A Tale of Two Cities

In January 2011 I created a top 10 list of books that I resolved to read by the end of the year. I only completed three of the ten, but the one book that I really wanted to read and cross off my list is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I was so proud to finish the book and I no longer have a guilty English major conscious.

Description: After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the ageing Doctor Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There the lives of two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil roads of London, they are drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and they soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.


Review: As I mentioned in college, I was an English major and I loved reading from the Victorian period but I could never manage to read a full Charles Dickens novel. Believe me, I've tried Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and even Great Expectations. I struck out with all of them. In fact I tried reading Great Expectations several times and have failed to pass page 10 without falling asleep at the exact same paragraph. I was determined that in 2011 I would finish one book by Dickens for my Victorian reading challenge. I chose to read A Tale of Two Cities because I was interested in the French Revolution and also because of its brevity. To my astonishment, I stayed awake throughout and actually really enjoyed reading large sections of the book.
 The plot for A Tale of Two Cities is widely known so I won't bother going into the details. So what made this book different from the other ones I've tired and failed to read? For one thing, Dickens doesn't spend too much with description and adding an influx of characters that come and go. I was able to follow a group of characters from the beginning to the end with little confusion. Some would argue that Dickens more attention to the Revolutionaries in France and the book lacks character development, which is a good argument since Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette are kind of one dimensional. I, however, was more drawn to Sir and Madame Defarge who are the book's catalyst. As a reader you are suppose to be appalled by their lack of compassion and blood thirstiness, but I couldn't help but sympathize and whenever they appeared on the page I paid more attention.
  I have to say reading a historical fiction novel from the Victorian period was really interesting. While there are parts of the book that are completely bias, I didn't get the sense that Dickens opposed the concept behind the revolution. He could have easily made the protestors uncivilized and ignorant, but their plight is accurately expressed and you can't help but get caught up in their emotion after suffering so many injustices. 
 While I'm glad that I finished and enjoyed A Tale of Two Cities, I'm not willing to rush back and reread it anytime soon. Perhaps if I do a little more research into the French Revolution and then read it with a critical eye, I would be more inclined to do so. I'm just happy with my own little personal milestone.

Curriculum Connection: Social Studies

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some strong violence that reflected what happened during the French Revolution.

If you like this book try: City of Darkness, City of Light by Marge Piercy, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, Madame Tussad by Michelle Moran, The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliot

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Jude the Obscure

  The first book I read by Thomas Hardy was Tess of the d'Urbervilles back in sophomore year in high school when I was on my classic kick. I remembered loving the book and crying my eyes out. It was definitely an emotional read. I wanted to go back and read more of Hardy's books but didn't have the opportunity to do so until now with this years Victorian Reading Challenge. I picked up Jude the Obscure and thought it was another tragic romance story but quickly found out it was nothing what I expected at all.

Description (from Amazon): Jude Fawley, poor and working-class, longs to study at the University of Christminster, but his ambitions to go to university are thwarted by class prejudice and his entrapment in a loveless marriage. He falls in love with his unconventional cousin, Sue Bridehead, and their refusal to marry when free to do so confirms their rejection of and by the world around them. The shocking fate that overtakes them is an indictment of a rigid and uncaring society.

Review: Jude the Obscure was first published in 1895. It was a critical failure and scandalous to many. In fact its critical reception was so negative that Hardy decided to never to write another novel and turned his focus to poetry as a way to proper express himself. Now in the 21st century, I found Jude the Obscure shocking, gutsy, dark, extremely tragic, and so ahead of its time. While reading, I couldn't help but wonder if the book was a critical examination of his own life.
  The story of Jude the Obscure attacked the three biggest institutions Victorian England held the most dear: higher education, social class, and marriage. The characters demand to reexamine and redefine marriage laws and challenge the commonly held beliefs about marriage and divorce in society. In addition, it also proposes a new Victorian woman: the intellectual, outspoken feminist. 

    Hardy is famous for his tragic heroes and heroines and the somber, socially critical tone of his narratives. Jude the Obscure focuses on the life of a country stonemason, Jude, and his tumultuous love for his cousin Sue, a schoolteacher. Ripped from what seems like a tragic Greek play, Jude knows that marriage is a disaster that has plagued his family for years and he believes that his love for Sue curses him doubly, because they are both members of a cursed clan.
   While some may declare Jude the Obscure to be a tragic love story, I would argue that it is not a love story at all but rather a harsh criticism of the institution of marriage which is seen as an invisible jail that traps people forever. Jude and Sue are unhappily married to other people not by choice but rather coerced in different ways. Jude is tricked by his fiance who declares she is pregnant and in order to save her virtue he agrees to marry her though he doubts that he loves her. Sue makes a promise that she will marry her boss when she gets financially settled. Of course you can argue that these characters dug themselves a hole and now have to live with their choices, which is exactly how fatalistic as it sounds, but if you look at it from their historical context did they really have a choice? What is interesting is that both Jude and Sue have to the same conclusion that marriage has become a ball and chain for them and they long freedom to actually find what they are looking for. It is this inevitable bond that pulls them together. While they try to do the right thing in finding out a way to be together, their relationship is not accepted/declared legitimate by society and therefore beset by tragedy. There were moments that made my jaw drop both in shock and in heartache as Jude and Sue try to sort out the hot mess they find themselves in. They are essentially damned in which ever way they go.
    In the end my feelings for this book was all over the place. I loved the fiery, smart, and highly spirited Sue who refuses to put on the act of the stereotypical silent Victorian woman. I hated how she was forced to abandon her true nature and play the role that she despises because after dealing with tragedy after tragedy, she admits that is the only way she can make things 'right'. I wanted to smack Jude upside the head for being hypocritical in acting what like a husband when he felt like it. I felt sad for him when he failed to try to achieve his dream leaving him to always be the dreamer who had no solid feet on the ground, but he did have his lucid moments that shined. I absolutely hated Annabell and felt incredibly sorry for Richard Phillotson. After reading Jude the Obscure, I was left in a daze with my mind spinning in different directions as I read to make sense of the story, which for me, is always a tell tale sign that I read a great book. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: Adult themes and allusions to sex. I don't see any harm in giving this to a teen reader, but I think the slow pace and melodrama might turn them off.

If you like this book try: Adam Bede by George Eliot, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

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Dracula

  Bram Stoker's masterpiece, Dracula, has captured the imaginations of many and have spawned an endless fascination of vampires in our pop culture. I really don't think you can call yourself a vampire lover without reading the book. I read Dracula for the first time this year during Halloween and really enjoyed it.

Description: When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries about his client and his castle. Soon afterwards, disturbing incidents unfold in England: an unmanned ship is wrecked at Whitby; strange puncture marks appear on a young woman's neck; and a lunatic asylum inmate raves about the imminent arrival of his 'Master'. A battle of wits between the sinister Count and a determined group of adversaries ensues with the safety of England is at risk.

Review: I only knew a few things about the original story of Dracula, mainly the names of the characters involved and a good sense of the book's plot. What I didn't know, however, is that the book is solely composed of journals, letters, telegraphs, newsletter clippings, etc from a variety of characters' points of view. I found the structure of Dracula to be absolutely fascinating more so than the book's plot.  
   Dracula as a narrative is deeply embedded in the cultural consciousness. The main male characters have larger sections of the book that details interesting tidbits about the setting and specifically trying to understand the human psychology. With the minor exception (but not all that much) of Mina Murray, the other women in the book are one dimensional either portraying the overly sexed female or the virtuous Victorian female who is easily seduced by the dark side. Though Dracula is the title character of this masterpiece, he doesn't appear very often in the book. We aren't really given any background information about him at all, which would usually annoy me but it works for this book. Dracula becomes more than a character. He is an allegory of all what the Victorians feared: sexuality (specifically women's sexuality), paganism, and the paranoia of the "other". Often times it is hard to distinguish the character's personalities from the Count himself, creating the doppelganger of the character's evil/dark side.
  Gothic and darkly atmospheric, Stoker plays with his audience, manipulating the multiple perspectives of the characters in his novel to play the reader's knowledge and recognition of danger against the character's obliviousness. The different narrative voices are for the most part distinctive from one character to the next and the telling of the story through primarily diary entries as well as letters and newspaper articles is used to its benefit. After reading Dracula, I can now understand why certain vampire characteristics are so commonly used by writers today.  Dracula could be read as a Gothic pulp thriller or an examination of the phobias of the Victorian time period, regardless of how you read it you can't deny its everlasting impact on our culture today.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There are some disturbing scenes in the book. Sex is indirectly mentioned by the use of euphemisms and other literary devices. Recommended for mature teens and adults only.

If you like this book try: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, Dracula, My Love by Syrie James, Dracula in Love by Karen Essex, Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

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Villette

  When you hear Charlotte Bronte, you immediately think of Jane Eyre, one of the most and well loved novel of all time. While Jane Eyre is Charlotte Bronte's most popular book, she did write many other books such as The Professor, Shirley, and Villette.  For the Victorian Literature Reading Challenge, I had hoped to read the other novels of the Bronte sisters. I recently finished Villette, which is herald by many authors such as George Eliot and Virginia Wolff as Charlotte Bronte's most critically acclaim novel or masterpiece.

Description (from Amazon): With neither friends nor family, Lucy Snowe sets sail from England to find employment in a girls’ boarding school in the small town of Villette. There she struggles to retain her self-possession in the face of unruly pupils, an initially suspicious headmaster, and her own complex feelings, first for the school’s English doctor and then for the dictatorial professor, Paul Emmanuel. 

Review: Readers hoping to get another story like romantic suspense story of Jane Eyre will be disappointed in Villette. The atmosphere and even the heroines of the two novels are completely different in many ways despite that share the occupation of being a governess. There is not much plot in Villette and it does tend to be cyclical. The characters meet again and again, but during time periods. It is almost as if everything was a coincidence.
   Villette is a character driven novel. It is very dense and slow moving, which is why it took me a while to finish the book. I would read about five chapters a day yet I couldn't help but be drawn to the book. Bronte does a wonderful job in examining the gender roles and the constraints of Victorian England. Readers knowing the Bronte's personal history can pick up many of the same similarities to Lucy's struggle. Some critics have gone on to say that Villette is probably Charlotte Bronte's most autobiographical novel.
  Lucy Snowe is a unique heroine and narrator that I ever met. She is passive and so quiet that you probably wouldn't notice her if  you were in a room with her. She is very observant of her surroundings and independent. She seems to be more comfortable in being in the background like many women of her time, yet she struggles within herself because she wants to express her emotions, thoughts, and opinions yet uses her logic or reason to suppress this and internalizes everything. Throughout the novel, I wasn't sure if Lucy is a victim of her own society, however, as we watch the other women in Lucy's life have their own experiences of living, I can't help but think that Lucy willingly placed herself in situations that don't all her to grow and explore. We do see a flicker of change and progress when Lucy admits her feelings to the arrogant and pompous Paul Emmanuel but we can't help but be skeptical of their happiness not because their feelings aren't genuine but rather because Lucy's reason doesn't allow her to have it.
  Readers wanting to dig deeper into character's psyche and become an observer like Lucy will really enjoy the complex layers of Villette. Just don't expect to be riveted by the basic plot. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for strong teen readers and up.

If you like this book try: Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid, Charlotte and Emily by Jude Morgan, A Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.

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Silas Marner

  As you all are probably aware, Chicago was hit with a blizzard. I currently have about 2.5 feet of snow at home. I can't tell you where my driveway ends and where the road begins, but I'm very thankful to have electricity, a warm house, and my family close at home. Now that I had today as a snow day and one tomorrow too, I hope to catch up with my reading. Today I finished Silas Marner by George Eliot for my first book of the Victorian Literature Challenge. I first stumbled upon George Eliot during sophomore year in high school where I picked up her The Mill on a Floss for independent reading. I remember loving the story and wanting to read another book by the author, but never had the chance until now.

Description: The people of Raveloe always thought there was something strange about Silas Marner. With his bent back, strange eyes, and his tendency to have cataleptic fits, Silas was always in the background until he is wrongly accused of a heinous theft. Shattered and shaken by this incident, he exiles himself from the world until he finds redemption through his love for an abandoned child who mysteriously appears one day at his isolated cottage. When the child's parentage is revealed, will Silas lose his only comfort from life once again?

Review: Silas Marner is probably the shortest, most straight-forward Victorian novel that I've read so far. Right from its very first page, readers are transported to the pastoral English countryside of the early 19th century. Raveloe, the setting of the novel, is far away from the large towns and roads. It is an isolated community that seems to be unaware of the advancement of the Industrial Revolution. It represents what England has lost since the revolution. 
  Despite his miser appearance, Silas Marner is actually a very sweet, simple, and honest man. Since he is a weaver by profession and has a working knowledge of medicinal herbs that causes him to have fits (and claimed by many town folks to have supernatural powers), he has always been on the fringe of his society which allows Eliot to use him to explore the themes of community, religion, and family which are important themes in all of her novels. Due to his innocent nature, we are outraged when Silas is falsely accused of theft. We demand justice and are sickened when it is not given to him. Like Silas, our very own faith is shattered and we long to seek comfort in something. For Silas, it is monetary money which he counts every night.
  Unfortunately for Silas, his world is once again shaken one wintry night when his money disappears. Though he is distraught about his wealth gone, it only seems temporary when he finds a lonely baby girl who has been left on his door step. He quickly becomes attached to the girl, who he names Eppie, and she becomes his world. Silas' love for Eppie is genuine and unselfish. He finds redemption and his faith is restored by her; however, Eppie's love for Silas is tested when she finds out who her real parents are and are given the opportunity to live in comfort. The relationship between Silas and Eppie is what makes this novel a truly sweet and sad story.
  Unlike many novels that I've read so far this year, the main characters in the novel are quite passive. The only active character seems to be destiny, who judges and serves punishment or reward as they seem fit. Like many Victorian novelists, morality and order are very important in society. We are reminded that who we are determines not only what we do, but also what is done to us.
  If you are thinking about reading a Victorian novel or even a novel by George Eliot, I would highly recommend Silas Marner. It's clear, medium paced plot, numerous themes and symbolism, would make it a great selection for a book club or even a sneak peak into Victorian society.


Rating: 4.5 stars

Words of Caution: Eppie's biological mother was an opium addict. There are also some alcohol references in the book. Recommended for high school and adults.

If you like this book try:

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