A Tale of Two Cities

Rating:
Summary: A Tale of Two Cities in Review
Review: Although the book was a bit confusing and required some concentration in order to follow the story, it was a very good book. The two plots that are carried through out the book are interwoven at the most interesting places and at the end everything finally falls into place. A Tale of Two Cities, is a book that is well worth taking the time to read. The reader gains a great insight into the horrors of the French Revolution, yet one can see that it is possible to turn your past pain and suffering into a deep rooted strenght, such as Doctor Manette does as he tries to rescue Chalers from prison, that will carry you and the ones you love to the otherside of an extreme problem. The book covers a wide range of human emotions from extreme sorrow to profound joy to deep respect. It is so heart warming to see such family devotion, as Lucie shows in her care for her father, as well as to see a desire to go against the odds to protect those which you hold dear, even when it means giving your life for the sake of someone else.

Dickens brings the reader into the very pages and events of the book which such descriptive language that the reader is able to see everything in its most intimate details. He gives the Defarges the most distinguishable little quirks that make them stand out in your mind. The other characters have their own little ways about them to make them unforgetable. The story shows just how ironic life can be in all of its small twists and turns, such as Doctor Manette's manuscript is the evidence that gets his much beloved son-in-law sentenced to death; even when he swore to never have anything to do with the Evermonde family ever again, his duaghter marries one, and he becomes greatly endeared to the doctor's heart. The want of revenge and protectiong is what drives the book all the way through and under it all, some of the charcters wish only to find out what they are truly capable of and want to make something of thier lives. All of which is still true to this day.
~A Merch High School Student

Rating:
Summary: No better than any other novel
Review: While cultural pundits try to convince you that some literature is better than other literature, the truth is that all art is relative to individial tastes. Thus, it doesn't make any sense to think that a novel like this one is really any better than say, Michael Crichton or Stephen King. Aesthetic standards can't be grounded.

Thus, don't listen to anyone who tries to distinguish between "serious" works of literature like this one and allegedly "lesser" novels. The distinction is entirely illusory, because no novels are "better" than any others, and the concept of a "great novel" is an intellectual hoax.

Rating:
Summary: Accurate and Moving
Review: A Tale of Two Cities was published by Charles Dickens in 1859. Set in the time of the French Revolution (late 18th century), the stories plot revolves around a French aristocrat (one who renounced all his power and land in France) named Charles Darnay and his wife, Lucie. Charles has moved to England and teaches French (he is later tried on the suspicion of being a French spy. Because he and his clerk appear identical, the charges are dropped).
At the outset the narrator describes the rampant injustice, poverty and disorder in both England and France. The tale quickly moves on to a mysterious scene between a senior employee at a bank in London (Jarvis Lorry: he is affiliated with Lucie's family, the Manettes) and a messenger, Jerry Cruncher (a man with the distasteful side job of being a "resurrection man"-someone who digs up bodies for use by medical students. Jarvis visits Lucie in Dover, informing her that her father, a man thought by all to be dead, has been imprisoned in the Bastille in Paris for eighteen years. Lucie and Jarvis move to collect the now old man.
Five years later Darnay is on trial for suspicions of treason-on the grounds that he was seen with some "lists," a vague and paranoid accusation that no less carries weight. Darnay is saved by his identical clerk, Sydney Carton, who suggests that it may have been he, a born Englishman and a clerk (who would naturally handle lists) that the witnesses saw. Darnay is acquitted (incidentally, although Sydney is always saving Darnay, he feels very jealous of his boss, saying that Darnay is what "[Sydney] could have been). Here Dickens uses the parallels between the two to explore the noble, romantic side (Darnay) and his cynical, darker side (Sydney).
Through a series of squabbles between Darnay's uncle, Darnay is recalled to France. There he makes note of his desire to renounce his nobility; whereas his father and uncle abuse their power, Darnay wishes to help the people with his. At any rate, the uncle is beheaded, Darnay moves back to England and becomes one of three suitors for Lucie (the others are his Lawyer, Stryver, and Sydney). He ends up marrying her and having a daughter. Next, after a gap of six years, the French Revolution flames up (literally; France burns). Darnay returns to France to attempt a rescue of a family friend; he is subsequently imprisoned. The old Doctor returns and uses his influence as a former prisoner to calm the bloodthirsty crowds and try to rescue Darnay. He is unsuccessful for 15 months; after that, Darnay passionately pleads to be set free. He is.
However, soon after a letter proving Darnay to be of aristocratic blood surfaces and he is sentenced to die the next day. However it is Sydney once again who saves him: he switches places through a clever plan and a letter. As he is about to die he thinks these most famous of words: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known."
In completely transforming himself through love, Sydney becomes the story's sacrificial hero. It is a curious fact that in the end Sydney's heroism throughout the book becomes clear at last; ever loving and ever intelligent, it is he who becomes the book's hero, not Darnay.
Set in the bloody background of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities gives an accurate, graphic account of the mob mentality sweeping through the oppressed; it ironically depicts how the oppressed rose up to become worse than their oppressors; and on a more romantic note, it portrays sacrificial heroism in all its poignant glory; more than anything else, it shows that while the blame for poverty belonged wholly to the aristocratic, the responsibility for the blood drawn from it is the fault of the most destitute-whether justified or not. Overall, It is an excellent novel.

Rating:
Summary: the book was good
Review: Yea, Charles Dickens can be a bit drab at first but the plot and underlying story is great. NOthing at all of wwhat I expected. Most of my classmates didn't like it --partly becuase they gave up at the begining. After you get a sense of the characters and the whole message--its a great book.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful, unpretentious prose.
Review: When Sydney holds the girl's hand on the way to the guillotine at the end of the book, you participate in one of the most powerful moments in print. Forget all the complaints from those who were "forced" to read this book. Dickens has a grasp of the english language which I have only seen matched by Joyce in his detail, imagery, and ability to truly convey the feelings of living through utter chaos. Please give this novel a try, you won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: His best!
Review: Of all the Dickens novels, this one is his best. OLIVER TWIST or DAVID COPPERFIELD are great--don't get me wrong, but A TALE is by far the most interesting. I actually read the whole thing twice!

Also recommended: To kill a Mockingbird, Bark of the Dogwood, Slaughter House Five, Of Mice and Men

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Best:
Review: Charles Dickens' genius is clearly displayed in this excellent work. His characters are multifaceted and complex. The time that he spends describing the physical characteristics, habits, education and social/life background of each character are all necessary to the plot. By the end you will identify with them as real people and more. Dickens' use of a story within a story at the end adds a fascinating twist.

However, I do not recommend this book for those who seek instant gratification, or for those who require a unidirectional plot. There are many instances where Mr. Dickens leads his reader down what could be construed as a dark alley or a dead end. Read on. You will be rewarded.

DON'T MISS THIS ONE

RJ

Rating:
Summary: Great book, better movie!
Review: This book was made into a great movie called "Apollo 13."

Rating:
Summary: Tale of Two Cities: A Flawed Traditional Classic
Review: "It was the best of times, it was the was the worst of times..." Charles Dickens's dramatic opening phrase to his novel about the French Revolution now stands alone in the English language and is used with ordinary regularity and contrasts in historical events. An internet search shows the phrase occurring in 5402 different web sites. A new reader of this book could well come away with the feeling that this was the best of books, it was the worst of books. The contrast for the new reader is one of subtle character development and that of cartoon characterizations.
On the one hand the reader will find Sydney Carton, a drunken, broken, brilliant lawyer who is the tool of a sober but less clever man. Carton lives a life of drink and works only to support his habit. If this were all we were to know about him, he could be one of many characters that Dickens uses to set the stage. But Carton is more than window dressing; he can still love and hope to be loved. His love for Lucy Manette is unrequited, but this condition drives Carton not back to the tavern but to the guillotine where he dies so Lucy can experience love that is undiminished. Sydney Carton is not ones usual hero; he is at once broken and ruined as well as noble and transformed. The reader will find a home in Sydney Carton because, like most people, he is a mixture of these things which fail and succeed.
On the other hand, the new reader may not feel so very much at home with the novels remaining important characters: the Manettes, Charles Darnay, the wicked Marquis, and M.and Mme.Defarge All of the characters are cartoons which the Victorian reader may have enjoyed but do not seem to come to life today. For example, Lucy Manette is beautiful, righteous, long suffering, obedient, and boring. Charles Darnay is chivalrous, honorable, just, long suffering, and boring. The wicked Marquis, uncle to Darnay, is just wicked and damned and he knows it. If you enjoyed Harry Potter you will find Lucius Malfoy and the wicked Marquis are alike. What can be said about Dr. Manette and the Defarges? Dr. Manette is righteous, patient, and long suffering and boring. The Defarges are a couple who have suffered many wrongs, but are also cruel and murderous. The wicked Marquis may have known his business well. Charles Darnay is the only Frenchman who has any virtue in Dickens's eyes. There is a specific reason for this. Charles Darnay wishes to become a middle class Englishman, a sentiment which would appeal to Dickens's readers whose opinion of the French Revolution was formed by Thomas Carlisle, an English historian and friend of Dickens. The other characters are cartoons because we don't really know them and they either provide extremes of passion, like the wicked Marquis and the Defarges, or they stand for middle class virtues but remain strangers to us.
Dickens was born in 1812 at the end of the first Napoleonic Era. The French Revolution would have still provided an exciting place to tell a story of decay and redemption in part, because Victorian England was still nervous about revolutionary events. The 21st Century reader may find the French Revolution gory but strangely remote. Today the French do not want to be good Englishmen; instead they have chosen to become the Marquis of Defarge.
While the character development in the book certainly takes away from the book so does the narrator, in some cases. The narrator of this story has a way of impeding the plot with needless detail. To the modern reader the block form the narrator uses in telling the story can be dull. The reader has to take into account, however, that this book was written in a serial form. This would mean that the more Dickens wrote, the more he was paid and the more detail was needed. Dickens uses the narrator as a way of putting in his opinions, again in a very long block form. His opinions are that of the English's view of the French Revolution. This was that both the peasants and the aristocracy were at fault. The peasants obviously started the war but the aristocracy shouldn't have treated them so vilely. This is examined with the scene where the evil, bloodthirsty mob reeks vengeance on Foulon, the same person who said, "Let them eat grass." The third person narrative is imperative to this novel because the reader would never get the entire story, only someone else's view.
The narrative in this book is long and hard to read. These reasons make the modern reader find the beginning and the middle of this book extremely uninteresting. Since the book was written after the French Revolution, some of the word choices are out of date and confusing. Dickens's style was used by most Victorian writers and is not in the least unique when he is being overtly descriptive. However, when he wants to convey powerful emotion, he is quite effective. When he writes, "She kisses his lips; he kisses hers; they solemnly bless each other. The spare hand does not tremble as he releases it; nothing worse than a sweet, bright constancy is in the patient face. She goes next before him - is gone; the knitting-women count Twenty-two." While he is writing in this way, he is very interesting and moving. This is one of the last paragraphs in the story. The end of the book gives the reader a feeling of sadness and respect. Such feeling is achieved when Carton, with his last breath says, "It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
Even with all of it's emotion this book will not be read for another hundred years because the historical events that this book is based on will become even more remote than they are now. No one is afraid of the French Revolution. No one will care about the guillotine or the wicked Marquis. The tension in the book will not be there anymore even though Sidney Carton, as valiant as he is, cannot hold up the story, The Tale of Two Cities.

Rating:
Summary: The Characters Holding the Two Cities Together
Review: A Tale of Two Cities is a distinguished piece of literature; that for more than one hundred years has brought readers the haunting and grotesque history of the French Revolution. Charles Dickens balanced view of the populace during the French Revolution is illustrated through all the struggles of impoverished people and the abuses of the ruling class.
Charles Dickens characters, through many coincidences help keep the story moving and balanced. The author makes the main characters not only middle class but also divided on the conflicts of the revolution. Lucie and Charles Darnay, a happily married couple find themselves divided on the issues because of family back grounds. Lucie's father spent over a decade imprisoned by the Marquise and his brother; Coincidentally the plot revels that these scoundrels are Darney's father and uncle. Another convenient coincident is that the Defarges, leaders of the French Revelation, are so closely tied to Dr. Manette and the Marquise as to kill to see their side revenged, revenge for their own family and friends. That another happening is Defarges find the letter written years before when Doctor Mannet was a prisoner and use it to condemn not only Charles Darnay but also Lucie, their little daughter, and Doctor Manette himself. Another example of the possibly overly abundant Coincidences is when Sydney Carton, the wretch of a man who manages to saved Charles Darney, in the first trial by having a similar appearance will be the only person with the ability to save him in the conclusion.
Though the many coincidences give the story a contrived feel, the book is worthy of it's renowned respect and the readers time. The book does drag especially in the beginning, and though he may lose the interest of the reader in moments while using many words for his detailed descriptions, the story line is sound, and every step a character makes adds to the plot. For instance the english mob seen around Roger Cly's funeral, and the fact he was not dead. The book depicts many aspects of life, from the Monseigneur, who has several people just to serve him chocolate, to the starving poor people who are forced to eat grass and fight over drops of muddy wine. Throughout the book Charles Dickens, through the best and worst in the book manages to write art into every page.