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soniapage's review against another edition
3.0
I first read this in the 1980s after watching the TV miniseries and thought it was great. This time around, though, I thought of giving it up every time I came to one of the author's "trashy" scenes which usually involved white women, often lusting over black slave men. Oddly, there are just a couple of references to white slaveowners abusing slave women. In fact, slavery is just a backdrop to the action in this book which mainly covers the friendship between a Northern and a Southern family up to the start of the Civil War. It is overly long (cut out the trash) but explores all the different points of view and struggles of our United States at that time.
lirewoodis's review
4.0
Despite having read this book before, I always enjoy a trip through the imaginative mind of John Jakes. His ability to craft unique stories within the context of historical truth is unparalleled.
kschmoldt's review
5.0
Although I read North & South as a teen back in the 80's, I finished rereading it today and I think I like it even better now. What a full, vivid storyteller John Jakes is.
tiffbaker's review against another edition
4.0
A few differences from the mini series I loved as a preteen and still love today. But still good.
qkjgrubb's review
1.0
I picked up this book through my online library because I thought I had read it before and liked it.
Either my tastes have changed or this is a different Civil War saga.
It's kinda like having fond childhood memories of Thanksgiving weekend at your grandmother's house only returning as an adult and realizing everyone is crazy. You keep looking at your watch, as I did the page numbers, hoping the experience would end soon.
The stilted dialogue was as weak as cold mashed potatoes. The head hopping was like trying to listen to five conversations at once. The two dimensional characters-- especially the caricatures of the antagonists were exasperating -- and like my family these families had skeletons in their closets too.
The men we all noble or evil. The women were all Madonnas or whores. Sure there was a lot of history, but the educational value didn't get in the way of brutal action scenes and titillating romance.
Why did I finish it? I'm not sure. Partly out of curiosity, partly because I wanted to see how the author would seque into the sequel, partly because like the dessert table at Thanksgiving, I don't know when to stop indulging on sweets that aren't so good for me.
I celebrate Thanksgiving with my family once a year. Reading another book in this series should be less frequent than that.
Either my tastes have changed or this is a different Civil War saga.
It's kinda like having fond childhood memories of Thanksgiving weekend at your grandmother's house only returning as an adult and realizing everyone is crazy. You keep looking at your watch, as I did the page numbers, hoping the experience would end soon.
The stilted dialogue was as weak as cold mashed potatoes. The head hopping was like trying to listen to five conversations at once. The two dimensional characters-- especially the caricatures of the antagonists were exasperating -- and like my family these families had skeletons in their closets too.
The men we all noble or evil. The women were all Madonnas or whores. Sure there was a lot of history, but the educational value didn't get in the way of brutal action scenes and titillating romance.
Why did I finish it? I'm not sure. Partly out of curiosity, partly because I wanted to see how the author would seque into the sequel, partly because like the dessert table at Thanksgiving, I don't know when to stop indulging on sweets that aren't so good for me.
I celebrate Thanksgiving with my family once a year. Reading another book in this series should be less frequent than that.
debluedke's review
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Very interesting historically. I don’t know if most Americans already know all of the history, but as a Canadian it was interesting to learn more about the time before and leading up to the Civil War.
paperrhino's review
4.0
This very famous novel follows the Hazard family of Pennsylvania and the Main family of South Carolina during the events that lead up to the start of the American Civil War.
The novel started out a little slow and boring but as the story progressed my interest in the characters increased and the events became more full of action and danger.
My only complaint is how Jakes portrays his villains. These people are almost unbelievably evil in thought, word, and deed and despite Jakes' efforts they come across as flat. This is in stark contrast to the protagonists who are much more well rounded.
Highly recommended for historical fiction fans and particularly family saga narratives like those written by the Mitchner and Clavel.
The novel started out a little slow and boring but as the story progressed my interest in the characters increased and the events became more full of action and danger.
My only complaint is how Jakes portrays his villains. These people are almost unbelievably evil in thought, word, and deed and despite Jakes' efforts they come across as flat. This is in stark contrast to the protagonists who are much more well rounded.
Highly recommended for historical fiction fans and particularly family saga narratives like those written by the Mitchner and Clavel.
hiltzmoore's review
5.0
Wow, this one surprised me - I've had this book on my TBR list for years, and finally picked it up, not thinking I would like it as much as I did. The author does a great job of character building so that you have villains and protagonists to root for an against that are from both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, which is not easy to do for a book about the Civil War. This book was all about the history leading up to the start of the war, which isn’t often covered and was at times chilling. I particularly liked the West Point stories, as I had never thought of the men trained there together that would eventually have to serve as officers on opposing sides. This was obviously well researched and impressive. I’m really looking forward to the next two books.
aureliacorvina's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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? Yes
4.0