3.72 AVERAGE


I had to read this twice one year for two classes in high school. I seriously hated my life at that point because I didn't enjoy this book at all, just like most books we are forced to read for a class. But looking back, I realize that it really was an amazing story and written in such a beautiful way. Not one of my favorite classics by far, but I now have an appreciation for it and mayyyybe I would go back to read it some day. Maybe.

I loved this book once I got into it. The ending is not at all what I expected but was very noble.

Thérèse Defarge might be utterly psychotic, but she’s also a stone cold badass
dark mysterious reflective medium-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

So...I have in the last couple of years listened to and loved several books by Charles Dickens. And I historically have a hard time just reading Dickens, so I decided to try this in audio. It may have been a mistake, because it took me almost half of the book to figure out what was going on. I really had no idea until the wedding happens. But I don't really think that it's because of the audio. I think it's just not one of Dickens' best works. Hear me out-the French revolution stuff is great (so terrible and upsetting), but the characters are lacking. Like Sydney Carton, our hero. I guess. What was his deal? He's a depressed alcoholic for a lot of the book, but we don't know why! We don't really even care why! His nobleness at the end is great, but I would have been a lot more affected if I had known anything about him at all. The only major character that I had a really good sense of in the book was Madame Defarge, who is absolutely terrifying. If you're not freaked out by her when she tells the man she is knitting shrouds, then you are braver than me. But Lucie and Charles also made no impression on me, so the book lost a lot of it's potential impact.

I remember practically nothing about this and honestly it probably shouldn't count as having been read by me but I do remember feeling like the excellent ending was not worth the chore of getting through the other 98% of the book ANYWAY I'm finally almost done reviewing every book I've ever highlighted anything in and after reading through my own reviews have decided that I hate myself as a book reviewer and should not be allowed to write any more reviews
emotional reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

*3.5 stars

This was... an adventure! The first two "books" were a lot more dull, and then I LOVED the last book! The characters and their stories were really what kept me (semi)interested in the book, but I became engaged in the whole thing around the last part.

It was really insightful to the French Revolution(and it taught me what the word guillotine[which I still can't spell] means XD) The writing was really wordy, but a lot of that was just the era in which it was written.

I felt like the first two books kind of dragged, but then you get into the third book and see that it ALL. HAD. A. PURPOSE! XD This quite possibly story at its best- I'd say the attention to detail, plot twists, and the way every single thing matters rival that of Harry Potter or The False Prince, and, trust me, those plots are INSANE.

I read this for school and was rather excited to start it, but I honestly can't say it was a disappointment. The biggest way I remember a book is the last few chapters, and the last ten chapters of this book were amazing! And I loved the use of John 11:25 through the last few chapters- it was so meaningful! Overall, this is a slow and occasionally boring book that I would personally say was worth it for the last "book." :-)

One of my favorite books of all time. Charles Dickens does a phenomenal job of not only telling a captivating story but also writing such deep meaning into it. He is a master at the craft of writing. There are themes of sacrifice, love, justice, and vengeance, but most of all, this is a story of redemption.

On a purely practical level, I can't think of any other author who uses symbolism and foreshadowing as well as Dickens does. Christians will also recognize many allusions to the Bible, and one of the main themes correlates directly to the redemption story of Christ.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. The writing style takes a bit of getting used to, but once the reader is accustomed to it, it is not a difficult book to read. While the first line is often recognized as the more famous line, my favorite line is the last one: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes