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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
A sweeping history of New York told by the various families described, from Dutch settlers to 9/11. Enjoyable and a pleasure to read.
Incredible saga of historical New York from 1600s Dutch and American Indians to September 11. Rutherford creates families and traces the lineages throughout the centuries.
When they say a book is an epic, I'm pretty sure this is the type of book they're referring to. I feel like I've read an entire series of novels, each covering a portion of U.S. history witnessed through the lens of New York City and the generations of the intermingled Van Dyck and Master families and a few carefully selected peripheral characters.
What I enjoyed about New York:
It's long but never boring - The book takes its time to establish a feel for the ever-changing landscape of the city, both literally and socially, allowing the reader to become thoroughly acquainted with each new generation, but it never overstays its welcome.
The flow of one generation to the next feels natural - It's never abrupt, and even when large chunks of time are skipped over, it doesn't feel like anything was missed. You might get snippets of it in a character's retrospect or you might not, but each generation's story feels complete.
It's a great history refresher - I wish we'd teach history in this way. It allows you to see beyond the dry facts and into the eyes of people who lived in a particular time, why they felt or acted the way they did as a society and a culture. It's so easy to gaze back at history and judge it through our own values and experience, but it is equally easy to forget they didn't have the benefit of things we've learned since.
The connections - the generations and their connections are so well interwoven throughout the entire book. By the time the book reaches the most present-day timeline, you see how many of the peripheral characters from each era show up as later generations, lives all touching in unexpected ways.
Some of the characters especially spoke to me - My favorites were Hudson, James Master, Rose Vandyck Master, and Sarah Adler.
The handling of 9/11 - Wow. The way the story hit a crescendo so late and yet so perfectly. Maybe it was that it was the remembered tragedy of my generation. Maybe because I lived so close in proximity to NYC that I remember these feelings and how it affected the entire surrounding region. Rutherfurd nailed it, both in the emotion and the connected-ness of the characters at that point.
What I didn't care for as much:
Density - The book is long and the hardcover is large. They cram a lot of text onto each page. I'm not a speed-reader but I can read at a decent pace. With this book, there were times I felt as if I would read and read and only get through four pages. The reading equivalent of treading water. I don't know how this could be fixed or even if it should be. It was just very dense at times and I had to just keep plunging forward.
I felt like one piece went missing - The Native American connection seemed to get relegated to a symbol as time went on. I don't know if that was intentional and meant to convey a particular message but it felt like an unsatisfying dangling thread for me.
If you pick up this book, be warned that it is a marathon, not a sprint. It is deep and dense and it covers a lot of time, though relatively little space. I found it a fascinating trip through the history classes of my youth. I am glad I stuck with it even when I felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume and scope. Mostly, I feel like running around, arms raised in triumph, shouting "I DID IT! I DID IT!" This book was a challenge, but one I am glad I answered.
What I enjoyed about New York:
It's long but never boring - The book takes its time to establish a feel for the ever-changing landscape of the city, both literally and socially, allowing the reader to become thoroughly acquainted with each new generation, but it never overstays its welcome.
The flow of one generation to the next feels natural - It's never abrupt, and even when large chunks of time are skipped over, it doesn't feel like anything was missed. You might get snippets of it in a character's retrospect or you might not, but each generation's story feels complete.
It's a great history refresher - I wish we'd teach history in this way. It allows you to see beyond the dry facts and into the eyes of people who lived in a particular time, why they felt or acted the way they did as a society and a culture. It's so easy to gaze back at history and judge it through our own values and experience, but it is equally easy to forget they didn't have the benefit of things we've learned since.
The connections - the generations and their connections are so well interwoven throughout the entire book. By the time the book reaches the most present-day timeline, you see how many of the peripheral characters from each era show up as later generations, lives all touching in unexpected ways.
Some of the characters especially spoke to me - My favorites were Hudson, James Master, Rose Vandyck Master, and Sarah Adler.
The handling of 9/11 - Wow. The way the story hit a crescendo so late and yet so perfectly. Maybe it was that it was the remembered tragedy of my generation. Maybe because I lived so close in proximity to NYC that I remember these feelings and how it affected the entire surrounding region. Rutherfurd nailed it, both in the emotion and the connected-ness of the characters at that point.
What I didn't care for as much:
Density - The book is long and the hardcover is large. They cram a lot of text onto each page. I'm not a speed-reader but I can read at a decent pace. With this book, there were times I felt as if I would read and read and only get through four pages. The reading equivalent of treading water. I don't know how this could be fixed or even if it should be. It was just very dense at times and I had to just keep plunging forward.
I felt like one piece went missing - The Native American connection seemed to get relegated to a symbol as time went on. I don't know if that was intentional and meant to convey a particular message but it felt like an unsatisfying dangling thread for me.
If you pick up this book, be warned that it is a marathon, not a sprint. It is deep and dense and it covers a lot of time, though relatively little space. I found it a fascinating trip through the history classes of my youth. I am glad I stuck with it even when I felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume and scope. Mostly, I feel like running around, arms raised in triumph, shouting "I DID IT! I DID IT!" This book was a challenge, but one I am glad I answered.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The scenery and place “New York!” is the best character in this book. I felt like I learned so much and loved how it followed on family’s lineage.
Great story throughout! Amazing look at American history through the eyes of a great American city.
It was a lot of fun learning about some of the history of New York City through these characters.
If you are like me and love: New York, New York fiction, historical fiction, big-ass books, then this one is for you: New York by Edward Rutherfurd. This is the third book I’ve read by this author: the previous ones I’ve read are the ones he wrote about Paris and London. With this book, the trifecta of the world’s greatest cities is complete!In case you’ve never heard of these books or the author, here’s the unusual structure of the novels: a place is chosen (in this case, New York City), and the history of this place is told through the points of view of several families spanning generations. In this novel, the history of New York is told through: the Master family, a wealthy family of Dutch and English origins who were living in New York when it was founded; the O’Donnell family, an Irish immigrant family who moved from the slums of Five Points into Gramercy Park; the Caruso family, Italian immigrants living in the Bowery; and a host of others reflecting the incredibly diverse population of New York spanning centuries, and which continues to thrive today.
So, I grew up twenty minutes from the heart of Manhattan. I work there, I play there, I will probably live there someday (maybe in an outer borough!) and so for any non-native author to write about this city so intimately made me skeptical. New Yorkers are nothing if not exclusive and precious about their city. And even though this book doesn’t always capture every little bit of what being in New York is really like, it absolutely does capture its essence, which is obvious from passages like these:
“You can do what you like, sir, but I’ll tell you this. New York is the true capital of America. Every New Yorker knows it, and by God, we always shall.”
“What he needed Gorham to understand—what his son was heir to—
the thing that really mattered—was the New Yorkers indomitable spirit.”
“And suddenly it came to him. That Strawberry Fields garden he’d come from, and the Freedom Tower he’d been thinking of: taken together, didn’t they contain the two words that said it all about this city, the two words that really mattered? It seemed to him that they did. Two words: the one an invitation, the other an ideal, an adventure, a necessity. “Imagine” said the garden. “Freedom” said the tower. Imagine freedom. That was the spirit, the message of this city he loved. You really didn’t need anything more. Dream it and do it. But first you must dream it.”
Um, hell yes! One thing I actually have to point out about this novel that satisfied me was its handling of 9/11. I remember that day even though I was young, and I’ve never read a fictional account of it that didn’t treat it poorly, like a spectacle and not the massive tragedy it was. This book wasn’t entirely perfect, but it’s the best fictional account I’ve come across. It didn’t treat the event like a plot point. It gave it due respect. And it actually made me cry.
So that’s all! After I read this book I quickly jotted down his other titles, because I will definitely read any book this author writes!
I liked this book, but didn't think it was as good as Sarum or London. I wish that he had followed some of the other families a little more closely. The rich, white family story just isn't as interesting. Following the history of the indian girl's family or continuing with the history of the slave family might have added some depth to the story.
Like Rutherfurd's other novels (and Michener, for that matter), New York has the same historical sweep and character objectivity. The time line is slightly skewed, with more detail devoted to the first 200 years of New York's history, and some characters fade away without any fanfare. I have to question his decision to skip over WWII in the history of the city; it seems like a relevant event, for the Time's Square photo alone. Still, an interesting novel with lots of detail - and now I know much more about a great city.