A Tale of Two Cities

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Summary: A Soap Opera for the 1700's
Review: A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, is without a doubt one of the great classics of literature. Set in the time of the French Revolution, an unsuspecting Frenchman, Charles Darnay, is thrown into the middle of the revolution as a victim of the vengeance of the revolutionaries. His life is saved only through the hidden kindness of a comrade. This book is an excellent account of the kinds of things that happened in France during the late 1700's. It is truly a soap opera for its time with love, heartbreak, mystery, and joy which is what makes this book one you should definitely read

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Summary: Mystery, horror, romance, intrigue,what else could you want?
Review: It was the best of times (when I turned the first page), it was the worst of times (when I sadly closed the cover). This is quite possibly the best work of literature I have ever read! What begins as a tale of a young man in London eventually evolves into an epic of worldwide proportions. You get an inside view of what it must have been like to live during the "Reign of Terror" in 18th Century France, and see the inner workings of the minds of revolutionaries. Truly, an everlasting, mind-boggling cultural experience for those not faint of heart

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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Summary: A Classic for a reason
Review: When I decided as an adult to revisit some of the classics I believed were foisted upon me as a high school student, I started with "Tale of Two Cities;" I couldn't have made a better choice.

The characters in almost all of Dickens' works are so true to life that you feel like you know five or six people that resemble each of them. This book's characters are no different. You come to care for some, hate others, and have mixed feelings about many. I literally performed a small fist-pump at one point in this book after an event that I felt necessary for my own vindication.

It's easy to see why this book has been read consistently since its writing. Join the legions who have read this one already. It will be anything but a chore.

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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.

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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.