Rating: 
Summary: Absolute Excellence
Review: First of all, I am NOT a Dickens fan...I could not make it through David Copperfield or a Christmas Carol, even though I'm completely familiar with those two stories! In my sophomore year of high school, I started reading this book without knowing any of the story. It started a bit slow, and seemed like the usual boring Dickens until I got into the plot.Basically, it takes place during the French Revolution, and a lot of rich guys in France are getting executed. This attractive British lady's boyfriend in Paris gets arrested and held for execution. I won't tell you ANY more than that, but I will tell you this: the book builds and weaves and twists, and at the very end there is a fantastic surprise. I'm a proud Male, and am still willing to admit that I cried really hard at the end. Good stuff! And be sure to watch the appropriate episode of Wishbone after you're done with this book. :-)
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: I am a thirteen-year-old girl who absolutely loves to read. I bought this book initially to be something that I could read time and time again because I had heard of it being a classic. In the beginning, this novel was hard to follow, and I found myself rereading passages to try and understand the meaning more clearly. However, the beautiful language kept me going. As the plot started coming together more distinctivly, I could not put the book down. Every moment I absorbed this piece of literature was an adventure. It made me laugh and cry and cheer for the heroes and heroines and silently jeer the enemies. It made it possible for me to understand a little bit just how harsh and dangerous the feelings during the French Revolution were. I enjoy reading other classics although some, especially ones written during this time period, seem to be depressing as if nothing good ever really comes. The language and plot of such books are no less astonishing, but they seem to be lacking something. This book gives you no such feeling. It is truly one to be enjoyed by all age groups.
Rating: 
Summary: For God's sake, get to the point!
Review: Don't get me wrong, Dickens is a great author. I love Oliver Twist. But rambling on for three pages just to tell the reader of the exact way Lucie's eyebrow twitched when she found that Charles was in prison does NOT make me want to turn the page for the next exciting event. I supposed the endless blabbing is what makes this a classic- I wish the standards would change.
Rating: 
Summary: This book was difficult to at times but good plot
Review: This is one of Dicken's finest works of writing. It diplicted the French revolution tremedously. Many the chapters were hard to understand but with a good english teacher like Mrs. Lee (Fort Morgan Colorado) I found it to have a great plot. When I was finished with the book looking back on it I realized what a great job dicken's did forshadowing the book and using great detail and repition to get main points across. Themes of the book though written a very long time ago still apply to life today. The only things I really disliked about the book was that it was drwan out and had at times too much info that was not nessicary. This was a great book and everyone should read it just to see a new style of writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Old Style Writing that Can't Relate to Our Generation
Review: I bought this book because I needed it for english class. Will I say that it was one of the best books I have ever read? No, I did not like it. I read this book twice to see if I could see the logic that Dicken's was coming from. Yes, I can understand that the revolution was harsh times. But, the way Mr. Dickens wrote the book it cannot translate to our generation. It just can't. Half of our class made it through the book partially with the help of cliff notes to this book. Do I hate denouncing a book by someone considered a great author? Yes, because I have simple respect for a man who is still being remembered after almost a hundred and fifty years. Will I recommend buying the book? I'm sorry I can't say I can.
Rating:
Summary: People are not always as they seem.
Review: A Tale of Two Cities was a good book that showed a lot of different characteristic traits. Mr. Carton was not such a good person in the beginning of the book and then turns around to be a very nice person giving up his life for the sake of Darnay and Lucie's love for each other. Lucie is a person that everyone in the book loves. She has blonde hair and is a kind person to others. In the beginning of the book Lucie has no idea about her father. Mr. Lorry knows where Lucie's father is and takes her to see him. He had been a prisoner, but now her makes shoes in his room above a wine venders place. He does not even know who he is anymore. When he sees his daughter it reminds him of his wife and he recognizes her. Lucie and Mr. Lorry take her father back home with them. Lucie ends up marring Darnay, and he goes back to France to help an old family helper who is now in prison, and he gets locked up in prison also. Lucie's dad gets him out, but then the same night he is imprisoned again. Lucie's dad cannot save him again, and Darnay is sentenced to get his head cut off. Mr. Carton goes to the prison and switches places with Darnay so that Darnay can be with his wife and daughter. The main theme of the book is rebirth and getting to have a second chance in life like Lucie's father got. He went from not know who he was to having a great family and not remembering those bad years anymore, and got to enjoy his life with his daughter.
Rating: 
Summary: A great ending but...........
Review: I myself enjoy reading of Literature of the past: Hawthorne, Smith, Dostoyevsky, Salinger, and Orwell: but Dickenson, while praised by many as one of the greatest writers, always seemed to bore me to death. I don't understand the fascination with his writings. In my humble opinion, his style just isn't enjoyable. So this year, for tenth grade, I had to read Tale of Two Citites, I was disappointed. This seemed very boring in the begining, but since I had to read it, and I love history, I kept going. Around the last 20 chapters or so I got a suprise; I couldn't put the book down! Needless to say I think the ending was amazing, regardless of what I think of his style. I recommend the book just for the ending, but for an overall entertainment value I suggest Crime and Punishment.
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: Haunting
Review: I can't do the book justice, it's beyond description, really. I know that my review won't really make a difference in whether you buy the book or not, but please, read it. It's hard to describe it without just breaking out with "It's just so good!" Sydney Carton, as everyone else has said, is an incredible character. You'll fall in love with him. You'll want to smack Lucie through the whole book, and Charles half the book. The characters, obnoxious or not, are all great, though. Just reading reviews, and writing my own, it's making me cry again. Make sure to read the last two chapters privately. You can't enjoy them enough if you don't burst into tears. Do yourself a favor and read it.
Rating:
Summary: It is the Best of Tales!
Review: A Tale of Two Cities is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. The opening paragraph is one of the greatest in all of literature and it sets the stage for an unforgettable tale. The plot is amazing and Dickens seamlessly incorporates the violence of the French Revolution into the story. This novel clearly illustrates the causes of the violent upheaval and yet presents it with the charm and life of a Victorian novel. The uncontrollable passion of Madame Defarge is frightening yet understandable and of course Dr. Manette and Lucie are the ideal father and daughter. And Carton, who can forget him! Dickensian imagery is always captivating, but never more so than in this story. The first few chapters seemed a tad confusing, but the entire thing nicely connected together at the end. Darnay seemed overly idealistic, after all who in the right minds would risk their lives to save some servant. But barring that minor flaw, this book is one of the world's great masterpieces.
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