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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
A massive story of the 400+ years of the city of New York, told through the stories of generations of its people, from the Native peoples, to the Dutch, the English, waves of immigrants, and all the way to the present. The author tells a great story of both the history and the meaning of the great city.
Certainly better than his "London," though Rutherfurd continues to belabor points in his stories. I've read his "Sarum," "Forest," "London," and now "New York." Of the four, "Sarum" was the best.
There is a lot of history in Rutherfurd's books. I for one will not read anymore of his works.
There is a lot of history in Rutherfurd's books. I for one will not read anymore of his works.
The major thing that bothered me about this book is that every person of color the story had followed is gone by the half way point. From there forward there’s a couple of secondary characters but the book pretty much turns into a story about a rich white family told from the male perspective. There are also a ton of stereotypes and tropes. I only kept reading because I really liked London and hoped this would redeem itself.
I was loving every second of this book then somewhere around 500 pages I started to lose interest. For the last 200 pages I was just ready for it to be over. I feel like the Master family just became less and less interesting with every generation. I’m very conflicted. I love this book because I was so engaged in the first half but also don’t like this book because of how uninterested I was in the second half.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
‘’Big river, calling him to thenorth.Big sky, calling him to the west. Land of many rivers, land of many mountains, land of many forests. How far did it continue? Nobody knew. Not for certain. High above the eagles, only the sun on its huge journey westward could ever see the whole of it.’’
Edward Rutherfurd is a master of Historical Fiction. He is a writer who communicates the time and place to perfection, an artist who communicates the feelings of his vast cast of characters to such an extent that you are able not only to recall their names with ease but their personality, their ideals and course in life as if they were people you have met in daily life, relatives, friends, family. I have yet to read another writer’s books whose 1500+pages go by like a breeze in the course of four days. And when it comes to Historical Fiction, I am an expert in the genre, thank you very much.
‘’When there is a little breeze, listen to the voice of the wind sighing in the pine trees. Then you will hear me.’’
A wampum belt becomes the beacon in the epic story of the true capital of the USA, New York. The Metropolis, the Modern Goddess, the Land of Dreams and Hopes and Chances and Sorrows. Paying the utmost respect to the history of the city, her people, their religions (and Rutherfurd has always been a writer who treats Christianity with absolute respect unlike other writers…), we are gifted a monumentary journey within the heart of the modern world. Divided into five chapters, dedicated to a specific era, guided by British, Dutch, Italian, Jewish, Puerto Rican families, the entire history of New York passes before our eyes.
‘’’[...] that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.’’
Abraham Lincoln
Along the families that are the heart of the novel, meet Henry Hudson, Captain Kidd, Andrew Hamilton, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Enrico Caruso, Rockefeller, and a multitude of characters that shaped the USA and our world as we have come to know it. Visit Niagara Falls, the Empire State Building, the Islands, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Gramercy Park, Central Park, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, the Statue of Liberty, the Flatiron Building, the Museum Mile. Marvel at (my favourite) brownstones, feel the buzz, the multiculturalism that defined the city, its almost anarchic personality, the Arts, the Opera, the musicals, the literary scene and the hypocrisy of the old money families. Divided and united in its differences, New York is the result of God’s absolute inspiration.
‘’When the invitation to the Seder was recited, not in Hebrew but in Aramaic, it stuck him with great force that, of course, these were exactly the proceedings that Jesus must have followed at the Last Supper. And as he considered the crisp New England Episcopalians he knew so well, he wondered how many of them truly understood the rich Middle Eastern texture to which their own religion belonged.’’
1664: The British and the Dutch, divided by religion, united by ambition. The birth of Manhattan, the customs of the Native Americans, the slaughter they suffered, the nightmare of slavery.
1735-1790: Glimpses of Boston and Philadelphia through the eyes of spirited young women, the Quakers, the War of Independence (brought to mind the exceptional film The Patriot with the one and only Mel Gibson).
1825-1896: The bond between London and New York, the Civil War, the battle of Gettysburg, and Lincoln’s famous address, the end of slavery, the impact of the Great Famine of Ireland, the immigrants, the Riots of 1863, the rising of Wall Street.
1901-1987: A new century is seen primarily through the eyes of an Italian family. The tragedy of the Triangle factory, the Great War, the Crush of 1929, WWII, the Jewish immigrants facing constant anti-semitism, the Civil Rights marches, the Vietnam War, the drugs, the assassinations, the seismic political changes on both sides of the Atlantic.
2000-2009: The boom of the economy, the threat of the Y2K bug, the unimaginable tragedy of 9/11.The fear and hope of a new world rising…
New York is waiting for you, safe in the hands of an exceptional writer.
P.S. To the ‘lady’ who called the novel ‘trash Historical Fiction’’: Excuse me, (not really…) your favourite writers are Nora Roberts and Kristin Hannah. Are you EVEN SERIOUS? The only thing that is trash is your opinion and your reading taste. Or, rather, your lack of it. So shut up!
‘’Let us have faith that Right is Might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to doo our duty as we understand it.’’
Abraham Lincoln
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
I have enjoyed many of Rutherfurd's books and this is no exception. I enjoyed the characters but at times I feel he stayed too long with one and then not long enough with another. Overall i really enjoyed this book.
While I enjoyed this book, it struck me as I finished it that just as I was identifying with a given character, the narration switched to twenty or thirty years later. Any one of these sections could have been developed into a full-blown novel, and I would have been fine with it. As it was, portions were quite unsatisfying.
Interesting, but not my fave novel by Edward Rutherford. I would recommend Russka.
I've always enjoyed Edward Rutherford's books. This one is no exception. His combination of historical events with the lives of his own characters brings the evolution of New York alive. Brings you from the edge of Manhattan to post 9/11. Great read.