View Full Version : I Didn't Like A Tale Of Two Cities
theBruiser500
03-15-2005, 12:36 PM
I read a Tale of Two Cities a month ago, not sure why I'm posting about it now. Dickens style of writing I guess just isn't my taste. His really detailed descriptions are kind of good, I can see sort of see how other people like them at least. Mainly what I didn't like about the book was how everyone's lives revolved around Miss Mannete and Darney. Sidney Carton and the old banker were obviously the best characters, I wish Carton had lived and gotten the girl.
asofel
03-15-2005, 12:52 PM
[ QUOTE ]
I read a Tale of Two Cities a month ago, not sure why I'm posting about it now. Dickens style of writing I guess just isn't my taste. His really detailed descriptions are kind of good, I can see sort of see how other people like them at least. Mainly what I didn't like about the book was how everyone's lives revolved around Miss Mannete and Darney. Sidney Carton and the old banker were obviously the best characters, I wish Carton had lived and gotten the girl.
[/ QUOTE ]
i put it down after the second paragraph...and i like reading...
nicky g
03-15-2005, 12:55 PM
Try Great Expectations. Oliver Twist is minor, but funny/entertaining.
JackWilson
03-15-2005, 12:55 PM
If I was reading it casually I might not have liked it much, but I read it for school and it was the best prescribed book I'd ever read.
Also, I have to disagree with a feel-good ending for Sidney. That goes against the entire purpose of his character.
Sponger15SB
03-15-2005, 12:56 PM
[ QUOTE ]
i put it down after the second paragraph...and i like reading...
[/ QUOTE ]
I didn't think it was that bad and I absolutely hate reading.
Paluka
03-15-2005, 12:57 PM
I didn't know anyone liked A Tale of Two Cities.
Victor
03-15-2005, 12:58 PM
its a pretty damn good book.
but yea, reading dickens can be extremely tedious and brain hurting. you dont have to like or enjoy his writing but its super admirable.
[ QUOTE ]
I read it for school and it was the best prescribed book I'd ever read.
[/ QUOTE ]
Too bad they didn't make you read the Count of Monte Cristo.
~D
andyfox
03-15-2005, 01:18 PM
You must really have hated the second paragraph, because the first paragraph is one of the glories of the English language.
theBruiser500
03-15-2005, 01:21 PM
Yeah I remember kind of liking Great Expectations reading it a while ago.
hoorah father, it's a buryin. Heven't read it since high school twenty years ago and still rermember that one for some reason. I liked the book back then. Try Les Miserable, I am sure the spelling is wrong) I liked that much better.
asofel
03-15-2005, 01:33 PM
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I read it for school and it was the best prescribed book I'd ever read.
[/ QUOTE ]
Too bad they didn't make you read the Count of Monte Cristo.
~D
[/ QUOTE ]
now that's a hell of a book....
People don't have attention spans anymore Andy. I realized I hadn't read the book since I was 4 years old, so I read the first chapter to get a feel for it again.
I don't doubt that most people these days never had the attention span to get through it.
~D
offTopic
03-15-2005, 02:12 PM
[ QUOTE ]
I wish Carton had lived and gotten the girl.
[/ QUOTE ]
[censored], man...next time put [SPOILER] in the post title.
daryn
03-15-2005, 03:06 PM
oh, this would explain paluka's dickens comment in that other thread.
this book is one of my favorites of all time
thatpfunk
03-15-2005, 03:09 PM
When you are paid by the word, you produce some serious crap.
Although not my favorite work by Dickens, I thought it was very good, and one of the best crafted novels I have read. I totally disagree about the ending - I think it is the best part of the book, and Carton emerging from the role of a scoundrel to that of hero was very inspiring.
On a side note, a couple of French novels (Count of Monte Cristo and Les Miserable) have been suggested. While these are both entertaining at times, I found them both to be to melodramatic and sappy for my tastes.
daryn
03-15-2005, 03:14 PM
i like that chapter "a hand at cards" or something like that.
Paluka
03-15-2005, 03:16 PM
Dickens really is crappy. I believe many of his stories were published as serials, with cliffhangers and stuff so that people would buy the next installment. He is like a soap opera writer from 200 years ago.
thatpfunk
03-15-2005, 03:52 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Dickens really is crappy. I believe many of his stories were published as serials, with cliffhangers and stuff so that people would buy the next installment. He is like a soap opera writer from 200 years ago.
[/ QUOTE ]
This man knows what he is talking about.
__Q__
03-15-2005, 04:06 PM
[ QUOTE ]
You must really have hated the second paragraph, because the first paragraph is one of the glories of the English language.
[/ QUOTE ]
Really? You sound like a 8th grade english teacher?
I'd be willing to concede that the first paragraph sounds like it was written by somebody who was trying to write "one of the glories of the english language."
[ QUOTE ]
Dickens really is crappy. I believe many of his stories were published as serials, with cliffhangers and stuff so that people would buy the next installment. He is like a soap opera writer from 200 years ago.
[/ QUOTE ]
Dumas wrote the Count of Monte Cristo in that fashion, which is why it's like 9 million pages long. Dickens may very well have done the same thing, but I thought I'd throw this out there in case you had just been thinking of Dumas.
~D
__Q__
03-15-2005, 04:24 PM
I'm almost positive that Great Expections was published as a serial.
Roy Stalin
03-15-2005, 05:25 PM
I'm positive that it was a serial. Just finished that book a few months ago and was a bit disappointed actually. That said, I loved both Tale of Two Cities and Count of Monte Christo.
I just started a new reading kick a few months ago and decided to read all of the "classics" that have either Cliff Notes or Sparks Notes published for them. An arbitrary definition sure, but I figured it was the easiest way to generate a reading list of books thought to be good. It is one hell of a long list but so far nothing has been awful.
theBruiser500
03-15-2005, 06:35 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Dickens really is crappy. I believe many of his stories were published as serials, with cliffhangers and stuff so that people would buy the next installment. He is like a soap opera writer from 200 years ago.
[/ QUOTE ]
This really sounds pretty accurate to me. But why is Dicken's so respected then?
nicky g
03-16-2005, 05:54 AM
Cos it's good stuff. Why can't popular fiction be good? Is no TV good?
vBulletin® v3.8.11, Copyright ©2000-2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.