A Tale of Two Cities (Puffin Classics)

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: 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: 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: A glimpse into the world of English literature
Review: I recieved this book, and my eyes crossed at its 360 some pages - nonetheless, I began reading it, and I was immediately captured by Dickens' descriptive writing style. The book was published as a magazine serial, and many readers consider this the books wordy downfall. However, I believe it allows the reader to truly glimpse inside the author's mind...making the book actually MEAN something. The book contains two main ideas which, as a reader, I love: The theme of resurrection and the fact that nearly everything in the book has an opposite. The latter I found quite interesting, and I spent many a night looking for the correlations. In fact, this once again allows the reader to deeply understand the novel - Dickens' main literary asset. In short, I enjoyed this book for its descrptive nature, the opposites, and the underlying themes which Dickens excellently crafted.

Rating:
Summary: Of the three
Review: Of the three books I've read lately, this one is the best. The other two were John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," and "The Bark of the Dogwood" by Jackson McCrae. Both those books were excellent, but nothing compares to this Dicken's classic. Set during the French Revolution, it strongly reminded me of Hugo's "Les Miserable." I do have to admit that it took me a while to get used to the style of Dickens after not having read him for a while. Still, this is a classic book that you must read.

Rating:
Summary: Tale of Two Cities
Review: Tale of Two Cities
Tale of Two Cities is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Tale of Two Cities is a great book written by Charles Dickens, who happens to be one of my favorite Authors. The story takes place before the French revolution, and the settings are England and France. The major characters of this book are Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton, Doctor Manette, Lucie Manette, Monsieur Defarge, Madame Defarge, Marquis Evrémonde, and Gabelle.
Lucie Manette is the main character of this book, and she lives in England. She has a special gift which allows her to transform people around her into a better person. She is loving, caring, and beautiful. She is wife of Charles Darnay and daughter of Doctor Manette.
Charles Darnay is a French aristocrat, who has moved to England because he is ashamed of French aristocrat's behavior towards the poor. He is honest, and full of courage. He is Lucie Manette's husband, and Marquis Evrémonde's nephew.
Sydney Carlton is a lawyer who fought for Charles Darnay. He loves Lucie Manette and becomes one of her better friends. He changes drastically through the story through her relationship with Lucie Manette. In the beginning, he is a selfish and alcoholic who is very careless. By the end, he turns into a person who is totally unselfish and will go to any extent to help his friends.
Doctor Manette is lost father of Lucie Manette. Doctor Manette is a brilliant physician, extremely loving father, and a very kind person. He spent eighteen years in Bastille prison. By the time he got out, he had turned into a mad man. Manette transformed into a normal person with the help of his daughter.
Monsieur Defarge a wine shop owner and a former servant of Doctor Manette. He took care of Doctor until Lucie came. He is a revolutionist, and has very good leadership skills. He shares a very good relationship with Doctor Manette. Madame Defarge is wife of Monsieur Defarge. She is very intelligent, sneaky, and revengeful through the story. She made a list of people who should die, which includes most of the aristocrats of France.
Marquis Evrémonde is Darnay's uncle, and he is an aristocrat who shows no mercy for poor people. He is hated by his nephew and most of people in France. Gabelle is heir of Marquis. Gabelle is jailed during the France revolution.
One theme that came to my mind after reading this book was that in order to achieve something must be sacrificed. In order to save lives of Dr Manette, Lucie, and Charles, Carlton had to give his life up so that the other three could live. Likewise, people of France had to take some action against the Government before they could install a new government. Another theme that I thought of was that don't give up hope too easily. When Carlton came to France with a plan to free Darnay, a character though that it would be impossible to save him but, Darnay was able to accomplish it because he was determined and never gave up hope. Likewise, when Lucie first meet her father, she wasn't sure if she would be able to change him, however her friend Jarvis Lorry gave her confidence that she can do it. In the end her father was transformed into a whole new person.
There was a lot of symbolism in this book. The aristocrats of France in this book were symbolized as evil people who didn't care for anybody but themselves. They were looked upon as evil which had to be over come in order to bring a new government inform, which would make life better for all people living in Frances.
Tale of Two Cities is a story about a girl by the name of Lucie Manette, a woman who has the power to transform people around her. This story takes place just before the French revolution. She lives in England. Lucie goes to France in 1789 to find out if it was true that her father (Doctor Manette) is still alive. After she got there, she found her father who had gone mad because of staying in jail for 18 years. Then Lucie determines herself to change her father into a normal person and she accomplishes it in a short amount of time. Then she returned home with her father, when she meets a guy by the name of Charles Darnay (an immigrant form Paris). Darney is on trial for treason against England, and his lawyer is Sydney Carlton and Mr. Stryver. Carlton and his partner are able to win the case for Darnay. Then, Darnay returns to Paris, where his uncle Marquis Evrémonde is waiting for him. Marquis Evrémonde is cruel aristocrat who shows no mercy for poor people. After Darnay arrives to France, he blames his uncle and the rest of the aristocrats for being very cruel to poor people. Then he returned back to England, and got the news that his uncle was dead. About one year later, Darnay asks Dr. Manette if he can marry Lucie, Darnay said he will reveal his true identity if she marries him. At the same time Carlton told Lucie he also loved her. Later on Darnay gets married to Lucie and reveals his true identity that he is a French aristocrat. This sends Dr. Manette back into madness for a week or so before he recovers and joins them at their honey moon. Then in 1789 French revolution begins and Gabelle, Marquis Evrémonde heir, is imprisoned. As soon and Darnay got the news her went to help Gabelle. However, when he got there, he was put directly in jail by revolutionaries because he was an emigrant. Then Lucie and her father come to France to save him, however he had to stay in jail for one year. Then Dr. Manette uses his influence with revolutionaries to free Darnay. However, Darnay is arrested again that night because of charges from a woman, whose parents were killed by Darnay's uncle. Then Carlton came from England with a plan to save Darnay. Carlton's plan was to go to Darnay's jail and to switch their clothes. Then Darnay would leave the jail and meet his father-in-law and wife, so that they could leave for Paris as soon as possible. Carlton was able to accomplish his plan and send them back home. Then Carlton was executed and the story ended.
I like Tale of Two Cities for many reasons. I like it because this book showed that if people wish they can do anything. Like Lucie was able to change peoples lives through her love. Same way the people of France decide that they wanted to a new type of government and did whatever it took to defeat the current government. I also like it because it showed that one should never give up hope even if they are not in a very good position. Finally, I liked it because it depicted a story which was very real and unfair in many ways. Over all, this a great book to read for anybody, form young kids to old adults.


Rating:
Summary: Literature's Passion
Review: The beautiful intricacy of the plot, the daunting scale of Carton's task, the selfless sacrifice of a man deemed irredeemable, the last words spoken in a breath of glory, the disappointment of Lucy's husband or the man who was very bit redeemable, the gentle acceptance of a hand scorned by compassion...these are breathtaking elements that Dickens wrote and that I love. I will admit that the first few chapters seemed to never end and were confusing. Yet when you read that last line, when you finally let your breathe go, when you realize that this book is not words on a page but the puzzle of life's quest for hope and worthiness, those first few chapters are but boons from literature. This book is worth it. It is worth the time and the confusion and the frustation because of the realization.

Rating:
Summary: Honor, hatred and redemption
Review: This is easily one of my favorite novels. It has overtones of Greek tragedy, but most of all it is a very Shakespearian piece of literature, as can be seen in the force of dialogue and the magnificent eloquence of the characters, as well as in dramatic tension and the vividness of situations. Of course, it is all due to Dickens' great ability to take the English language to the highest form, as well as to his skill in creating characters, in particular Sidney Carton, Mr. Jarvis Lorry, Miss Pross and the Defarges.

Dickens goes back and forth between tragedy and tenderness, violence and family quietness, between the intimate and social denounce, without failing or getting lost. He is, moreover, a genius of irony, of subtle sarcasm and sense of humor, even when the story is not comical at all.

Dr. Manette has spent 18 years of unjust imprisonment in the Bastille (you'll find out later why). His little daughter has been rescued by an English banker and taken to London, where she grows up. Lucie is a charming young woman, the happiness of everybody around her. One day, Mr. Lorry, the banker, breaks the news that his father has been released, and they go to Paris to bring him back, a broken man on the brink of total insanity. A couple of years later, father and daughter are called as witnesses in the trial of a young Frenchman, accused of spionage, whom they had met on the trip from Paris to London. The man is acquitted thanks to the timely intervention of a lawyer, Sidney Carton. Years pass by happily. The Frenchman, Darnay, marries Lucie, with whom also Carton is in love. Carton is the character to follow and his parts are possibly the best crafted in the book, as Dickens paints us a portrait of a gifted but weak man, a good lawyer sunk in the depths of alcoholism and lack of self-esteem. Then the French Revolution breaks out, in all its horror. Mr. Lorry and Darnay are forced to travel to Paris, the first on business and the second on a call of honor. Darnay will get trapped in the Terror on account of the noble past he had renounced, and he will be put into prison. To say more would risk spoiling parts for future readers, but rest assured tension, drama and adventure increase rapidly as Darnay's imprisonment drags on. Another set of characters worth remarking are the Defarges, husband and wife, the leaders of the Revolution in their St. Antoine quarter. She is one of the most perverted, malefic, horrible and well-crafted female bad-guys in literature. It will give you the creeps every time she appears, and for good reasons.

Although this is by no means a political novel (and so it's silly to complain that "there are no two sides to the story"), Dickens shows us both the contempt and despotism of the Ancien Regime, as well as the bruteness, baseness, horror and violence of the masses set loose to take revenge, to replace an old tiranny with a new, fiercer one.

Some people complain that in Dickens' novels too many coincidences occur and some characters are too good or too bad. The hell with everything, there are amazing coincidences every day in the world and some people are too bad and other too good. When it all comes down to giving us a great piece of excitement, identification with the humankind, and pure fun, so be it. This is a wonderful way to spend your time.