Wednesday, May 15, 2013

A Tale of Two Cities: A Non-YA Review


A Tale of Two CitiesAfter eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the ageing Doctor Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There the lives of two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil roads of London, they are drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and they soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.








Guys, guys, this book is a must, must read. It features amazing characters, Sydney Carton also, and a glance to the past. The last one is the most gruesome, but my most favorite by far.

The first thing I have to say is that I read this book for my literature class. It was definitely not a quick read. I read it over the span of two months, while reading my normal ya books most of the time. I can admit I wouldn't have even read this if it weren't for my lit. teacher. But after you get over the very slow pace of the book, I had to admit it was exciting.

The plot of it, like I have already said, was ssssllllooowww. No joking, and I did fall asleep at moments. Literally. But, it did have a good idea about it, and it was good for being, you know, a classic.

My favorite character was definitely Sydney Carton. He was kind of swoony, and I imagined him like this:

 It fits him perfect, don't ya think?

But since Lucie ended up "spoilers". Moving on.

My problems with this were:

#1. Slow. Slow. Slow. And again, slow.

#2. The romance honestly never gave me ANY feels.

#3. Sydney Carton didn't end up with "spoilers"

#4. The ending was much too sad, but it will linger forever, at least.

#5. Confusing, at times. Okay, maybe, about 3/4 the book.



But, there were of course good things. I am feeling lazy, so I'm just going to insist that you have to read it, if only for Sydney.

Sorry for the incredibly short review! I will make it up!



 

1 comment:

  1. I'm sorry you thought this was boring, but I AM glad you enjoyed it by the end. I tend to enjoy all the verbose language Dickens employs and Sydney Carton broke my heart, so I kind of love this, but I appreciate your honest review! :)

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