This was my first Dicken's novel and was convinced upon completion that it would not be my last. Having done some background reading on the French Revolution was very helpful as well as having an edition that provided endnotes to shed light on the many historical references and nuances that Dicken's masterfully places throughout the book. Without this help, I would not have have understood or experienced the full depth of this story or the message that Dicken's conveys which is one more concerned about the human response rather than the historical impact of the French Revolution. This is not an eaasy casual read. My reccomendation is to do your homework on the French Revolution, reread portions when necessary (don't skim),try to capture and understand the many nuances and references, and most of all savor the wonderful writing. Do this and you will be astounded with recognition of why Charles Dickens is one of the greatest writers ever lived.

A painful beast of a book. It took me five attempts to get past page one hundred, and when I finally did break that barrier I pressed on until the very end so that I didn't have to suffer ever again. Dickens is a problem for me. I admit it freely. There was a time, many years ago, when I was a fan. I read Great Expectations for the first time in grade four, and I was in love with the book and Dickens. And I imagine that some part of my social consciousness, which wasn't a gift from my parents, was planted with the seeds of Dickens. Over the years, though, Dickens and I have grown apart. I don't mean that I have "outgrown" him in any sort of condescending manner. It's not the sort of thing I expect anyone else to do, nor is it something that I blame fully on Dickens. No, we've grown apart as many couples do when one person changes through life and experience and the other remains constant. I have become a radical over the years, and Dickens...well, he's still as bourgeois left as ever, and we're not compatible any more. He venerates the comforts of the middle class; he expounds the virtues of law and order and charity; he attacks the indignities of the abuses of power but only offers imaginary methods for overcoming them, mythologizing the bourgeoisie's ability to overthrow the things that ail us; he vilifies those who seek more radical solutions; and, whether he admits it or not, he still believes in the superiority of nobility and noble blood. So when he starts to attack the revolutionaries in Paris and uses it to illustrate the "superiority" of civilized English behavior, when Dickens' moral soapbox weighs heavier than his plot, I begin to tune out of his lecture, and A Tale of Two Cities makes me increasingly angry from page to page. I recognize Dickens' talent. I still love his prose. And I get why people love this book, and maybe even why you do, kind reader, but I can't stand it (and I am finding it increasingly difficult to like any of his work anymore). I may burn this someday. But I have fully annotated the version I own and while I can burn the words of others (it's the radical in me), my lovely inner narcissist simply can't burn words of my own (unless it is for catharsis). So A Tale of Two Cities will likely survive on my shelf until I die, mocking me from its high perch in my office, whispering that a catharsis that may never come just may be necessary.

It is a really moving story set during the French Revolution, which explores themes about human nature and second chances. Sidney Carton is an amazing and haunting character, who reminds you that although you know someone you never know what they are feeling on the inside. The book starts off a little slowly, but as it goes on it becomes engaging and very hard to put down. It reminds you what life is all about and also what people are capable of: great evil and great good. This version is presented in the original language as written by Dickens, and although a bit harder to understand than modern english, it really adds something to the vision. The ending is very powerful and will stick with you for a long time.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." This is the sentence that begins this fabulous book by Charles Dickens. Set during the French Revolution, two men are in love with the same woman. They look the same, but have two opposite personalities. The two men split up in order to get the girl of there dreams. Which one will convince Lucie, that he is the man for her?