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Summary: terrifying and moving
Review: this is dickens' most emotionally powerful novel. the final scene on the scaffold is one of the few times dickens elicits the tears without doing violence to the reader's sensibilities. the tears flow naturally and willingly. the story is nicely structured, and there are no wasted subplots, characters, or even words: everything works towards the single end of telling the story of people swept up in the destructive wave of the french revolution. the greatest achievement, though, is the unyielding atmosphere of disquiet transformed to terror that overhangs the whole book. dickens was always supremely good at creating atmosphere, or "mood", but TOTC is his greatest sustained effort. (that it's also one of his shortest books might have something to do with that!)
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Summary: A classic worth to be read
Review: Dickens' "Tale of two cities" is a story of opposites: love and hate, freedom and jail, wealth and misery and so on. It develops during the French Revolution and it gives you an interesting picture of those troubled times, through the eyes of people from different backgrounds.
The main plot consists on a love story between the daughter of an imprisoned Frenchman, who is later released, and a man from a traditional French family linked to the monarchy, and it takes place both in England and France.
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Summary: A Tale of Two Cities
Review: A Tale of Two Cities is one of the best books I have read. I love the way that Dickens foreshadows events that are about to happen. For instance, Madame Dafarge becomes a symbol of the senseless death caused by the revolution. When ever see appears death is soon to follow. The story is a bit long and slow in the beginning, but it picks up the pace by the end. I love the characters of the story like the way in which Carton gives his life for Lucie's happiness. I also like Darnay's internal struggle with his cruel French heritage. Everyone read this.
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Summary: Critique of Lamia's Review
Review: This is a critique of Lamia's review. Lamia I couldn't agree more with how long the story is. It takes a while to get started, but when it does it is enthralling. In every review that I read, the writer says that he hate Darnay. Why do you hate him? Sure he isn't my favorite person, and somethings he does are bad, but over all he is a kind person. Carton is by far my favorite character. I love how in the end he selflessly gives his life without even telling Darnay. He knows that Darnay will try to stop him and also he doesn't want the recognition of his good deed. Even when he is dying he gives solace to another that is sentenced to die. Everyone should read this book.
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Summary: A book to remember.
Review: A Tale of Two Cities is surely a book to remember. The book places the reader inside the French Revolution so that one can experience and see what happens through the eyes of the common folk. You will witness one system of barbarity replaced by another and examples of great human deeds unlike no other. The book is full of surprises, so expect the unexpected. It begins very obscurely at first, but that is only an exception so keep this in mind because you might be tempted to quit reading. After reading the book I came to realize that it would have proven beneficial to make mental or written notes of all the characters as they appeared, no matter how insignificant they might appear to be at first. This will help tie things up as the book progresses.
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Summary: Epic Tale of Sacrifice
Review: Set the days before and during the French Revolution, Charles Dickens wrote an epic tale of love, friendship, courage and sacrifice. The opening and closing lines are some of the most famous in all of literature and while other reviewers have commented on the slow start of the story (which I do agree), the last two-thirds move at breakneck speed. Other reviewers have also commented on the length of the descriptive prose but this is one of the most beautiful parts of the story. The plot itself could have been easily condensed but then it becomes nothing more than a television show. It is by the words that the author employs that makes the reader become part of the story, so much so that you can see the streets and feel the wind cutting through your bones. While the main female character (Lucie Manette) is rather a cardboard cut-out of an idealized Victorian woman, the other female lead Madame Defarge is a study of bitterness. Her cruelty seems to know no bounds until we find out the reason for her feelings, then it is easy to understand and in a way sympathize. The male characters of Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton are extremely well done, the very embodiment of human frailty while Charles Darnay remains something of a female version of Lucie, almost too good to be true. I would recommend this book to all readers and hope that they can enjoy the prose as it was meant to be enjoyed, long before the 5 second sound bite and the 30 minute sitcom conditioned us to expect immediate gratification.
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Summary: Dickens, how I love thee, let me count the ways...
Review: Although some may find the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities rather dull, it is my humble opinion that if you take the time to appreciate the genius Dickens infused into every sentence, you'll find yourself suitably enthralled. (Plus you'll be sure to catch all of the random references to cheese. They're there, I promise.) Of course, by Book the Third, dairy allusions are unneccessary to hold the reader's attention. I think that the final chapters of this book are some of the most masterfully crafted ever written. Every detail seems to enhance the tone and draw the reader into emotional turmoil: what you want to happen, what you know needs to happen... inevitability vs. unfounded hope. Ah, Dickens, does he ever acheive less than perfection? I think not, and that is why I wish everyone could experience the sheer bliss of reading his work, and enjoy it as thoroughly as I know I have. Also, anyone else wonder why Dickens gave Darnay (who I despise) the same first name as himself? I don't know about you, but I'd never name a shallow character after me...
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Summary: A tale you'll love, citizen..
Review: Having read Les Miserables and the Scarlet Pimpernel, I thought I must read this one. Although by far I enjoyed Les Mis much more, this book gives an objective view. Dickens describes both the sufferings of the poor before the revolution and the injustice done to the nobility under the Republic. Dickens' writing style is fascinating, I loved it. Yes, it's difficult and tedious; I'm a bit slow myself but enjoyed it far too much to give it up. The descriptions of the misery of the peasants, the attack on the Bastille, the murder of the nobles, the thirst for revenge, are all painfully expressive. Dickens often uses dark humour and irony, it makes it all funny and painfull at once: "who kissed La Guillotine, looked through the little window and sneezed into the sack." What a picture! But it is mainly a story of love, revenge and self-sacrifice rather than a commentary on the revolution. Dr. Mannette is released after being unjustly imprisoned for 18 years, and he finds he has a perfect angelic little daughter, Lucie. Charles Darnay is a young, dashing, but good French aristocrat who reliquished his title in France, and is exiled in England. Sydney Carton, the "idlest and most unpromising of men," has become one of my favorites in literature. He's an unhappy alchoholic, who appears incapable of achieving anything good. I liked him from the first, because he didn't like Darnay much and, neither did I! Carton is in love with Lucie, unrequitedly. Lucie marries Darnay. Darnay's antipathy towards Carton becomes of major significance at the end. As the French Revolution erupts in France, duty calls Darnay back to Paris, where he is captured and tried. The ending is the grandest I have ever read; poignant, tearful, prophetic, bittersweet. It takes days to recover! It ends in perhaps the most unselfish, heroic of sacrifices in fiction. With Dickens' beautiful use of prose this becomes truly unforgettable. I recommend it for everyone, young and old, as long as you can handle the language. I can't believe I waited this long to read it!
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Summary: A classic dickens...great literature!
Review: How much would you sacrifice for the good of others? This classic tale of life, death, and the many nuances of existence takes the reader through France and England during a very turbulent time. Charles Dickens, a very detailed and meticulous author, does a splendid job of developing compelling and fascinating characters. The book is not short, and has considerably slow rising action. But no fear, the last 50-75 pages of the book are worth the first few hundred! A great read by a great author
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Summary: Those Awful French People
Review: It's slow going at first, but once the French Revolution kicks in, the reader finds himself right up to the nostrils in severed heads. In my relatively uneducated opinion, the book has some annoying characteristics: the sentimentalism, the wordy style, the sentimentalism, the melodrama, and the really cloying sentimentality. But the strengths exceed the flaws. The story itself, once you get past the first 20% or so, is darn clever. And all of the characters are memorable, particularly Jerry Cruncher (who's certain his wife is prayin' agin' him), Sydney Carton (self-pitying perpetual first-rate loser), and cold, cunning Madame Defarge (French, of course). I heard this one on unabridged cassette, by the way. .... The narrator had a real knack for establishing voices for the different characters.
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