A Tale of Two Cities (from a kid's view)

By Charles Dickens
Published New York Bantam 1981, 356 p. $4
Review by: Erika

A Tale Of Two Cities is an interesting historical fiction book about the French Revolution. At the beginning of the book, it is about a man who is investigating a case about a teenage girl. Her father was supposedly "berried alive", but what it means was that he was put in prison for no reason until he lost his mind. Then someone found him and took him out. The man is to bring the girl to meet her father, and she does, after much convincing. Then, the book shifts to a woman named Madame De frame, who is a leader in the French Revolution, but not many know it yet. As a child, she was a servant, but her family had to send her away for her own safety. She now runs a wine shop with her husband, but seeks to get revenge on her "owner's" family.

Although it is a very tough read, A Tale of Two Cities is very interesting. There are some jokes in there too, but you really have to think to get them. I ended up cheering for the characters at the end of the story even though I did not understand everything at the beginning. It helps to have a French dictionary, or in my case my dad, handy so that you understand the story better. The author, Charles Dickens, writes with the idea that the French Revolution was not necessary for France and it would have been a lot less gory and a lot of lives would have been saved if it had not happened. It is up to you if you agree with him or not, but you might want to get a second opinion too. You also should keep a tissue box next to you at all times while reading this book.

If you have never read a Charles Dickens book before, you should read something like Oliver Twist, another book by Charles Dickens, first, so you understand his style of writing. This book is very deep, and good literature. The author uses many words to explain what he is thinking. I hope you will take the time to read this book.