A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

Title: A Tale of Two Cities
Author: Charles Dickens
Pages: 489
Published: 2003 (first published 1859)
Challenges: The Classics Club, Chunkster, Historical Fiction, Blogger Summer Reading
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Literature
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal Library

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. (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: I don't know why but this has become one of my favourite novels; I think it has partly to do with the historical detail, but it probably it is more likely due to the fact that Dickens uses language so well and allows the reader to be drawn into the story as much as possible.  So when a readalong was organized by a blogger that I follow, I had to definitely do it. 

One thing that I liked about the book is how Dickens draws the reader into the world that he creates in the days leading up to the French Revolution and even the one during; it also doesn't hurt that the book is a really good example of how detail can add to the overall story and how it has the ability to make the experience of reading that more enjoyable.

While the vast majority of the book is well done, I did find that the last little bit of the book a bit rushed, but I will give Dickens the benefit of the doubt on that one, as there is too much of the book is too well done that it would be nitpicking on a book that in all respects is well-written and has a lot of amazing detail in it.

Bottom line: Dickens does a really good job of describing London and Paris during the French Revolution, but also builds up the story so that one gets a pretty good build up to the events of the story.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 5/5

Pages for 2014: 10150

The Mysteries of the Udolpho - Ann Radcliffe

Title: The Mysteries of the Udolpho
Author: Ann Radcliffe
Pages: 875
Published: 2010 (first published 1794)
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, Classics Club, Chunkster, Historical Fiction, I Love Libraries
Genre: Classics, Gothic, Historical Fiction, Literature
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: Beautiful young heiress Emily St. Aubert is frightened when she finds herself orphaned and in the hands of her cold and distant aunt, Madame Cheron. But her fear turns to terror when Madame Cheron agrees to marry the haughty and brooding Signor Montoni, and she finds herself trapped in the castle of Udolpho, threatened by Montoni's terrible greed and haunted by the secrets of the medieval fortress. Will Emily find the strength to survive this place of nightmares? Or will Montoni and his wicked schemes destroy her completely? (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: Even though this was a book that I had wanted to read for sometime, I struggled with it.  While reading the book, I found that I really couldn't keep my interest with the book and found it to be a bit of a chore, even though at times I could get myself engrossed with the story.  I found it to be something that I read for long periods of time without figuring what was going on and all of a sudden I got interested in the story for a bit and the process would repeat itself.

Bottom line:  If you are a big fan of gothic-era books and large books that seem to go on for quite sometime and you can get lost in the world of the story, I would say that this is a book for you.  Recommended.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2014: 8768

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Title: Northanger Abbey
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 254
Published: 2003 (first published 1817)
Challenges: Back to the Classics
Genre: Classics, Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: During an eventful season at Bath, young, naive Catherine Morland experiences fashionable society for the first time. SHe is delighted with her new acquaintances: flirtatious Isabella, who introduces Catherine to the joys of Gothic romances, and sophisticated Henry and Eleanor Tilney, who invite her to their father's house, Northanger Abbey. There, influenced by novels of horror and intrigue, Catherine comes to imagine terrible crimes committed by General Tilney, risking the loss of Henry's affection, and has to learn the difference between fiction and reality, false friends and true. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I first read this book back in November when doing the Unputdownables readalong for this book.  And like I said my previous review of this book, this book needed a second reading to understand it better (I read it the first time for the sake of saying said I had read the book) and also to appreciate it more.  And as I was reading it this last time, I did enjoy the book more than I did the first time I had read it.  What also made the difference is that I wasn't really juggling too many books at the time and that by reading basically this book, I was able to focus on the book and really appreciate what this book for what it is.

While it isn't Austen's best work, I can definitely see elements of her other books in this book  The book showed elements of themes that Austen tends to focus with more depth than she did here.  She also showed her appreciation of literature and also how somebody can get so obsessed with a book that you think that you are living it.

Bottom line: While it wasn't my favourite Austen (S&S and P&P are my favourites), I would have to say that its not at the bottom of my list.  It maybe a book that I read at some point in my life.  I probably wouldn't recommend the book to somebody who is starting with Austen and would probably suggest it was left until you have read the other books by her and that it one would read it twice before giving it a true opinion of the book.  Recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2014: 3646

The Good Earth - Pear S. Buck

Title: The Good Earth
Author: Pearl S. Buck
Pages: 357
Published: 2004 (first published 1931)
Challenges: The Classics Club, Historical Fiction, OfftheShelf, Embarrassment of Riches
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: This tells the poignant tale of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China. The humble Wang Lung glories in the soil he works, nurturing the land as it nurtures him and his family. Nearby, the nobles of the House of Hwang consider themselves above the land and its workers; but they will soon meet their own downfall.

Hard times come upon Wang Lung and his family when flood and drought force them to seek work in the city. The working people riot, breaking into the homes of the rich and forcing them to flee. When Wang Lung shows mercy to one noble and is rewarded, he begins to rise in the world, even as the House of Hwang falls.  (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: It took me at least until the half-way through the book to get into the book and to actually understand the point of the book and see its importance in the modern literary canon.  Its almost as though the land is a part of Wang Lung, no matter how poor or wealthy he becomes; as though he is a nurturer of the land around him and sees himself as a steward for the earth, treating it in a manner that is respectful and honourable.  The book, in a way, could be a morality story on how to treat the land, in that if one treats the land well and with respect, it will in turn treat you well and with respect; almost an early form of environmentalism before the term was being used frequently.

Bottom line: I would probably recommend this book that enjoy books by the likes of Steinbeck, Hemmingway, and Faulkner.  It has the same sort of epic and literary quality that one can find with those authors (yes, I have read at least one piece of each).  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2013: 17,120

Moby Dick - Herman Melville

Title: Moby Dick, or The Whale
Author: Herman Melville
Pages: 640
Published: 1998 (originally published 1851)
Challenges: Back to the Classics, Chunkster, The Classics Club, Embarrassment of Riches, Off the Shelf
Genre: Adventure, Classics, Fiction, Literature
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Personal


Description: Over a century and a half after its publication, Moby-Dick still stands as an indisputable literary classic. It is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopedia of whaling lore and legend, Moby-Dick is a haunting, mesmerizing, and important social commentary populated with several of the most unforgettable and enduring characters in literature. Written with wonderfully redemptive humor, Moby-Dick is a profound and timeless inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I first became intrigued with the book on TLC's Great Book series and after reading it, I have very mixed thoughts about this book.  While I enjoyed the narrative of the journey of the Pequod and the story of the men on the ship, the musings of Melville almost made me want to not finish the book.  I understand why Melville may have gone on and on about the physiology of the whale (which he does spend several chapters talking about the physiology of the sperm whale), but there really is no need to spend time philosophizing about things that have nothing to do with the story and the only reason that I finished the book was due to my interest in the narrative, which seems to be very little of the story.

Bottom line: If you have an interest classics and really like reading classics, I would probably put this on your TBR list.  Basically I wouldn't rush out to read it and it probably is a book that you can skip, if you have no interest in the book. And its probably something that I won't reread, but one never knows.  Sure its an interesting book in that you can see elements of the modern novel in this book, in fact its referred to as the first modern novel, even though its put in the classic category. Recommended.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2013: 14058