Book Title: A Far Better Rest Reviewed By: K.A. Corlett Written By: Susanne Alleyn Genre: Historical Publisher: Soho Press ISBN: 1-56947-197-5 Date: 2000 Price: hardcover $25.00

When I was round about 12 years old, I developed an obsession with a certain older man. He wasn't perfect, by any means, no--rather low in the self-esteem department, somewhat carelessly dressed, and of questionable social reputation. Truth be told, he was something of an alcoholic. In fact, one might have called him a "disappointed drudge". Yet he had a quick and biting wit, a rather seductive world-weary understanding of things, and a deep, secret compassion that he kept hidden from nearly everyone who knew him. He wasn't an easy man to be intimate with, you see. But he inspired me: in getting to know him, I later discovered, I had fallen in love with my first anti-hero.      I daresay the author of A Far Better Rest shares similar sentiments. In this re-imagining of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, she retells the classic saga of the French Revolution from the perspective of Sydney Carton. The story follows Carton from his student days at Louis-le-Grand in Paris, where his schoolmates include the likes of Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins. A promising young man of letters evolves--or devolves, if you will--into that curiously bitter and debauched fellow whom Dickens introduced. Of course, Dickens never really explained how Sydney became Sydney. And that is the art and essence of this telling.      Sydney is disappointed in love long before he ever encounters Lucie Manette. He is a young man rejected by his unloving father, and betrayed by his intended wife. But don't pull out the fainting couch. There's no need for melodramatics here: one can see how Sydney's already damaged psyche and sensitive nature lead him naturally into bitterness. He is always at the ready to detect betrayal, and at key points throughout the story, this tendency works to his detriment.      In the Dickens original, Carton disappears from the narrative for a span of years before showing up in time to be shortened by a head in place of his lookalike, Charles Darnay. A Far Better Rest is a journey through those missing years. The early days of the French Revolution come into vibrant focus. Carton appears at the Palais Royal, amidst the uproar at the fallen Bastille, and surprisingly, as a member of the National Convention. He develops a complex relationship with an intense French noblewoman-turned-revolutionary. The subtle complications of their relationship are as fascinating as the violent and unstable political milieu of the French capital.      The female characters are powerful, engaging, and wholly human qualities which were not always at a premium in Dickens' day. Of course, to the old fellow's credit, he did give readers the stout Englishwoman Miss Pross, and the revolutionary fury Madame Defarge. But Alleyn's headstrong Eléonore certainly has earned her place alongside the classic characters.      In terms of style, A Far Better Rest features intelligent prose and poignant, witty dialogue, capturing the mood of eighteenth century idiom admirably. At the same time, the story doesn't get mired in the tangled sentimentalism that dogs many novels of the actual period.      Sydney Carton, of course, is the anchor of the story. He reveals himself not only in the first- person narrative but in understated details: the man is forever slouching about with his hands in his pockets, flouting the non-nons of eighteenth century social etiquette. As readers we shake our heads at his stubborn self-hatred and feel a twinge of empathy at his circuitous examination of a night-draped guillotine. We appreciate his alcoholic wit and ultimately, his sober wisdom.      Of course things end bleakly. A Far Better Rest is true to Sydney Carton's life as depicted by Dickens. But it provides a much more balanced historical perspective on the French Revolution and some of its actors than Dickens ever did. Importantly, the disappointed drudge emerges as a powerfully rounded character: alienated, brilliant, deeply damaged, but in the ultimate sense, a shining human spirit. K.A. Corlett

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