Rating: 
Summary: An amazing novel
Review: A Tale of Two Cities is a magnificent novel. The novel started out slowly and was hard for me to understand. But midway through the second book, Dickens grabbed my attention and did not let go; I finished the last 150 pages in under three hours, while the first 200 took all week. The old write style is the only difficulty I had enjoying this novel. The plot is very good. What happens? The novel is based around the French Revolution. The first novel deals with the release of Dr. Mannette and his reunion with his daughter. The second novel deals more with the Doctor's life in England, the interactions of his daughter with Sidney Carton and Charles Darney, and Mr. Lorry's business. One piece of advice I have is remember every name, no matter how insignificant it seems. Characters emerge in book three that seemed unimportant. Darney is a French noble who returns to France to help a servant in danger by the Revolution. Charles Darney is taken prisoner and book three deals with the year and some months he spends in prison. The novel is excellent and I recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: The inhumanity of man
Review: A tale of the French Revolution, the Guillotine, the hysteria, the indifference of the spectators, the gossipy knitting women enjoying the view and counting the fallen heads... the inhumanity is overwhelming.. I found this book very, very difficult to follow at first... but I am glad I persisted in reading it to the finish... There is a GREAT HEARTWARMING ENDING!!
Rating: 
Summary: starts too slow - last third shines
Review: It takes the first two-thirds of this book to set everything in place for the rich action and powerful emotions of the last third. That is not to say that there are not a few interesting points, some entertaining action, and attractive character development early on, but most modern readers are anticipating the drama of the French Revolution, and this is a long, slow build-up. The action finally kicks off somewhere around page 200 - too late for the taste of today's bookworm.
As in other Dickens novels, the young female is a weakly drawn character, not even the Agnes of David Copperfield. Why is it that we find Dickens able to create a Miss Pross or a Betsy Trotwood, but not a realistic and admirable young heroine?
Rating: 
Summary: ?
Review: if you don't like reading books with way too much detail than don't buy this book. when i was reading it i couldn't understand anything it said. if you are older maybe you wouldn't think it's boring, or if you like this author's books, but i thought it was very boring and it took me forever and a half to read.
Rating:
Summary: the question is, why despair?
Review: everything is black or white with dickens. his characters lack subjective depth, being either good or evil. the one character who expresses the co-mingling of good and evil in the individual is sydney carton, yet dickens fails to capture his inner anguish. carton's self-sacrifice is committed out of self-loathing, not love. it is an escape from a daily confrontation with an existence he can no longer bear, and he eagerly grasps an opportunity which hides his cowardly act--suicide--behind a facade of altruism. but why has carton made such a failure of his life? why does he feel the need to escape and find refuge in eternal life beyond the grave?? dickens fails to explain why. do not read dickens for psychological depth. he only recognizes surfaces, and he is more than excellent at detailing them. for that, he is a canonized master. but his literature fails to capture the inner history of man and the motives that drive us to live and thrive or self-destruct.
Rating:
Summary: Tell the Wind and Fire where to stop, but don't tell me!
Review: If you are considering reading this novel, don't stop; go ahead and enjoy it fully. The story is truly a classic. By today's standards, the structure and vocabulary may be taxing to some, particularly if one is obligated to read this work as an assignment. It is quintessentially Dickensian and true to the style of writing of its time. This may be a major turnoff for some, but give it a chance. Open your horizons and experience a superbly excellent novel. "The Tale of Two Cities" has everything: courtroom drama, mystery, love, espionage, adventure, humor, tragedy, etc. It is the greatest novel I have every read (and I either read or listen to about 30-40 novel per year from nearly all genres). If you read this novel years ago, try it again. For a seasoned, mature reader, this is a great novel, a tried and true classic. You may have been turned off in highschool because you were forced to read it, but go back and re-read this wonderfully entertaining classic.
Rating:
Summary: Mindless Drek
Review: While the subject is of some merit, from a historical perspective, this Dickens fellow has a lot to learn in the art of efficient prose. On and on he discourses, using three hundred words to describe on transitory happening, where thirteen words would do.
Not enough sex, either. Definately not written for the masses. I suggest, as an alternative, anything by Alistair Cook
Rating:
Summary: Masterful Work of Literature
Review: There is so much to say about A Tale of Two Cities that one hardly knows where to begin. The scene of our book is the French Revolution. It is a time in history when the french peasants, horrifically treated by the nobility, revolted and caused what is known as 'the terrors'. It is a time when people can be accused in secret, tried summarily, and then tortured and beheaded. Many, many people were beheaded on a daily basis, sixty, or more, at a time. A Tale of Two Cities takes this story up by beginning with the story of Dr. Manette, who has spent fifteen years as a secret prisoner in a tower of the Bastille. He is rescued by an old servant, Monsieur Defarge, who turns him over to his daughter Lucie. Lucie, who has always thought her father dead, takes care of her mentally damaged father and helps restore him to his health and sanity. We also meet Charles Darnay, who Lucie eventually comes to love and marry. Turns out, unfortunately, that Charles is actually living in England under and assumed name, because he is really a french nobleman, much hated in his mother country. When Charles is called back to Paris to clear the name of an old servant he is imprisoned. Much of the story is then spent in the effort to get Charles out of prison, and his family safely out of Paris. The story is too complicated and wonderfully intricate to describe in full here. There are many other characters which are all important. For those who loves suspence, A Tale of Two Cities holds many surprises and will keep you wondering the entire time. There are loves unrequitted, acts of horror, deep sadnesses, and acts of perfect heroism. This story will bring tears to your eyes. As a piece of literature, A Tale of Two Cities is unsurpassed. The writing is beautiful! This book begins and ends with two of the most famous lines in all of literature. The words are truely poetic. The prose is full, deep, and perfectly moody. Dickens does an excellent job of painting not just the scenes for us, but the feel of the time. He makes you experience the weight of the drudgery the peasants experienced, the horror of the terrors, the grief of the mourner, and the triumph of the human spirit. Read this book, you cannot be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: ...liberty or death.
Review: Dicken's lengthy account of the French Revolution remains an historical pillar, perhaps literary as well? Regretfully, I never read this in school, nor had the opportunity to dissect and analyse its elements. The Tale of Two Cities ridicules France's distaste for nobility and aristocracy with humour while revealing the gruesome bloodshed that tortured liberty and civil rights. Dicken' s Tale of Two Cities exhibits some of the time honored cross channel nuances that continue to sustain this curious English-French relationship today. This wonderful story is a must read for any English speaking student of French Language and History.
Rating:
Summary: One of his best
Review: This was the first novel i read from him and let's say it was not the last. Love and sacifice was a major theme in the book. Althought the second part might be a bit long, the first and last part will just take your breath away.
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