Here we are, just three weeks into January, with our first THE ATTIC review! If you need a bit of a refresher, The Attic is my series in which I pull books from my tbr pile mug, and read them at that moment in time!
On the Seventh of January, was that time! (No, I do not know how I managed to read three books before the seventh of January, blame my week off of work!) And the book that I ended up reading for this first edition is A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens!
Now, we all know that classics tend to have a way to gather dust on shelves. Despite actually enjoying classics when I am in the mood for them, it’s something that I never really pick up! So the very first pull of the year, was immediately a bit of a challenge!
This review is, as always unless specifically mentioned, spoiler free!
The Book
A TALE OF TWO CITIES is a book that first came out in 1859, but still has a lot of readers even to this year, which is quite the accomplishment, in my book.
Truth be told, a lot of these people are students, who need to read it or people who enjoy classics. I went into it not really knowing what it was about.
So. I will give you that heads up, and give you a summary!
published in 1859 / 352 pages / wordsworth classics
A Tale of Two Cities is Charles Dickens’s great historical novel, set against the violent upheaval of the French Revolution. The most famous and perhaps the most popular of his works, it compresses an event of immense complexity to the scale of a family history, with a cast of characters that includes a bloodthirsty ogress and an antihero as believably flawed as any in modern fiction. Though the least typical of the author’s novels, A Tale of Two Cities still underscores many of his enduring themes—imprisonment, injustice, social anarchy, resurrection, and the renunciation that fosters renewal.
content warnings; Death, Violence, Murder, Confinement, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Child death, Domestic abuse
What are my overall thoughts?
Overall, what I can say is that this book is mostly okay.
There’s books that work for everyone, and there’s books that just don’t. For me this is one of those books that I think are very 50/50 – you might enjoy it a lot, but you might also hate it. If you’re in the mood for a bit of a slower read, than it’s definitely something that might be right up your alley!
When it comes to the pacing, like I just mentioned, it is a little bit on the slower side. There are moments where things are actively happening, and you get lost in it, but there are also a lot of moments where it seems nothing is happening for long stretches of time.
While I didn’t die of boredom, and it’s not like it took me super long to read either, it’s just okay.
The first part of the novel definitely flows better than the second half of the novel, truth be told. I was fully invested in moments and was really enjoying it!
The second half drags a little bit, which made it feel like I was battling finishing it just a little bit.
What was my experience?
As per usual, with Wordsworth editions, I found it incredibly difficult to take it in. The entire time that I read this, I read along to the audiobook (Thanks to Scribd) which helped me majorly!
If you also struggle but still buy the editions (let’s be real, they’re both cheap and visually pretty) it’s something I definitely recommend doing!
Overall, what I can take away from the novel itself, is that I enjoyed the experience! It was nice to get lost in a time that’s not well, currently happening and enjoy the words.
Because that’s a strong part, the writing is very flowery and atmospheric! It makes it a little easier to get lost in.
Would I recommend this book?
It really depends! Classics are a little bit difficult to recommend! If you’re the kind of person who already enjoys classics, but have not yet read it, then yes.
If you haven’t read a lot of classics, this is a relatively good one to start with! The first part goes really fast, meaning that you will be able to sink into it easily!
Cawpile Rating
If you’re not familiar with the Cawpile System already, I will leave some basic information here! It’s a system and reading tracker by Book Roast (which I personally also do to track my reads!)! Book Roast has a wonderful video on it, explaining everything, as well as a 2023 version up for free download!
Characters: 6
I did not end up loving the characters! Some people actually adore them, but there was something missing for me!
Atmosphere: 7
Writing: 6 (I understand this can be a bit harsh! But the second half of the novel really brought this down for me!)
Plot, Intrigue, logic and Enjoyment: 6
All coming down to a score of 6.14, or 3.5 stars!
Question Time!
Have you read this novel before? How did you feel about it? Are there any classics that have been gathering dust on your selves? Or maybe that are a must read?
The perfect place to talk about this is the comments down below 👇 and don’t hesitate to leave a like! 💛
As always,
honeycomb library 
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