A Tale of Two Cities

Rating:
Summary: A pretty good book but not the best.
Review: A while back I decided to expand my knowledge of literature so I started reading A Tale of Two Cities. The first part of the book is somewhat difficult to get through because it is so dry. But after you get past the boring part it really starts to get good. My main complaint was that Dickens spent too much time giving detail to objects and people. If you are patient and looking for a good book, than the A Tail of Two Cities would be a good novel to read.

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Summary: A wonderful, epic, story.
Review: Never before in my life have I enjoyed homework so much. I am a high school student and was assigned to read A Tale Of Two Cities, let me just say that this was the absolute best assignment I have recieved. The spectacular Dickens characters and doubles ranging from Mme Defarge, The Vengeance, Charles Darnay, and Dr. Manette, to Jarvis Lorry, Lucy, Miss Pross, and Sydney Carton; truly brought this tale to life. I highly recomend that you read this book, NONE of the movies do it justice.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: I'm 19 years old and I seldom read books (which is apity) but after I read C.D. "Tales Of Two Cities" I was amazed. It's one of the greatest books I've read so far. It has everything: love, suspense, drama, politics etc. The way Dickens describes his characters and surroundings is amazing. You can actually feel the atmosphere in those poor streets of Paris. You can feel the fury of the revolution. I've heard so much about this book before, and now I know why it is regarded as a real classic. But reading this won't help you and it certanly won't do the book justice. You really have to read it to understand it's complexity, simplicity it's greatness.

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Summary: Loaded with suspense and excitement!
Review: Charles Dickens' A TALE OF TWO CITIES is one of the best books I have read. In English we read an abridged version of it and watched the movie. I bought the whole book and read it and it was great! From Lucie Mannette to Madame Defarge to Carton and Darnay all of the characters made the story more interesting. I highly recommend this book to any reader.

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Summary: A Tale of Two Cities as seen by a 7th grader
Review: I started reading this book because of a suggestion from my Language Arts teacher. I was immediately taken in by the descriptive words used by Charles Dickens. You first meet Mr. Jarvis Lorry, whose "credentials, entries, and memoranda are all comprehended in the one line, 'Recalled to Life'", who is sent to France to retrieve a man who has been held a prisoner for 18 years. As you go on, you are shifted back and forth from England to France, and back again. You see many of the aspects of the French Revolution in the late 18th century. Now you may not listen to my advice, because of my age, but I can tell you that I am at least at a 10th grade reading level, and I can read and understand this book with great ease. This book is probably a great book for anyone in high school or over, and I wish I could rate it 6 stars!

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Summary: Tale of Two Cities-Student at PHS
Review: Imagine in the year 1792 in the middle of France. The crowds are electric as another day of trials has come. You're in that crowd watching as the prisoners in the wooden cart filled with hay passes by. The crowd chants, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!" They hiss and throw objects at them. The prisoners proceed down the street to the square where their fate resides. Within minutes the crowd chants as the executioner holds up the prisoners' severed head for all to see. Or imagine yourself in England during this time with a government distrustful of its lower class people and foreigners after two revolutions overseas. Both these scenarios can be found in Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities. The story takes place in the same bloodshed seen in Revolutionary France and the uncertainties felt by the people in England. The Book opens with the reader meeting Mr. Jarvis Lorry, a senior clerk of a bank. At First a man of pure business, he becomes a good friend of Alexander and Lucie Manette. Alexander, or Doctor Manette as he is called in the book, once was a respected doctor. But after 18 years in the Bastille, he becomes a mental wreck. However, his daughter, Lucie Manette, is portrayed as a sweet natured girl, the "Golden Thread" that holds everything together. She is the one able to help her father after his long imprisonment. Dickens also presents characters that are the antithesis of each other. The first set of characters is Sydney Carton and Charles St. Evremond (Charles Darney for most of the book). Sydney is an alcoholic whose humble beginnings early on resulted into a failed life. On the other hand, Charles Darney is a great success, yet his beginnings are unknown to the reader at first. Their connections their love for Lucie Manette, which is so strong, and for whom each one will do anything for her. The other pair of character is Ms. Pross and Madame (Therese) DeFarge. Mrs. Pross is the loyal servant of the Manette family who would give her life to protect Lucie Manette. Mrs. Defarge is a ruthless revolutionary leader who is out to prosecute an imprison the Manettes as well as other aristocrats and anyone who would stand in the way of the "Republic." These character connections revolve around Lucie Manette, and she is, as said before, the "Golden Thread" that holds everything together. The characters seem to revolve around her, yet she cannot be considered the protagonist of this story. She is a very "static" character and doesn't change much throughout the story. The most "dynamic" character is Sydney Carton. He changes the most throughout the story from the first time he is mentioned to his last actions at the end of the book. Not only the interesting mix of personalities in Dickens' characters, one would notice the main theme of this story - Resurrection or a restoration of one's life. Many of these characters have their lives restored or drastically change throughout the eight years in which this book takes place. For example, Dr. Manette's life during his imprisonment was a miserable one indeed, passing his time by making shoes. But after Mr. Lorry found him rotting away in the Bastille, His life changed after he was reunited with his family and friends. His life was "restored". Another theme of this story is one of revenge. The setting and background of the story help prove this theme. The revolutionary setting and the acts of the revolutionaries portray the revenge the lower classes take upon the aristocracy for centuries of serfdom and oppression. They imposed on them imprisonment, arson, and even murder. Also, the Defarges wanted to take out revenge against all who would opposed the revolution. Especially with the Manettes, the Defarges used their influence in the republic to carry out their "revenge" on the aristocratic St. Evremond family and anyone connected with them. However they would not triumph for their quest for revenge. Overall, the themes show that good will triumph over evil or that love will triumph over hate. All the "good" characters had a happy ending while the villains failed to "get the best of" the Manettes and their party while in France during the revolution. Some aspects of Dickens' writing style were a weak point in the story. His style of repetition to get a point across was annoying at times and redundant at other times. The sharp change between settings and story lines at the end and sometimes in the middle or relatively small chapters was also a weakness. Throughout book 2 this constant change can sometimes confuse the reader about where the story scene is at certain times and who is involved. However, the excellent plot and realistic characters help overcome these weaknesses. There are unexpected events and surprises as the story develops in the characters' connection to this mysterious St. Evremond family are revealed. These aspects of the plot would keep any reader captivated with the story. While Dickens wrote and excellent, exciting plot, he also developed some excellent characters. Dickens' characters seem real because they had realistic problems and life styles. For example, after years of imprisonment, isolated from contact with people, anyone's mind would go "crazy". These mental problems are exactly what Mr. Manette experienced after his 18 years in the Bastille. Alcoholism, a problem that still exists in the 21st Century, was very predominant. Sydney Carton represents the classic alcoholic in the book, as well as its effects on a person. Each Character had realistic qualities that represent every aspect of life in the Revolutionary era in France and Britain. With three books, and almost 400 pages, Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities can be considered a lengthy book to the average high school student. However, any student of English literature needs to read this book. As stated before, the plot and characters in Dickens' story were well written, and can get any teenaged, video game-loving couch potato interested in the story of love and hatred in the French Revolution. Any student of history, especially European history, will also enjoy the book because of the use of historical events, and historical circumstances to help enhance the story. It is amazing to see the first-hand description of the French Revolution from a person who never lived during this era. This is an excellent book for any student in high school.

Rating:
Summary: The bigger the book the better the plot.
Review: I read this book my Senior year in high school. It takes about 100 pages to really get into the book but once your there you can not put it down. Dickens has an amazing way of puttting everyone together. It was an great story full of intrigue, revenge and a small dose of love. This will not be my last Dicken's book.

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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: An outstanding read!
Review: A Tale of Two cities clearly exhibits the immense talents of its author, Charles Dickens. The storyline displays a superior understanding of word usage and grammar to create a riveting tale of suspense and wonder. I truly loved how smoothly the novel flowed, right down to its surprising conclusion. At first glance, this book may seem too long and bothersome to read, as I myself thought upon first receiving it for English. However, as I read it and got into it, i actually started to enjoy it. A superior book with a fantastic ending, sure to make any reader smile with glee!

Rating:
Summary: Incredible,Amazing,Outstanding-Deserves 100 stars at least!
Review: This is an extraordinary book!But,it isn't surprising,after all it's Dickens.This book starts a little vaguely at first so it's hard to understand what's going on.Some might stop reading at this point-DON'T DO THAT!The book starts a few years before the French revolution and the story accelerates with every page,until it reaches the revolution itself.It tells the story of a few people that are strangers to each other at first but their destinies become entwined later on.I learned a lot about the French revolution at school,saw many movies,but nothing made me understand it better than this book!Dickens manages to put you right in the middle of it.You feel as if you see it with your own eyes,as if you experience it yourself.Dickens also does another amazing thing-he doesn't take sides!he describes the horrors of the aristocracy towards the common people to explain why the revolution took place but,he also describes the great horror of the revolution and what happens when anarchy and chaos take control.He shows how people become complete beasts and loose every trace of humanity,how insignificant life can become.The ending of the book is a great peace of literary work even though it's not very realistic ,it's still amasing.I recommend this book to everybody.