Dear Mr. Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities (finished)

Dear Mr. Dickens,

I think that in reality, you thought I couldn't do it. You were silently laughing to yourself at my futile attempts to get through your acclaimed work, considering me to be too stupid, too naive to understand what my friend Sam called "his easiest novel," what I always heard described as "a lovely book," but what I could nevertheless not fathom.

However, I have defeated it. It took me months, and there were a few moments of tearing my hair, but I finished the book.

But don't feel too defeated, Mr. Dickens. In reality, this is a two-way victory. Because after I got through your soliloquies on the best and worst times, the unintelligible rantings of Jerry Cruncher, the overabundance of Jacques, and the over-explanation of some things, under-explanation of others, I found myself deeply connected and invested with your story.

Mr. Dickens, I even cried. On public transportation. I know that you don't have buses in your sphere of reality, but compare it to crying in a giant cab filled with over fifty people. I was that swept up.

I've told you the things I struggled with in a paragraph above, and if you are sufficiently humbled, I will build up your confidence once more and tell you the reasons it warmed my heart. It was a slow process, I'll admit. It took time for me to love your characters. However, they stole quietly into my heart. It was so moving to hear Lucie plead for Charles Darnay and to see the devotion she had for her father. She was a bit insipid as far as heroines go, but sweet in her way. And Darnay was obviously upstanding, although it seemed more in principle than in action. Yes, he gave up his position and was ostensibly a good person, but it was something I heard about rather than saw for myself.

But Sidney Carton - nice work, Mr. Dickens. I have never seen such an effective transformation of a character that was so believable. He is the best example I have ever seen of love overcoming all things. I don't want to say more - I don't want to ruin the story for anyone else who may happen to come across our correspondence in the future. But you took me from a bored reader just trying to overcome this beast of a book to a passionate player in the story, knowing exactly what will happen but spellbound anyway. I still wish you hadn't made it such a tough nut to crack, but this will forever be a book that I recommend now - with a grain of salt, mind you, but recommended all the time. It is a must read for everyone who wants to understand the human condition. Thank you.

The Story Girl

4 stars