A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens

Have you read this book? I am not usually the fiction devourer that I have been lately. But I suppose when excellent classic fiction is laid at your door, one must climb through all the pages to get to the other side.
And when wading through all the pages of a long book is a pleasure, even better!

A Tale of Two Cities is a book I tried to read maybe 6 years ago. I started it, and stopped it after 5-6 chapters. For some reason the story wasn't grabbing me. I am one who believes that sometimes reading a book at the wrong time can affect the enjoyment of a book. Sometimes one is not ready to read a certain book, except at a later date. Due to maturing as a person, reader, or experience. It is a varying thing.

Anyway, this time around I don't want to put this book down! The story is a thrill of spies, secrets, danger, adventure, and history of the French Revolution in the 1790's.

Charles Dickens writes skillfully, keeping that wonderment alive through all the 400+ pages and I did find myself reading "just one more chapter" before bed. I know it's a good book when I am yawning and so tired but stay up wanting to read another chapter. I wanted to see what was going to happen with Charles Darnay and his secret, and Doctor Manette and his daughter Lucie. And the odd characters who are memorable in their oddities. It was a crazy time in history, and I get to see all the insane claims that took place during the French Revolution, the "laws" that took away rights overnight to create more targets of the killings.It is strange how history has a way of leaving echos. More recently in the 20th century to be specific, where a country deemed certain people to be unworthy and created laws to flush them out until they diminish.

As grave as the circumstances sound, it is a very readable book that I am enjoying very much. It is a classic that I think should be on every reading queue.