Paperback, 161 pages

Chinese language

Published June 1, 2009 by San Qin chu ban she.

ISBN:
978-7-80736-624-9
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
703809089

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (156 reviews)

The storming of the Bastille...the death carts with their doomed human cargo...the swift drop of the guillotine blade - this is the French Revolution that Charles Dickens vividly captures in his famous work, A Tale of Two Cities. With dramatic eloquence, he brings to life a time of terror and treason, a starving people rising in frenzy and hate to overthrow a corrupt and decadent regime. With insight and compassion, he casts his novel of unforgettable scenes with unforgettable characters: the sinister Madame Defarge, knitting her patterns of death; the gentle Lucie Manette, unswerving in her devotion to her broken father ; the heroic Sydney Carton, who gives his life for the love of a girl who would never be his.

See also:

122 editions

A bizarre mix

3 stars

I read A Christmas Carol a while before Christmas last year - my first Dickens actually from the book rather than the TV! I thought it might be fun to make this author another of my Christmas traditions so chose the not-at-all seasonal A Tale Of Two Cities for this year. It turns out that I already knew the first and last sentences because they have become famous quotes: 'It was the best of times and the worst of times' and 'it is a far far better thing that I do than I have ever done'.

For me this novel was a bizarre mix of some of the best descriptive writing I have read, interspersed with some of the most oversentimental claptrap and unrealistic dialogue. If Dickens was a modern indie author, reviews would surely be scathing! The timeline jumps at the beginning felt disjointed, but the story does eventually …

Review of 'A Tale of Two Cities' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book has a lot of setup. I wanted to give up many times. I fell asleep continuously and often wondered when it gets interesting.

But then THAT part hits. Every piece of the story suddenly falls in place, like watching someone draw, and not understanding the process until the lines become shapes and objects. You see that every "boring" chapter was a set up for something. The pointless characters get fleshed out and inner-monologues from 5 chapters back clear up.

All this while wonderfully and realistically interweaving the motivations of regular people in the French revolution, their suffering, and the resulting pain they inflict on others, continuing the cycle of oppression.

There is one type of character I just barely see anymore, bombarded by Hollywood-like stories. A loser. A loser in every sense and a loser for life. This loser doesn't magically get better and achieve something to society's …

Review of 'A Tale of Two Cities' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

Upon first beginning to listen to the book I found myself at first quite unable to comprehend it. I chided myself for having grown lazy with regards to the kind of language I have grown accustomed to (simple and straightforward) and proceeded to pay closer attention.

Honestly, I love the style this is written in. I understand the value in writing things in a simple and easy language, but for this, it suits. It might just be that English is not my first language, but I felt like the sentences and passages themselves were little puzzles to solve as to their meaning. And it felt fitting in a suspenseful story where I want to find out what happens next.

I hope to read more of Dickens and not only him. Somehow the way of the authors of the past for me is that I read a book or story by …

Review of 'A Tale of Two Cities' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

There are a few dry patches, but overall a tremendous novel with an emotional impact and some horrifying imagery of mob mentality. My only quibble beyond the occasional dull aside is, for whom, exactly, is this the 'best of times'? I was promised from the opening line the best and worst of the times but only got the latter.

Review of 'A Tale of Two Cities' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." Thus, the central theme of A Tale of Two Cities.

I began reading this book in high school (Standard 8, I think), and I hated it. The language was completely foreign to me, and I didn't understand a single thing in it. I never finished it.

Now that I'm more mature, and am reading many of the old classics, I decided to give it a try again. The language is still a bit foreign, and I had a rough time getting into it and following it at times, but I'm glad I finally finished this book.

Ostensibly, the book is about the French Revolution. But I don't think it is, really. It may be set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, but it is, at its heart, a love …

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