A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

Rating: ⭐ 4/5

Date Read: 2014/01/09

Pages: 489

Off with your head
Dance ‘til you’re dead
Heads will roll
Heads will roll
Heads will roll
On the floor

Here’s what I knew about A Tale of Two Cities before I read it:

-It starts with “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
-Charles Dickens wrote it
-The two cities are Paris and London
-It involves something about the French Revolution

A Tale of Two Cities is a weird book; I’m taken to understand that it’s kind of a departure from the type of stuff Dickens typically wrote. I liked it, but I’m not exactly sure how much I liked it. It’s about the reign of terror, so you probably won’t be surprised to hear that it’s not particularly uplifting. There’s a lot of ominous knitting, though, so that’s cool.

I’m not sure what to think about the ending. It felt a little too…convenient I guess. I don’t really get Carton’s motivation for sacrificing himself for Darnay. Actually, I don’t much get anyone’s motivations for anything, and I think that’s what prevents me from thinking this book is truly brilliant.