Sunday Salon: Wrestling with Dickens
We’re almost at the end of January and I realised today I hadn’t posted my answer to the Classics Club question for January. So that’s what today’s Sunday Salon is about — a reflection on recent experiences reading the classics. The question this month is:
What is the best book you’ve read so far for The Classics Club — and why? Or, if you prefer, what is your least favorite read so far for the club, and why?
Before I get into answering that in detail, I have a confession. I’ve spent more time debating which books to include on my list; adding some, removing others, than I’ve actually read in the past few months. I set out to read 50 classics in 5 years and I’m still committed to doing that, but the progress is rather slower than I expected. No excuses other than too many other interesting novels caught my attention. So my options for a favourite are far too limited. But I do know which book has been my least favourite so far.
Pause for dramatic effect. It is. . … A Tale of Two Cities. Now I know it has a huge army of devotees and I know it is one of the biggest of all classics. But it’s just left me cold. I have tried, I really have, to read it. But I can’t get further than Chapter Five in Book One. I have started this book three times over a period of about 10 years and every single time I come to a halt at roughly the same point. It’s the point at which I’m so baffled about who the old man is and what he has to do with the people we’ve already encountered, that I decide I don’t really care and find something more interesting to read. I even tried a tutored read of this on LibraryThing towards the end of 2012 but to no avail.
I’m not naturally averse to Dickens’ work. Far from it. Great Expectations and Dombey and Son are both outstanding novels for me with their strong plots, psychological insight and challenging social comment to stimulate my thinking. I’m reading Little Dorrit at the moment and while it’s early days, I’m enjoying the experience. But A Tale of Two Cities seems in a different league. I must be missing something here. Can anyone enlighten me? Is it worth perservering or shall I ditch it forever??
There is someone in our book club who does this regularly apparently
A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favorites, but it doesn’t make much sense until you see it as a whole, if that makes sense? It’s when you get to the end and look back that you realize it’s beautiful.
So I should press on to the end in other words?
Well, if I were you, I’d just read the last couple chapters and see if the build-up is worth it. Probably not everyone would do that though, and Dickens would likely have a fit. 🙂
I have read it, but some time ago, so my recollections are probably not to be that much relied on. I would encourage you to finish it with the thought in mind that this is Dickens trying something different. Although he pushes one or tow novels a couple of decades back, this is only real attempt at historical fiction. On the other hand if it’s a question of going back to this or finishing ‘Little Dorrit’ I’m with ‘Little Dorrit’ every time.
Little Dorrit is certainly getting my vote at the moment…..
I had a really hard time with A Tale of Two Cities when I was forced to read it in the 8th and then again in the 9th grades. Both times. Left me cold. I love Dickens now, though, so I’ve been thinking of rereading it just to see if I like it better this time around. 🙂
My Sunday Salon
Making a child read something they hate is just the way to turn them off reading books for most of their life. You were lucky that you found your way back Rachel