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makeshift_human_'s review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
dylanhubbard10's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
africanbookaddict's review
3.0
Classic. I should re-read this soon. This was my least fave out of all the Charles Dickens I've read
addystrange01's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I can’t tell you how many times I have read this, and it never ceases to bring me to tears. It is the most beautiful story of self-sacrifice and love, and nothing will ever top it for me.
ckrush's review
5.0
Being a history major I have a strong background in the back story of the book. It is set against the French Revolution, and as the story reaches its climax, so does the revolution. There is the obvious comparison between the two cities (Paris/London), where England traditionally sidesteps violent revolution (see Glorious Revolution) and France, where chaos eventually rules the day. Thus, commentaries are made, and the English characters are horrified by what they encounter in France, while the French characters are reveling in their blood lust.
At some points its very dry, I mean, it's Dickens, so what do you expect? At points it can be brilliant and poetic:
"The new era began; the king was tried, doomed, and beheaded; the Republic of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death, declared for victory or death against the world in arms; the black flag waved night and day from the great towers of Notre Dame; three hundred thousand men, summoned to rise against the tyrants of the earth, rose from all the varying soils of France, as if the dragon's teeth had been sown broadcast, and had yielded fruit equally on hill and plain, on rock, in gravel, and alluvial mud, under the bright sky of the South and under the clouds of the North, in fell and forest, in the vineyards and the olive-grounds and among the cropped grass and the stubble of the corn, along the fruitful banks of the broad rivers, and in the sand of the seashore."
..chilling
At some points its very dry, I mean, it's Dickens, so what do you expect? At points it can be brilliant and poetic:
"The new era began; the king was tried, doomed, and beheaded; the Republic of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death, declared for victory or death against the world in arms; the black flag waved night and day from the great towers of Notre Dame; three hundred thousand men, summoned to rise against the tyrants of the earth, rose from all the varying soils of France, as if the dragon's teeth had been sown broadcast, and had yielded fruit equally on hill and plain, on rock, in gravel, and alluvial mud, under the bright sky of the South and under the clouds of the North, in fell and forest, in the vineyards and the olive-grounds and among the cropped grass and the stubble of the corn, along the fruitful banks of the broad rivers, and in the sand of the seashore."
..chilling
blondierocket's review
3.0
I really wished I loved this one more. Maybe because I listened to most of it or maybe just the style and I wasn't quite ready for a head classic. It gets 3 stars regardless of my feelings because all classics deserve to be rewarded and read at least once.