Book review of A Tale of Two Cities

This timeless classic by Charles Dickens revolves around sacrifice. It takes place in the mid-1800s, in France and England at the time of the French Revolution. The story follows the lives of four very different people: Lucie Manette, her father Dr. Manette, Charles Darnay, and Sydney Carton. I found Dr. Manette’s obsession with shoe-making a rather thrilling addition to the already blood-chilling plot. Also, Sydney’s careless lifestyle and his odd love for Lucie Manette tied the story together nicely. His kind act of surrender on life at the end for the sake of Darney is one of the most touching things I’ve ever read. I believe it ultimately was for Lucie, not Darney. I love how we see his character change after he puts his plan into action- he goes from being a hard, careless, purposeless man and grows into an image of Christ, preparing to die in place of another. One thing that particularly delighted me was how tender-hearted he was to the young woman on the cart that took them to their doom. She surely wouldn’t have been able to be that brave in the face of death if it hadn’t been for Carton. You cannot read A Tale of Two Cities without it touching your heart and imprinting its memory on your mind forever.