I highly recommend reading the book “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, because it explores many of the common themes we encounter in our lives like caring, revenge, vengeance, punishment, and social status.
The book is composed of three smaller books, with each taking place in a different time: Book I talks about the events of 1775, Book II takes place in 1780, and the last book talks about a completely different setting in 1792-1793.
This is a historical novel, and it implies how the majority of the population in France rose up together to start the French Revolution, while in England a family goes through many troubling situations which eventually takes them to France during the Reign of Terror.
This book also includes two famous quotes, one at the beginning and one at the very end. Here they are:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. . . .
It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known.
Sydney Carton
Once you finish the book, you’ll know the deeper conceptual meaning of these two quotes.
This novel makes it into my top three favorite books, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
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Author: Charles Dickens
Publish Date: 1859