Oh monsieur guillotine... (Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens)

Member Name: hoochi

Product:	Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
Date:	26/06/02 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely prose, Colourful period setting, Free

Disadvantages: Melodrama

To date, this is the only dickens book that I have read, probably because it?s the only one that I haven?t seen on TV and I have heard that famous first line so often. It?s set during the beginning of the French revolution and flits back and forth between England and France.

Initially I found the book slightly off-putting due to it archaic grammar and vocabulary, but after the first few pages it was a joy to read. I especially enjoyed all the various (archaic) dialects employed in the book; it made it all the more real and colourful. Prior to reading this book I had very little knowledge of that period and found it enlightening and also entertaining.

I usually hate romantic-style dramas but in this case I was truly moved, in the last scene I might even go so far as to suggest that I may have been slightly moist in the eyes.

The story I have to admit isn?t that special or original but it?s told beautifully, so that it?s easy to envisage the drama and empathise with the characters. I would like to read more of dickens' work, but seeing as how I know most of the stories, I don?t think I can be bothered anytime soon.

Summary: