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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
I thought this was a great read. However, there was a bit of a drag in the middle of the book. The beginning took off great - introducing the families and really moving the story along. Then about 1/2 way in, it just began to drag along. There was quite a bit of information on war manuvers and strategy that, for me, was unneccessary. I am not interested in who flanked Washington and how it was done, ect. Having said that, the last 1/3 of the book clipped along and the ending was very satisfying.
This book is gonna be a beast, but so far, I like it.
Pleasant summer "guilty pleasure" type of read (at least for me) although I guess this 850-page+ historical fiction novel might not appeal to all.
Rutherfurd has this genre down pat and this several century guide through the intertwining lives of some fictional New York-based families does a great job of mixing together stories of people readers care about along with real-life events, people, and places that help define the texture of New York City.
When you meet and then see the departure of characters in the novel on a chapter-by-chapter basis, it sometimes can be a little disconcerting (a general problem in my view of this type of novel), but there are way more rewards than disappointments in this book. It has quite a few things going for it that can be recommended (much like the city itself which serves as its setting) and I might have to add another of Rutherfurd's books to my to-be-read shelf.
Rutherfurd has this genre down pat and this several century guide through the intertwining lives of some fictional New York-based families does a great job of mixing together stories of people readers care about along with real-life events, people, and places that help define the texture of New York City.
When you meet and then see the departure of characters in the novel on a chapter-by-chapter basis, it sometimes can be a little disconcerting (a general problem in my view of this type of novel), but there are way more rewards than disappointments in this book. It has quite a few things going for it that can be recommended (much like the city itself which serves as its setting) and I might have to add another of Rutherfurd's books to my to-be-read shelf.
Interessant, men den forekom mig mere romanticeret og knap så kompleks som hans andre romaner.
This book took a long time to finish. I listened to it in the car and it's 30 CD's! This book covers the history of New York city (in historical fiction) from the early 1600's to just after the fall of the World Trade Center. It followed one family during that entire time period and I learned quite a few things that I hadn't known before. Some parts of it were very long - I think the first 10 CD's only went through the Revolutionary War. Overall, I liked it, but I don't know if I would have finished it if I had read the book instead of listening to it in the car.
Pretty slow and a little boring, but I do enjoy reading through all the major historical events. This book is similar to Sarum in that it follows the genealogy of families in a city, but unlike Sarum the story begins after a Dutch colony had already been established in New York. I was hoping to read more about the Native Americans in a similar way that he wrote of the hunters and gatherers in Sarum, but there wasn’t any of that. Overall I just lost motivation to continue reading after about halfway through, because it’s rather slow and dry, and I’m seeking a juicy adventure tale at the moment. Maybe I will pick up and finish another time.
This was a terrible book. There were some interesting historical passages where I learned something, but all of the characters were boring and the whole thing felt contrived. You know it's bad when you sort of hope that the characters die in the end.
Another sweeping historical novel enjoyed every page, every family, each drama
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Thanks to Jenny K. for putting this on my radar!
Really enjoyable "read" (I listened to 80% of it, but also had a paper copy to read a few times). Fascinating to learn little tidbits of New York history, let alone review parts of American history I should know (e.g. the Revolutionary War) or knew a little about before and got to learn more about (e.g. the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire). I laughed. I cried. This had it all.
If I had one complaint, it would be that there were too many white male characters. BUT, I see why the author did this. White male characters would have had the most agency, if trying to be historically accurate, as they had an ability to control their lives in a way that women and minorities in the United States wouldn't have had the power to do. But it was still kind of irksome.
Really enjoyable "read" (I listened to 80% of it, but also had a paper copy to read a few times). Fascinating to learn little tidbits of New York history, let alone review parts of American history I should know (e.g. the Revolutionary War) or knew a little about before and got to learn more about (e.g. the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire). I laughed. I cried. This had it all.
If I had one complaint, it would be that there were too many white male characters. BUT, I see why the author did this. White male characters would have had the most agency, if trying to be historically accurate, as they had an ability to control their lives in a way that women and minorities in the United States wouldn't have had the power to do. But it was still kind of irksome.