MY REVIEW OF "A TALE OF TWO CITIES" BY CHARLES DICKENS

    During my student days, Oliver Twist was a story I remember reading as a "Rapid Reader" (supplementary text, an abridged version). This was my first introduction to Charles Dickens. In time, I read the story in its original form, as also "A Tale of Two Cities", "Great Expectations" and "Pickwick Papers". My favourite among these books is "A Tale of Two Cities".

    In January this year, I purchased a smartphone and to go with it, I downloaded several apps, including an e-book reader ! My workplace is around 20 k.m. away. I commute to my workplace in a bus. The commute varies from 45 minutes in the morning to 100 minutes in the evening. To fill this time, I used to listen to music on my smartphone. After downloading the e-book reader app, I visited https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/98 to download "A Tale of Two Cities". Then, I tried out the audio option on the e-book reader app. There are a few irritations I noticed while using the app, but it is still OK. The good part of the app is that it resumes automatically from where I stopped.

    Listening to the classic, I was transported to the time and age depicted in the book. The rest of this blog contains my (rather biased !) review of "A Tale of Two Cities". SPOILER ALERT : IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK AND WISH TO, PLEASE DO NOT READ FURTHER !! I SHALL BE WRITING ABOUT THE STORY.

    When I first read it, one thought that struck me was that this was one book which could not be picturised. In the '80s I liked watching the television serial "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes". According to me, the serial brought the book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to life. I must have read "A Tale of Two Cities" around that time. I decided that this was one book for which a movie would not do justice. Sure, the story spans a couple of generations and has a tale containing drama, retribution and sacrifice, which could be filmed. What struck me was the passages that Dickens writes to capture the spirit of the times. Very few books have such dramatic opening and closing passages. The book begins with "It was the best of times ; it was the worst of times". This opening passage is a remarkable piece of writing which immediately places the reader into the time and place in which the book is set. How can such a memorable passage of writing be picturised in a movie ?! Similarly, the passage in the middle of the book on the echoes of the footsteps in the Soho house is something that is best read, which would have to be omitted in a movie. Finally, I suppose Sidney Carton's final prophetic speech could be "voiced over" or narrated in a movie, but it would not qualify as a visual treat. Again, the passage is best read (or listened) rather than enacted ! In fact, the whole characterisation of Sidney Carton may lend itself poorly to the cinema world, since it is one of untapped potential, in a sense.

    Even now when I listened to the novel, my conclusion is the same about the book, i.e. this is a book to be read and not viewed. It would be an injustice to watch a movie based on it, I continue to feel.

    Another highlight of the novel is in the characterisations. Each character is fleshed out well. Lucie Manette's peculiar expression and blue eyes ; Jeremy Cruncher's spiky hair ; Miss Pross' dour looks and the haughty nature of the Marquis all paint images that leave lasting impressions on the mind.

    I quote from the book to show how evocative Charles Dickens' writing is :

    "As his eyes rested on a short, slight, pretty figure, a quantity of golden hair, a pair of blue eyes that met his own with an inquiring look, and a forehead with a singular capacity (remembering how young and smooth it was), of rifting and knitting itself into an expression that was not quite one of perplexity, or wonder, or alarm, or merely of a bright fixed attention, though it included all the four expressions—as his eyes rested on these things, a sudden vivid likeness passed before him, of a child whom he had held in his arms on the passage across that very Channel, one cold time, when the hail drifted heavily and the sea ran high."

Just this one long sentence conveys much about the appearance of Lucie Manette, apart from also informing of a deeper kinship between Mr. Lorry and Lucie.

    Further, the traits of each person are also shown with great detail. The sense of trepidation that Dr. Manette feels when he sees Lucie for the first time after 22 years of imprisonment ; the feeling of wasting away that Sidney Carton experiences ; the impression of being business like which Mr. Lorry attempts to portray despite the warm affection in his heart for Dr. Manette and his family are all examples of Charles Dickens' craft in characterising people. Even the persons in the novel with minor roles are described well. The manner in which Charles Dickens writes about the emotions that the persons experience recreated those very emotions in me !

    Another crowning achievement of Charles Dickens in the book is the way in which the time and the circumstances that form the basis of the novel are described. The poverty of the French populace is shown in telling terms. Contrasting with the abject poverty is the arrogant aristocracy and their cruelty when dealing with their subjects. Similarly, the feeling of insecurity in England is revealed in the first chapter itself. When I first read the novel, I was probably too young to notice the dry humour and wit in the novel. This time around, the manner in which the mail travels in the first chapter and the palpable sense of fear on the highways displayed by the passengers in the mail made me smile when I listened to it.

    The curious point is how relevant the book is even in today's times. The inequality present in the 18th century in England and France is also seen in contemporary India. On one hand, corporate professionals live in exclusive villas and houses ; on the other hand, poverty forces farmers to commit suicide, since they are caught in a debt trap. The major difference is that in a democracy, the government will have to pay heed to the plight of the poor. In the monarchy present in France in the 18th century, this was sorely missing. The aristocracy did little for their subjects and mistreated them often. The manner of punishment inflicted by the monarchy as shown in "A Tale of Two Cities" is horrific, as also the way in which the common people would die under the horse carriages of the ruling class.

    I marvel at the way in which the incipient revolution breeds in the St. Antoine suburb of Paris in the book. Mme. Defarge's system of recording names of peoples in her knitting is a cunning idea, quite in line with her cruel mien. I wonder if this practice was really followed ! Dr. Manette's hidden letter describes the arrogance and absolute indifference of two aristocratic siblings to a girl abused by one of them who is dying. These two siblings also slay her brother and don't care about it at all. Reading the letter, I felt that the siblings and the ruling class deserved the Guillotine ! Similarly, when I read about the terrible Carmagnole dance and the manner in which the poor French citizens transform into bloodthirsty people, my thoughts veered the other way ! The extremism displayed by the French populace was too much !

    It is the way in which both sides of the French Revolution are brought out which make Charles Dickens' book a "must read". If at all, one wishes to understand life during (or before) the French Revolution and if one wishes to see how circumstances mould peoples' characters, I feel that "A Tale of Two Cities" should be read and re-read. My salutes go to Charles Dickens for creating an absolute masterpiece in this book.