Reviews tagging 'Child death'

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

21 reviews

helenafaustina's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this! I think it’s underrated, as I’ve always heard that it’s long, slow, and boring, but I found the plot to be really interesting and the characters really awesome. And I love Dickens’s writing, especially with the occasional clever quips and the way he illustrates someone’s character so well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Violence, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Genocide, Medical content, Child death, and Physical abuse

Minor: Torture, Sexual violence, Rape, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Cursing

Nothing is inappropriate, but should be for a more mature audience, good for high school.

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

At first, the regular repetition of phrases was a bit jarring, but then it grew on me.  There was also a lull in the middle where it dragged but the last third of the book was positively action packed with everything coming to fruition.

Cry count: 2

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Self harm, Torture, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Blood, Child death, Classism, Genocide, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

ayphyx's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Child death, and Classism

argamnials's review

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

My first foray into literature about the revolution, and I think it will be hard to beat. It damns and sympathizes with the revolution all in one breath, and gives it the credit due as the most alive time in history (for most), while not saying away from its frenzied bloodlust.

The characters are excellently written - Sydney Carton is one of my new favorite characters in literature, as is Madame Defarge.  Mr. Lorry is a fantastic foil to the passion of those two, with the English sensibility turned to 10.  I do think that Dickens does what most writers of the 18th and 19th centuries do, which is to exalt some characters to pure virtue - it works sometimes better than others, and in this case Dr. Manette and Lucy are both infallible. It creates good tension with the forces outside of their control, but also makes them feel just like set pieces, although set pieces around which a fantastic story are told.

Carton's sacrifice at the end was so beautiful, especially against his arm length proclamation of love earlier in the book.  His ride to the guillotine in the arms of, to the reader, an absolute stranger, was one of my favorite bits of fiction I've ever read. So impactful, cried real hard.

Only taking away quarter star, due to the Manette's (Lucy especially) feeling 1 dimensional. Contrasting with the other characters, she just felt like a character who was an object for love, who was interesting only in that she's sad and beautiful. 

4.75 stars for me - a book that has lasted in memory for all this time for a reason. 

Beware of furiously knitting women.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Violence

halaagmod's review against another edition

Absolutely insufferable. Dear Lord.

Full of flat and annoying characters, dry and longwinded paragraphs drone on for pages about absolutely nothing, horrible pacing, pointless conflicts, coupled with a love triangle that really adds nothing to the plot and makes no sense when the whole point is the characters being caught up in the middle of the French Revolution. It's clear Dickens was more concerned with his writing and making the story sound good when reading aloud than making an interesting and coherent story with any level of depth.

It's probably a classic for a reason, but honestly

that one fucking kid that got ran over by a cart to show the cruelty of the ruling class

probably had a way nicer fucking time than I did trying to read this shit. Ugh. Waste of time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Misogyny

quixie's review

challenging dark informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The opening and closing lines of this novel are just incredible, so is the plot. The prose was bit hard to get through, and I didn’t connect much with the characters. Also, I felt that the book could have been 1/3 shorter. There were several ghastly scenes that made me audibly gasp and I learned a lot about the French Revolution. Overall, incredible book, just a little difficult to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Child death, Gore, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol

acogna's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Dickens proves again his masterful command of the English language. His world of Two Cities is humorous, blunt, treacherous, emotional, but full of hope and faith in humanity. I genuinely tear up whenever I think of this ending, and the love it inspires in any kind of reader. A magnum opus.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Child death

silverthorn's review against another edition

emotional funny informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Rape

jobaji's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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

4.25

I never that I would cry at the end of a book I had to read for English class, but here we are! This book has firmly cemented itself as my favorite book by Dickens. Such an interesting story, with a beautiful group of people who love each other so dearly at the center of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Child death, Classism, Death, and Mental illness

rossiell's review

emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Alcohol, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Slavery, Violence, Mental illness, and Child death

Minor: Confinement, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Murder, Death of parent, and Dementia