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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s obviously one of the classics, a book with possibly one of the most famous opening lines. Yet with so many characters that are easy to hate it’s a hard read for me in this style. Even the characters we are supposed to love I just don’t find that connection with. The two most loyal and honorable people turned out to not be the main focus of the book, that’s a shame.
Fifth read is somehow just as captivating as the first.
Where to begin? Dickens deserves 5 stars for master storytelling, characterization (Sydney Carton and Madame Defarge), witty historical commentary and research.
I especially love the stories where every scene foreshadows another and every detail is crucial for the event hundred pages later.
The characters that stood out and made the story much stronger, especially toward the end of the book, were Sydney and Madam Defarge. Sydney was intriguing from the start for his intelligence (especially contrasted with Stryver - bet we all know someone like Stryver and rolled our eyes at his sense of personal imoportance). Even though his passive approach to life in the beginning of the book annoyed me, Sydney returns to save the day and make probably one of literature's most unselfish moves. That last scene would make a stone cry.
Madame Defarge was a ruthless individual who in the beginning looked to me like a good guy, but in the end she becomes a great example of how using politics to satiate personal hatred and revenge can taint even the purest goals. As she denounced innocent people one by one and they went to the scaffold under most absurd circumstances, I was, funny, reminded of that thought in 1984 that no one could remain politically correct. An awful character and the way she died was pretty satisfying to a broken reader's heart.
Dickens' commentary on her death expressed in a letter made it all the better. Here I also want to say that I read Oxford World's Classics edition with excellent explanatory notes that made reading all the more understanding and enjoyable.
One thing I didn't like that, up until the last 60 pages made me think I will give it 4 stars was certain characters being so...meh. Lucie and Charles sort of have the personality of a lazy plant. Everyone else had some quality that made them stand out, even that mender of roads.
I especially love the stories where every scene foreshadows another and every detail is crucial for the event hundred pages later.
The characters that stood out and made the story much stronger, especially toward the end of the book, were Sydney and Madam Defarge. Sydney was intriguing from the start for his intelligence (especially contrasted with Stryver - bet we all know someone like Stryver and rolled our eyes at his sense of personal imoportance). Even though his passive approach to life in the beginning of the book annoyed me, Sydney returns to save the day and make probably one of literature's most unselfish moves. That last scene would make a stone cry.
Madame Defarge was a ruthless individual who in the beginning looked to me like a good guy, but in the end she becomes a great example of how using politics to satiate personal hatred and revenge can taint even the purest goals. As she denounced innocent people one by one and they went to the scaffold under most absurd circumstances, I was, funny, reminded of that thought in 1984 that no one could remain politically correct. An awful character and the way she died was pretty satisfying to a broken reader's heart.
Dickens' commentary on her death expressed in a letter made it all the better. Here I also want to say that I read Oxford World's Classics edition with excellent explanatory notes that made reading all the more understanding and enjoyable.
One thing I didn't like that, up until the last 60 pages made me think I will give it 4 stars was certain characters being so...meh. Lucie and Charles sort of have the personality of a lazy plant. Everyone else had some quality that made them stand out, even that mender of roads.
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This story is over and it’s left me with a broken heart and a lot of tears.
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was my introduction to Charles Dickens, and I genuinely had an amazing time reading this, despite it taking almost a month to get through - I would love to reread this book in a setting where I could just read without having to deal whatever else I had to deal with.
While this book is not my first classic, it is my first classic classic, and truthfully, I picked it up because my favourite characters had read it and that is how they got closer. And no, I didn't read it because I thought I would get closer to other people. I thought I would love it as much as they did, and despite no liking as much as I thought I would, it was a really good read and I defiantly recommend it.
While this book is not my first classic, it is my first classic classic, and truthfully, I picked it up because my favourite characters had read it and that is how they got closer. And no, I didn't read it because I thought I would get closer to other people. I thought I would love it as much as they did, and despite no liking as much as I thought I would, it was a really good read and I defiantly recommend it.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes