"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--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
Wow, what a sentence! And I thought that I was long-winded. The above is the first sentence of this well-known classic. This book is also very long. Actually, it is three books so it was my book of the month for two months.
Not only is it a long book, but it also jumps around to different people and places. In order to keep a clear idea of what took place before, I had to back up and re-read almost every chapter. I think I read nearly every chapter twice -- some chapters three or four times. But it was worth it.
By the time that I got to book three, I was totally enthralled, and by the time that I got to the end, I was pleased to find that I recognized the last sentence -- only now, I understand this hypothetical quote from the unlikely hero of this tale of a turbulent time and place:
`It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.'
I've really taken to Dickens' writing and will probably read this one again some day, but first there are more of his books for me to read.