A Tale of Two Cities in Classics Without All the Class

Aug 05, 2012 Alice rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, classic-fiction

Want a book that is full of suspense and intrigue? How about a story where plot advancement and character development are not of mutual exclusivity? There's love, romance, loyalty, devoted friendship with equal hatreds and enmities. Then, to top it all the setting is in the midst of a controversial historical event.

Then read A Tale of Two Cities. I know you were probably forced to read it in high school. Try reading it again. There are breath taking escape scenes. In fact you almost feel you are ...more

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Aug 16, 2010 Russ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, mystery, 2010, historical-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think this book would have impacted me more had I not already seen a movie version in high school. I was pretty sure I knew what happened, and I was right.

This is definitely one of the better Dickens novels I've read. I've not read many, but this was a good one. At its heart, it's a mystery. You have to wonder what happened, how, why, and how it connects all the characters. These answers are, of course, revealed. Dickens seemed to do such things quite often. He would set up many details and, ...more

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Oct 13, 2009 Erin Leiter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Breathtakingly, heartbreakingly gorgeous story of redemption and pure love set against the terrifying backdrop of the French Revolution. Dickens does a beautiful job of describing how the cruelty of the aristocracy set the stage for the peasants to revolt, while never condoning the bloodshed. The book opens and closes with two of the most famous lines from literature. One has to read the book to fully appreciate the poignancy and majesty of the last line: "It is a far, far better thing that I do ...more

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