Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

32 reviews

benegesserwitch's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Mental illness, Blood, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Alcoholism and Classism

Minor: Gore

soph_mills's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

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

lynniekate's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Rape

rishankl's review

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A beautifully crafted classic. Though hard to read, depicts the life of people during the French Revolution, and has an ending that will never be forgotten.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Death, and Violence

Minor: Rape

millie_eevee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, War, Gore, Drug use, Mental illness, Death, and Violence

Minor: Gun violence

doubledevelo's review

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

The first and last sections were by far my favorite, the middle was too slow paced and romantic for me personally.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

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