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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Like all of his other works, I loved this book! Rutherfurd has a skill of taking the history of a city and creating this captivating story throughout history! The book starts in New Amsterdam, which is what New York was called before the British took it! Then it follows the timeline of the city until 2009! I enjoyed a lot of things about this book so I’ll try to just list them here:
I like that the story started in New Amsterdam because it shows the Dutch connection to the city!
the story also shows the indigenous connection to the place from the beginning! I would have liked a bit more of this connection but I thought it was included well.
Rutherfurd also made sure to B.C. life immigrant perspectives, from the Irish coming to the city, and then a bit later an Italian family! I like that it showed the journey and the entry into Ellis Island!
I found it interesting that the author chose to depict 9/11 and afterwards, as I wouldn’t consider that really history but it is in the past so I can see why it was included!
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Overall a great book that I would recommend if you love historical fiction!
I like that the story started in New Amsterdam because it shows the Dutch connection to the city!
the story also shows the indigenous connection to the place from the beginning! I would have liked a bit more of this connection but I thought it was included well.
Rutherfurd also made sure to B.C. life immigrant perspectives, from the Irish coming to the city, and then a bit later an Italian family! I like that it showed the journey and the entry into Ellis Island!
I found it interesting that the author chose to depict 9/11 and afterwards, as I wouldn’t consider that really history but it is in the past so I can see why it was included!
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Overall a great book that I would recommend if you love historical fiction!
Ho iniziato questo romanzo col terrore di trovarlo pesante e noioso.
L'ho terminato invece con nel cuore la sensazione di star dicendo addio ad un amico.
Insieme ad Edward Rutherfurd, l'autore, sono arrivata a New York con gli olandesi, ho visto le conseguenze della guerra contro Re Filippo, ho combattuto a fianco di James Master con l'esercito di Washington, ho festeggiato con loro per l'ottenuta Indipendenza. Ci sono stati incendi, guerriglie, persecuzioni, e tutto questo l'ho vissuto con i Master, anno dopo anno, secolo dopo secolo, fino all'11 settembre del 2001 e, poi, con un salto avanti, al 2009.
Ho amato i personaggi come fossero parte della mia stessa famiglia, come se li conoscessi da sempre.
Lo stile dell'autore rende le informazioni che offre tra un fatto narrativo e l'altro molto scorrevoli, attirando l'attenzione del lettore e non lasciando nemmeno il tempo di girare pagina che già si vuole sapere cosa succederà di lì a poco.
I personaggi descritti sono tantissimi e forse questo ha causato delle ripetizioni negli eventi all'interno della struttura, ma è qualcosa che si può avallare a fronte di una trama coinvolgente, ricca di storia, geografia, politica, economia e società.
Edward Rutherfurd ha creato un capolavoro in 981 pagine, senza essere noioso o pesante in alcun caso.
Un romanzo consigliato a chi ama una città vivace e ricca come New York, a chi la sogna e a chi la vive.
L'ho terminato invece con nel cuore la sensazione di star dicendo addio ad un amico.
Insieme ad Edward Rutherfurd, l'autore, sono arrivata a New York con gli olandesi, ho visto le conseguenze della guerra contro Re Filippo, ho combattuto a fianco di James Master con l'esercito di Washington, ho festeggiato con loro per l'ottenuta Indipendenza. Ci sono stati incendi, guerriglie, persecuzioni, e tutto questo l'ho vissuto con i Master, anno dopo anno, secolo dopo secolo, fino all'11 settembre del 2001 e, poi, con un salto avanti, al 2009.
Ho amato i personaggi come fossero parte della mia stessa famiglia, come se li conoscessi da sempre.
Lo stile dell'autore rende le informazioni che offre tra un fatto narrativo e l'altro molto scorrevoli, attirando l'attenzione del lettore e non lasciando nemmeno il tempo di girare pagina che già si vuole sapere cosa succederà di lì a poco.
I personaggi descritti sono tantissimi e forse questo ha causato delle ripetizioni negli eventi all'interno della struttura, ma è qualcosa che si può avallare a fronte di una trama coinvolgente, ricca di storia, geografia, politica, economia e società.
Edward Rutherfurd ha creato un capolavoro in 981 pagine, senza essere noioso o pesante in alcun caso.
Un romanzo consigliato a chi ama una città vivace e ricca come New York, a chi la sogna e a chi la vive.
I think that any book that attempts to cover this time much (from the Dutch settlers to 9/11) and stay somewhat cohesive will naturally seem contrived. This felt contrived, and the ending a bit too neat and tidy.
Hands down, the best part was when it got to a late enough period (1750s and onwards) where I could recognize many of the buildings and places mentioned. Having a personal knowledge of the city adds a lot to the enjoyment of a book like this.
Hands down, the best part was when it got to a late enough period (1750s and onwards) where I could recognize many of the buildings and places mentioned. Having a personal knowledge of the city adds a lot to the enjoyment of a book like this.
Any book that can hold my undivided attention for more than 1,000 pages gets a 5-star rating.
Wow, what a journey. Through just over 10 generations, this story swept through the history of New York like nothing I've ever read before. Even though there were many characters and each only got a small part of the book, I felt like I got to truly know each of them. Edward Rutherfurd was able to tell all sides of the same event with clear perspective, and illustrated how all would have felt during their respective times. I've now got some more Rutherfurd books on my TBR to keep an eye out for. :)
Wow, what a journey. Through just over 10 generations, this story swept through the history of New York like nothing I've ever read before. Even though there were many characters and each only got a small part of the book, I felt like I got to truly know each of them. Edward Rutherfurd was able to tell all sides of the same event with clear perspective, and illustrated how all would have felt during their respective times. I've now got some more Rutherfurd books on my TBR to keep an eye out for. :)
I've read a couple of Rutherford's books. My first was London, which remains my favorite. Unfortunately a lot of the things that were so fun for me in that book didn't really translate to New York. What I liked in London was the way he introduced different families representing recognizeable London types and had them pop up at different periods of history as both the same and not the same as the originally had been. So there was a sense, looking at a modern person, of the historical people--the sea captains who came from Vikings, etc.
New York concentrated mostly on one family, the Masters, which was a bit like if the book London had been dominated by the Bull family. Sure the wealthy members of the 400 are a part of New York's history, but they're not always the most interesting. By contrast the other families seemed to just kind of show up on cue to demonstrate the ethnic type (the Irish family spins their drunk father into a gentleman after making money with Tammany Hall in the 19th century, the Italian family sacrifices all for the "special" son while eating good food in the early 20th century, the smart Jewish girl spends the sabbath with her family in Brooklyn in the 50s etc.) And in the end we're back with the Master family (married to the Irish family, but her personality's pretty much like his except she's smarter, as most of the Master wives are), now serving on co-op boards on Park Avenue obsessing about whether they can donate as much as the other families to the private school. I live in New York and can't relate to it at all. There is one Master who has ties to the more artistic sides of the city, but he still can't really bring it to life. Often I just felt like I was hearing a lot of lecturing on history that was shorthand for character, so the characters themselves didn't really come to life. I know that's part of the trade-off of this story structure--characters are made to be summed up by their actions. But I was still left feeling like the book has a whole didn't have much personality, which is the opposite of what I think about New York. Like, where were the nuts?
New York concentrated mostly on one family, the Masters, which was a bit like if the book London had been dominated by the Bull family. Sure the wealthy members of the 400 are a part of New York's history, but they're not always the most interesting. By contrast the other families seemed to just kind of show up on cue to demonstrate the ethnic type (the Irish family spins their drunk father into a gentleman after making money with Tammany Hall in the 19th century, the Italian family sacrifices all for the "special" son while eating good food in the early 20th century, the smart Jewish girl spends the sabbath with her family in Brooklyn in the 50s etc.) And in the end we're back with the Master family (married to the Irish family, but her personality's pretty much like his except she's smarter, as most of the Master wives are), now serving on co-op boards on Park Avenue obsessing about whether they can donate as much as the other families to the private school. I live in New York and can't relate to it at all. There is one Master who has ties to the more artistic sides of the city, but he still can't really bring it to life. Often I just felt like I was hearing a lot of lecturing on history that was shorthand for character, so the characters themselves didn't really come to life. I know that's part of the trade-off of this story structure--characters are made to be summed up by their actions. But I was still left feeling like the book has a whole didn't have much personality, which is the opposite of what I think about New York. Like, where were the nuts?
New York is one of those books that sticks with you, even after you've finished it. The synopsis is that it follows the history of New York, but in actuality it follows one family, through the different generations. Do not let the length of the book dissuade you. It's worth every minute you spend reading it, and then thinking about it.
Even though it’s over 800 pages – this book isn’t long enough.
The first 3/4 ths of it is brilliant. It takes a Brit to tell American history like it is. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the chapter called Moonlight Sonata. I’d been spending the chapter or two before that wondering how he was going to cover the Civil War and the way Rutherford did it was masterful. But then after that you were already at page 500, and so the 1900s – 2000s felt totally rushed. All the 20th century wars were afterthoughts – blips of conversations really. I wish he’d carried on like he had with the first 500 pages and just turned it into a much longer book.
That said – I loved it and will be reading all of his other works!
The first 3/4 ths of it is brilliant. It takes a Brit to tell American history like it is. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the chapter called Moonlight Sonata. I’d been spending the chapter or two before that wondering how he was going to cover the Civil War and the way Rutherford did it was masterful. But then after that you were already at page 500, and so the 1900s – 2000s felt totally rushed. All the 20th century wars were afterthoughts – blips of conversations really. I wish he’d carried on like he had with the first 500 pages and just turned it into a much longer book.
That said – I loved it and will be reading all of his other works!
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I LOVED this novel! No surprise though, Edward Rutherfurd never disappoints. Starting in the 1600's and ending in 2009, the novel follows a family and those who interacted with them through the years. It's beautifully written and the characters just come to life. I could hardly put this down and at 1000+ pages that makes for some sore arms! LOL Mr. Rutherfurd just has such an amazing way of combining fact with fiction and making an enjoyable and compelling read. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!