Rating: 
Summary: Good but not Great
Review: A Tale of Two Cities was the first difficult book I have ever read. At first I couldn't understand what was going on. Dickens' use of imagery clouded my mind. However, upon reading it further, the book started to flow better. I actually read ahead of the class because the story started to become interesting. My favorite thing that Dickens does is the way he puts something in the story that doesn't seem very relevant at the point, but turns out being very important such as Madame Defarge's "knitting." I also liked his way of foreshadowing like with the street lamps in the beginning.
This book even helps with history and the French Revolution. I totally recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in any of Dickens' works.
Rating: 
Summary: "It was the best of books, it was the worst of books."
Review: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Perhaps no first line of a book describes the book better than A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. This novel really is a mix of good and bad. It all starts with Dr. Manette, who, after being 18 years in jail, is retrived from France by his daughter Lucie and an old friend named Mr. Lorry. The Manettes live safely in England, where Lucie meets Charles Darnay, a man who herself, her father and Mr. Lorry were testifying against at his trial of treason. Lucie and Charles fall in love, devasting Carton, who loves Lucie and was Charles' lawyer, and get married unaware that Charles' family put Lucie's father in jail. One of Darnay's old servants is thrown in jail back in France, so Charles goes there, during the revolution and gets himself thrown in jail. The Defarges, wineshop owners in France who were taking care of Dr. Manette, are after Charles and his new family because of a deep dark secret that Madame Defarge holds against the family. This book holds much info, many names, dates and places, but the reader catches on quickly. The characters seem to constantly move back and forth from France to England, and the story junps back and forth from the Manettes and the Defarges. Dickens makes the transitions from person to person, and place to place easy for the reader to understand by adding tags to the characters and introducing the setting in the beginning of the chapters. One problem is the length. The book seems to drag on. The chapter entitled "Hundreds of People" repeats the same phrase or idea over and over again wearing out its initial symbolism. Granted A Tale of Two Cities could not be condensed into 20 pages, but Dickens pushes the reader's attention span and the use of details to the extreme. There is such a thing as too many details. One character that seems too "lady-like" is Lucie Manette. Her constant fainting and crying make her an unlikeable character, and Madame Defarge, the tyrant, is more likeable. Overall, A Tale of Two Cities is a masterpiece. It is a reflection of Dicken's genius and a period of time lost to us, but remembered through the pages of this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A Tale of A Tale of Two Cities
Review: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." That famous opening line from Charles Dickons's A Tale of Two Cities describes the life of the characters in the book. For some, joy, happiness, and new life made a promising life style. For others, murder and hatred ruled thier lives. The story line, which at times is complicated, manily focusus on one man, Charles Darnay. Darnay's life is not an easy one. It begins in France where he resided with his uncle. After a dispute, Darnay leaves his homeland, his family, and part of himself in France while he moves to England. There, he met and fell in love with Lucie Manette, a young woman who cares for her mentally ill father. They began their own life together until the revoulution began. Then, it was trouble. But thanks to the courage and strength of a lonely man, Sydney Carton, things work out for the best. At times the book drags on. With a total of 45 chapters divided into three books, A Tale of Two Cities takes time, patience, and concentration to read. The book brings out various emotions. At time the reader may feel happy for all the postive things, sadness for the pain and suffering of the characters, or even anger for the deadly outcome of the revoultion. Although A Tale of Two Cities is not extemely easy to read, in the end, it all pays off. Everything comes together and begins to make sense. The ending, which is emotional and powerful, will leave the reader proud of the decision made and sad it took such a painful price.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing novel
Review: A Tale of Two Cities is a magnificent novel. The novel started out slowly and was hard for me to understand. But midway through the second book, Dickens grabbed my attention and did not let go; I finished the last 150 pages in under three hours, while the first 200 took all week. The old write style is the only difficulty I had enjoying this novel. The plot is very good. What happens? The novel is based around the French Revolution. The first novel deals with the release of Dr. Mannette and his reunion with his daughter. The second novel deals more with the Doctor's life in England, the interactions of his daughter with Sidney Carton and Charles Darney, and Mr. Lorry's business. One piece of advice I have is remember every name, no matter how insignificant it seems. Characters emerge in book three that seemed unimportant. Darney is a French noble who returns to France to help a servant in danger by the Revolution. Charles Darney is taken prisoner and book three deals with the year and some months he spends in prison. The novel is excellent and I recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest Dickens Novel
Review: A Tale of Two Cities is one of the best books I have ever read. The way Dickens uses sets up his Characters and plot is fantastic. The stroy came together so perfectly in the Novels climax. I believe this is not only one of Dicken's best novels but best novel period. How could anyone give this book less than five stars?!
Rating:
Summary: a typical book: boring to interesting
Review: Actually this was far from typical but the first book and half-way throught the second book was VERY hard to follow because i was still getting used to their language and way of speaking so it was boring. However, near the end when all the pieces come together, it becomes very chaotic in a despairing way. It is a very moving and sad novel. It should definitely be read because the ending will make up for the boriness at the beginning of the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Dickens' Best
Review: Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities is arguably one of his best novels. It is his only attempt to write a Historical Fiction novel and it is very successful. A Tale of Two Cities takes place during a time of chaos known as the French Revolution. Entwined around a historical base, A Tale of Two Cities follows a French doctor once political prisoner of the Monarchy, his daughter Lucy, Madame Dafarge, Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton, Mr. Lorry and his entourage. Throughout the novel many comparisons are apparent; from the first lines "It was the best of times, It was the worst of times" to nearly the last "Six tumbrils carry the day's wine to La Guillotine." Wine and blood, London and Paris, many of the comparisons have great contrast between them. Ms. Pross and Madame Defarge, the Lion and the Jackal, Darnay and his parents, each have different views of the times and the world. Similarities also appear throughout the book, Lucie and her daughter, both bearing the same name and the same appearance, the almost identical appearances of Carton and Darnay. Even more themes are wound around the contrasts and similarities in A Tale of Two Cities. All themes one would expect to find in a Dickens novel are present; greed, vengeance, rebellion, love and sacrifice being most predominate. Both fate and past actions spell out doom for the characters in the book. Lucie's father witnessed the killing of a young man by Darnay's family. Mr. Defarge an acquaintance of Doctor Manetee happened to find a note regarding this during the storming of the Bastille. The man killed happened to be the brother in law of Madame Defarge. All these events lead to one thing psychopathic revenge on the part of Madame Defarge. Charles after his arrival in England meets and falls in love with Lucie, the Doctor's daughter. After marrying and having a child he travels to France. On his journey, the Republic passed a law barring foreigners from entering the country under penalty of death. In Paris he is imprisoned by the Republic and scheduled to go on trial later that month. His new family and friends are notified that he was arrested and come to support him. Using influence gained by being a prisoner of the Bastille and the fact that Darnay relinquished his nobility in France years ago, Dr. Manette is able to give Charles his freedom. Unfortunately his efforts are worthless, the day Darnay is released he is once again arrested for a crime not committed by him, but his parents. His new accusers: Citizen Defarge, Citizeness Defarge and Dr. Manette, Lucy's father. Defarge kept the letter written so many years ago and used it to have Darnay arrested. Will Charles face the ultimate penalty, or once again gain his freedom? In conclusion A Tale of Two Cities is Dickens' best book. It has enough fast paced action to keep anyone interested if they can get past the first 60 pages. The hardest reading of the book takes place in this first section but is also very rewarding reading. This detailed filled section gives the reader knowledge of past events, which greatly enhance the plot. The first sixty pages are filled with foreshadowing which enhances his novel making it his best. If you want to start reading Dickens I suggest you begin your epic by reading A Tale of Two Cities. If you have already read some of his previous works you will love this book. When I began reading A Tale of Two Cities it seemed boring and slow like Great Expectations. Once I read Book the First, I began to appreciate Dickens work much more.
Rating:
Summary: A tale you'll love, citizen..
Review: Having read Les Miserables and the Scarlet Pimpernel, I thought I must read this one. Although by far I enjoyed Les Mis much more, this book gives an objective view. Dickens describes both the sufferings of the poor before the revolution and the injustice done to the nobility under the Republic. Dickens' writing style is fascinating, I loved it. Yes, it's difficult and tedious; I'm a bit slow myself but enjoyed it far too much to give it up. The descriptions of the misery of the peasants, the attack on the Bastille, the murder of the nobles, the thirst for revenge, are all painfully expressive. Dickens often uses dark humour and irony, it makes it all funny and painfull at once: "who kissed La Guillotine, looked through the little window and sneezed into the sack." What a picture! But it is mainly a story of love, revenge and self-sacrifice rather than a commentary on the revolution. Dr. Mannette is released after being unjustly imprisoned for 18 years, and he finds he has a perfect angelic little daughter, Lucie. Charles Darnay is a young, dashing, but good French aristocrat who reliquished his title in France, and is exiled in England. Sydney Carton, the "idlest and most unpromising of men," has become one of my favorites in literature. He's an unhappy alchoholic, who appears incapable of achieving anything good. I liked him from the first, because he didn't like Darnay much and, neither did I! Carton is in love with Lucie, unrequitedly. Lucie marries Darnay. Darnay's antipathy towards Carton becomes of major significance at the end. As the French Revolution erupts in France, duty calls Darnay back to Paris, where he is captured and tried. The ending is the grandest I have ever read; poignant, tearful, prophetic, bittersweet. It takes days to recover! It ends in perhaps the most unselfish, heroic of sacrifices in fiction. With Dickens' beautiful use of prose this becomes truly unforgettable. I recommend it for everyone, young and old, as long as you can handle the language. I can't believe I waited this long to read it!
Rating:
Summary: This is my favourite Dickens' novel, but I love them all!
Review: I love Charles Dickens writing, and I think his characterization cannot be beat. I have read all of his books, but I think this one remains my favourite. Charles Dickens could tell a marvelous story, and this book tells his most powerful tale of all. It centres around the French Revolution. The book is a short one for Dickens, but it has a complicated plot, and it is very fast-moving. It also opens with one of my favourite quotations ever - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..." What a great way to start this book about two men - one a dissolute young Englishmen and the other is lookalike, a nephew of a French nobleman. They meet because both are in love with the same girl. She is the daughter of a man who has been in the Bastille for eighteen years. The book is a masterpiece, and Dickens employs quite a bit of symbolism in it as well. The story about the long scarf that Madame Defarge is knitting throughout the book is unique to literature, I think. And the ending of this novel is very powerful and totally unforgettable. This book is probably one of my favourite of all time, and with good reason.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I read this book in 8th grade, and I couldn't put it down. I read it all in one sitting because I enjoyed it so much. It's a wonderful book, and wonderfully written with many plot turns that keep you interested and wanting more.
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