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.
Folks, that is ONE sentence AND the opening paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens needs to be classified as the 8th Wonder of the World as far as I’m concerned!
He kind of ruins it by trying to write a whole book after that, surely he should just have called it a day after that great start?
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Eh, I LIKE the rest of the book 😉
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You don’t feel that he put all his effort into the first line and the rest is just padding?
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Well, with Dickens there is always some padding. But this feels more like a stepping stone into greatness.
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Any Dickens you have not read?
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I haven’t several of his short stories and most of his non-novels I’ve stayed away from. After my experience with his traveloges, I decided I’d go strictly with his novels for entertainment purposes.
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Novels are the best, I think, a very natural storyteller, happy to be paid by the word, and spin a tale as only he could. And the muppets helped, obviously…
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Muppets make almost anything better. Even cooking. Unless they are helping ME cook. Then they’re just a hassle and in the way 😀
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You have actual muppets helping you cook?
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No, but the Swedish Chef does. I’d go nuts if they got involved with me.
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Are YOU Michael Caine? You seem to get on with these critters…
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No, I’m MUCH handsomer and smarter and able to eat a LOT more popcorn than Caine ever was or could.
If you think of Caine as Bookstooge 1.0, I’m pretty much Bookstooge 100.1
(that .1 is because I’m so humble)
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There’s a strange mix of claims there, mixed messages I think. If you are Caine, it would explain why you think he never made a bad movie. In fact, even Caine himself doesn’t think that…
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Hah! Only someone as smart as me could make those claims AND keep them straight. No mixed messages at all. I can eat a whole bag of microwave popcorn in one sitting. Puts that hotdog eating guy to shame!
Caine thinks he made some bad movies? That’s probably the dementia setting in….
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I again refer you to Jaws 4. The prosecution rests.
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Rests on its dementia laden wheel chair perhaps!
The defense will PROVE our Client has never made a bad movie.
* calls 1st witness *
Lawyer: Did Caine ever make a bad movie?
Bookstooge: On my word of honor, No.
Lawyer: The Defense rests.
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But sir, this isn’t a court of law, this is a Wendy’s, so would you mind standing to the side so I can serve these actual customers? Thanks!
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What?! My affidavit says “#361, Rt 101” ohhhhhh….
Well, you’re not getting a tip from me OR my lawyer.
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Can you put the condiments back please sir? …they are for paying customers only.
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The sign didn’t say so. It only said the bathroom was for paying customers. And as Evidence #1, I suggest you look over under that table FOR some #1.
This ketchup and mustard is mine, ALL MINE!!!
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Do I have to call security? Again?
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Wendy’s can’t afford security! Jokes on you….
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We got security after we found missing sachets of mustard and mayo in your pockets. Try again tomorrow, MR CAINE!
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Gadzooks, foiled again! Darn you, Ol’10 and your scooby gang of kids!
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Haha! High 5, Psychic G!
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Nooooooooooo!
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and this is a prime example of what happens when I have an energy drink late in the afternoon. I”m stopping now.
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Definitely, one of the best openings ever!
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My guess is that it is one of his best known lines. Even if people don’t know it is from Dickens, they can quote at least “It was worst of times, it was the best of times” and know what it means.
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Indeed, that part I knew long before I read the book.
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This is a Dicken that I have not yet read and it is pretty much the only one that tempts me. And I’m not even put off by the opening sentence. It’s wonderful. I hope it continues this way for you.
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Thank you for your kind wishes 😀
For you reading this, the plus is that it is one of his shortest. Doesn’t mean it isn’t any less florid though, hahaha. When I read this a couple of years ago I was blown away and I’m hoping I can read it a little deeper this time around instead of just fanboy’ing 😀
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I nearly bought a copy this lunchtime…luckily I forgot my password. XD
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Oh my goodness, a golden opportunity passed! Luckily for you, you can always get it for free on Project Gutenburg 😀
Or are you a paper reader only?
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I’m not a paper-only reader but some books I prefer in tree-book format.
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I feel there should have been a full stop (period) after ‘despair’.
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That is because you aren’t Dickens and aren’t being paid by the word 😉
You’d be a pauper with your single “Nopes” if that was all you had to sustain you, hahahahahahahaha 😀
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Maybe.
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Ah hah, THERE’S the loquacious, verbose and practically bloviated Fraggle we all know and love 😀
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Ah, Dickens…
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But, is that a good “Ah” or a bad “Ah”. It can be taken so many ways 😉
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I think (from me) it has to qualify as both… 😉
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Hahahahaa. Glad you came down so decisively on on side there 😉
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I think he probably wrote that terrible song by Future called *Ef* up some commas. 😂 Don’t bother looking it up ( I know you are tempted ). It’s eccentric, to say the least.
Is it really a legit sentence? I mean, I know he is like mad stars, but seems like if you put periods in most of the spots he put commas it would make legit sentences by themselves. 🤔
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Dickens is known for his run-on sentences. This is pretty tame by comparison. He was paid by the word, so he’s obviously wordy, but I’m not sure of the “why” for his run-on sentences. I wonder if he was limited in some way to X number of sentences per submission but was paid by the word and so found this loophole?
Either way, it makes for some VERY convoluted yet interesting reading 😀
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Hrm, I’d say Dickens is on the bottom of the list for mine bending reads for me. 🧐 Is there any space aliens or gun ships in this one?
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Nope, nary a one 🙂
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Hey … sorry I have to ask this here, but … did you ever find a way to stop the 100s of Spanish language spam comments? I searched “Spanish comments” and found your old post saying that you were having them, but I seem to remember you know some clever moves to get around WordPress related problems …
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Not a problem. I regularly make non-post related comments on others, so always feel free yourself.
to get them to go straight into the trash, instead of plugging up your spam and hence hiding that one actual comment that akismet, in it’s infinite stupidity decides is spam, you have to do the following:
copy the phrase from one of them in your spam folder.
go to my sites – settings
click on the Discussion tab on the right
all the way on the bottom is a the Disallowed Comments box. Copy that execrable phrase into that box.
Scroll up and click “save settings” and voila, any comment with that phrase in it will go straight to trash.
Hope that helps.
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Thanks! That’s not a perfect solution but it’s far better than what i’m doing now.
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It won’t stop them, but it will put them directly in the trash without you having to sort them out.
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I believe this is both the most famous Dickens incipit and quote – it was even used in one of the Trek movies, although I wonder if that would have made Mr. Dickens turn in his grave… 😀
The cover with that guillotine over the red sky is very dramatic!
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I deliberately looked for a cover that wasn’t a generic “Ye Olde Londone” scene like so many of Dickens’ books. It really looks dramatic indeed 🙂
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I read this one during the summer for the first time and it’s now one of my favorite novels. Sidney Carton is one of the best examples of Christian forgiveness and sacrifice in literature.
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When I read this back in ’14, that aspect really stuck out to me too. It impressed me completely 😀
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When it begins this strong… And your name is Charles Dickens… It can only end just as strong!
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I am going about this read slightly differently than last time, so we’ll see how it turns out.
* fingers crossed *
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[…] First Line Friday: A Tale of Two Cities […]
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