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-

A Tale of Two cities, by Charles Dickens.

I have so enjoyed listening to this book through CraftLit, it has been engrossing, moving and horrifying by turns. I think I appreciate Dickens more the older I get, and can understand the characters motivations more. Heather on CraftLit has done a great job with this one, and even had cafepress make some "What would Mme Defarge knit?" tshirts.

http://www.cafepress.com/craftlit.122387084

It was only as I started listening that I realised that I had not read this one, so I was listening to it like a Dickens' follower 150 years ago, doing my knitting as someone in the family circle read it to me. I was horrified by the descriptions of the mob in Paris and the mob in London, and know that it doesn't take a lot for a group of tired, hungry , angry people to become a mob, even now, especially now.

I filled up with tears listening to Carton remembering the words said at his father's graveside,

"I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord : he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die", as Carton resolves to do the one good thing in his life, to say Darnay for his beloved Lucie.

I loved the scene when the redoubtable Miss Pross fights with Mme Defarge so that she will not find out that the Dr and Lucie have fled. The love of one overcoming the hatred of the other. Even though Mme Defarge's bitterness is understandable: her sister was ravished by Evremonde, and her brother died by his sword. The dying pair were tended to by Dr. Manette and for his pains he was imprisoned without trial. But her bitterness and hatred extends to Dr Manette and his family, her vengeance cannot, will not be sated. It is horrifying to see how such bitterness can wreak such cruelty.

Its tremendous getting back into literature again, and now I can't decide what the next in the back catalogue will be. "The Turn of the Screw"? or "Pride and Prejudice?". After all, I've got a lot of knitting to do so I must listen to something!