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Completed	22 March 2005
Title	A Tale of Two Cities
Author	Charles Dickens
Published	1859
Quote	"All the women knitted. They knitted worthless things; but, the mechanical work was a mechanical substitute for eating and drinking: the hands moved for the jaws and the digestive apparatus: if the bony fingers had been still, the stomachs would have been more famine-pinched."
Review	They say, third time's the charm. Maybe that's my case-----because this is the third time that I've started this novel, and only now have I been able to actually get through it. Even my literary brother, Joe, had difficulty getting into this novel. So, I am in good company. Joe and I are both avid readers and yet we both couldn't seem to digest this dreadful book. The first two times I began this novel, I was left hating Dickens and his verbosity-----it's really too much. He just goes on and on. And I am aware that it's often due to the serialized nature of his novels-----they were written like little soap operas, to be published periodically in magazines, chapter by chapter. I understand that. And I understand how that contributes to my dislike. But living now in London, I've had this urge to read more British literature, especially the sort that I've avoided, like Dickens. You know, when in Rome, and all that. This novel takes place in the latter part of the eighteenth century and deals with events leading up to, and including, the French Revolution. The two cities of the title are London and Paris. Charles Darnay (nice guy) is a French aristocrat and Sydney Carton (cynical guy) is an English lawyer, and they (apparently) physically resemble each other, which leads to a Shakespearean twist toward the end of the story. They also both adore Lucie Manette. From a historical point of view, this book is interesting. I can't say I studied much about the French Revolution in school. So, in that respect the book was interesting to me. Also, as you may have heard, there is much talk in this book about knitting. This is definitely a book for knitters. Madame Defarge has been called the most famous knitter in literature, and that may indeed be true. There are whole passages on knitting, and KIPing (knitting in public), and one chaper is actually titled, Knitting. Yes, this book was a slow read, thanks to Dickens and his serialization. But nonetheless, I'm glad I finally made my way through it.

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