat difficult book, moved me the way it did. I was overwhelmed with the talent and skill that Dickens demonstrates in his style. I was overwhelmed that this book is both intimate and epic in its nature.
Prior to discussing the book itself, there are just a few negatives (if one can call them that), perhaps they are more warnings to potential readers. First, be prepared for extremely long sentences and excessive description. Though both of these characterize much of Dickens writings, it can be difficult to plow through! Second, it was first published in 1859, so it's only natural that the language matches the time period.
This is the first fictional book that I have done a review on, and due to the complexities of the plot (and so I don't spoil it for those of you who have yet to read it!), I will steer clear of laying out what occurs - you'll just have to read it for yourself :) With well over 200 million copies sold, and with a high ranking in the literature world, it is safe to say that you have to read this book! But in case you are still not convinced, let me lay out some of the themes and motifs that I noticed, in the hopes that it will pique your interest.
First of all, it's important to note that the narrator is anonymous and could very well be Dickens himself. I would say that the narrator is always sympathetic with the positive and morally good characters and with those who aren't so good, the narrator both criticizes them and yet understands that their circumstances have shaped them as such. The narrator is also third person omniscient, meaning that the focus switches often between cities and characters and also that the narrator sees all emotions, thoughts and motives.
Let's begin with the general themes of the book. (A theme is a fundamental, and often universal, idea that runs through a literary work.) As previously alluded to, A Tale of Two Cities deals with the vitality and mandatory matter of sacrifice. Obviously, as it is set in the French Revolution, sacrifice was something that literally occurred multiple times a day. But not only is sacrifice seen nationally, it is also experienced personally. Dickens seems to hone in on the belief that sacrifice is necessary in order to obtain true contentment and happiness. I'm not 100% sure in my own mind, that that is true in life. I do believe that selfishness gets a person nowhere, but I'm not fully convinced that the other extreme (that sacrifice must occur to be happy) is true. Something to ponder!
Another general theme that runs throughout is the glorious idea of resurrection, rebirth and renewal. In a book filled with darkness, evil and death, the times when this theme is visible, it reminds me of a flower growing in the midst of thorns and weeds. The book is divided (by Dickens), into three books: Book the First - Recalled to Life, Book the Second - The Golden Thread, and Book the Third - The Track of a Storm. The following is a passage from Book the First which provides an example of one of the many ways Dickens explores how resurrection/renewal is displayed. (To provide a bit of context, one of the main characters keeps having a reoccurring dream in which the conversation is always the same.)
A hundred times the dozing passenger inquired of this spectre:
"Buried how long?"
The answer was always the same. "Almost eighteen years."
"You had abandoned all hope of being dug out?"
"Long ago."
"You know that you are recalled to life?"
"They tell me so."
"I hope you care to live?"
"I can't say."...Though the earth was cold and wet, the sky was clear, and the sun rose bright, placid and beautiful. "Eighteen years!" said the passenger, looking at the sun. "Gracious creator of day! To be buried alive for eighteen years!"
Dickens also analyzes the theme of revolution and transformation in a somewhat ambivalent manner. While he seems to support the general cause, he does not support the methods behind achieving it. He also does not choose which class of society to support, for he condemns both the nobility and the peasants and the strategies both groups use. It is only in the final chapter, that Dickens concisely states his opinion on this extremely significant event in history: "Sow the same seed of rapacious license and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind.”
(I want to interject here just to aid in helping to differentiate between a theme and a motif. A theme is an overall idea and a motif is something that has symbolic significance and contributes to the development of the present themes.) Perhaps the greatest motif Dickens uses in conveying these themes is his use of doubles throughout the entire book. As the title suggests, Dickens seeks to tell his story both in London and Paris. Even his famous opening quote ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." ) gives way to the fact that doubles will be central in the narrative. Doubles are also seen in all central characters, for example, the two most important females in the text are perfectly opposed to each other. The use of doubles strengthens and asserts the thematic elements and not only shows the stark contrasts that exist (both in settings and in characters) but it also illuminates the hidden parallels that are subtly present.
Another motif that Dickens makes use of to further develop the themes, is imprisonment. Every character is imprisoned in some way, whether it be literally or symbolically. For some, it is mere memories that keep them confined. For others, it is a struggle against what they cannot change that binds them.
Dickens is a master at elaborately weaving together a tale which has all the components to make it well-rounded. Suspense, reunions, joy, disaster, romance, grief, life, death, war, family, enemies, the past, present and future, and social issues are just some of those to name a few! His descriptions, although at times excessively long, paint such a vivid and elaborate picture that the reader can smell the smells, see the sights and hear the sounds that are being experienced by the characters. The edition I read, was published by the Modern Library, and on the inside book jacket they state this, which I thought I must pass on: "The most famous and perhaps the most popular of (Dickens) works, it compresses an event of immense complexity to the scale of a family history, with a cast of characters...as believably flawed as any in modern fiction."
This edition also included Dickens' preface to the first edition from which I quote, "Throughout its (the book) execution, it had complete possession of me; I have so far verified what is done and suffered in these pages, as that I have done and suffered it all myself...it has been one of my hopes to add something to the popular and picturesque means of understanding that terrible time..."
I feel I am grossly inadequate to provide an acceptable review for this book! Indeed, I have only scratched the surface of what I personally noticed and enjoyed and there is so much more. I leave you with the very last sentence of the book. The sentence which, even though I read it three days ago, still runs in my mind and is a grand way to end such a book. May it whet your appetite to discover who said it, why they were saying it and its meaning - for when you discover the answers, you will enjoy it only more!
"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."

As always, comments are welcome :)