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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Come il titolo indica, il libro ci porta alla scoperta della storia di NY a partire da quando era solo una colonia prevalentemente olandese, intorno alla metà del 1600, per arrivare al 2009 attraverso la vita di alcune famiglie, anche di diversa estrazione sociale e che incontreremo nelle diverse generazioni. Secondo me il libro merita di essere letto anche se a volte sono stata a lungo senza prenderlo; il tutto dipende, secondo me dalla "simpatia" assolutamente soggettiva che si prova per qual particolare periodo storico o per le vicende personali che investono la vita privata dei protagonisti del momento, visto che ti ritrovi anche salti temporali di diversi decenni e capita quindi di lasciarlo riposare per qualche giorno. E' stata comunque una lettura piacevole e veramente interessante che vi consiglio a prescindere.
New York is the epic story of the city of New York, from the 1860's to the present. It mainly follows the Master family as they rise from Dutch immigrants to members of the social register. Various other families are introduced throughout the story, and interact with the Masters directly or peripherally.
Really, though, it's the story of the city, and how it rose from a small, yet powerful enclave at the tip of modern-day Manhattan to one of the greatest cities in the world. At one point, one of the more modern-day characters tries to show his son how he feels about the city, and wants to convey that he not only admires the landmarks, but the city's tenacity and will to survive.
I wished throughout the book for a "family tree" of sorts - showing not only the family connections, but also the other relationships. I often found myself thinking "didn't that person's father know this person's grandfather?" In a couple of cases, I was really surprised that a significant relationship between families in the past was never addressed - I found it hard to believe that at some point the connection would have been discovered.
I really enjoyed the book. 800+ pages is daunting, but the story moves along and it was always hard to put down.
5/2/11 - I'm adding another star to this book. Every time someone asks me what the best book I read in 2010 was, I say New York, but then I look on here and am surprised to find I only gave it 4 stars. Based on the fact that it's clearly stuck with me, I'm bumping it up to 5!
Really, though, it's the story of the city, and how it rose from a small, yet powerful enclave at the tip of modern-day Manhattan to one of the greatest cities in the world. At one point, one of the more modern-day characters tries to show his son how he feels about the city, and wants to convey that he not only admires the landmarks, but the city's tenacity and will to survive.
I wished throughout the book for a "family tree" of sorts - showing not only the family connections, but also the other relationships. I often found myself thinking "didn't that person's father know this person's grandfather?" In a couple of cases, I was really surprised that a significant relationship between families in the past was never addressed - I found it hard to believe that at some point the connection would have been discovered.
I really enjoyed the book. 800+ pages is daunting, but the story moves along and it was always hard to put down.
5/2/11 - I'm adding another star to this book. Every time someone asks me what the best book I read in 2010 was, I say New York, but then I look on here and am surprised to find I only gave it 4 stars. Based on the fact that it's clearly stuck with me, I'm bumping it up to 5!
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.
From the author that brought you the great, sweeping, historical fiction epics of London, Russka, and Princes of Ireland comes his next magnificent tome, New York. While Rutherfurd’s works are fiction per se, he employs so much research and detail that at the end the readers feels as if he or she has taken a course in the history of this particular location. Charting a chronological timeline from the very beginning of this civilization to its present day, using families and telling stories through their eyes, passing from one generation to the next, as the great events are experienced through them; Rutherfurd has truly created his own sub-genre of writing within the world of fiction.
In New York he does all this and more, beginning with the small Dutch Settlement where there was little industry other than trading with pelts and other items with the Native American tribes, the French to the north, while the British build their forces with hungry eyes on the small settlements of what would one day become the eastern coastline of the United States. Rutherfurd then travels forward in time with important events like the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the grandiose times of the Gilded Age, the World Wars, on through the seventies to the catastrophic attack on the World Trade Center; all seen and experienced through the eyes and bodies of New Yorkers of all types, ages, and cultures. At the end, New York doesn’t only serve as a comprehensive history on this unique and possibly most famous city in the world, but also as an article of work on humanity and how it has changed over the centuries, and how we as human beings have changed and adapted to new ways, cultures, technologies and events over time. New York is unlike most cities in the United States, but at the same time it is a symbol of this nation, whether it be with the Indian tribes and Dutch settlement of Manhattan, the influx of cultures and peoples with Ellis Island, or its uniting of a nation on 9/11.
Originally written on September 16 2010 ©Alex C. Telander.
For over 500 book reviews, and over 40 exclusive author interviews (both audio and written), visit BookBanter.
In New York he does all this and more, beginning with the small Dutch Settlement where there was little industry other than trading with pelts and other items with the Native American tribes, the French to the north, while the British build their forces with hungry eyes on the small settlements of what would one day become the eastern coastline of the United States. Rutherfurd then travels forward in time with important events like the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the grandiose times of the Gilded Age, the World Wars, on through the seventies to the catastrophic attack on the World Trade Center; all seen and experienced through the eyes and bodies of New Yorkers of all types, ages, and cultures. At the end, New York doesn’t only serve as a comprehensive history on this unique and possibly most famous city in the world, but also as an article of work on humanity and how it has changed over the centuries, and how we as human beings have changed and adapted to new ways, cultures, technologies and events over time. New York is unlike most cities in the United States, but at the same time it is a symbol of this nation, whether it be with the Indian tribes and Dutch settlement of Manhattan, the influx of cultures and peoples with Ellis Island, or its uniting of a nation on 9/11.
Originally written on September 16 2010 ©Alex C. Telander.
For over 500 book reviews, and over 40 exclusive author interviews (both audio and written), visit BookBanter.
Made me fall in love with New York over and over again.
I'm a sucker for Rutherfurd's technique of telling the history of a city or region via generations of intertwined families. And here was no different.
This is an area I know the history of better than I do the history of some of the other regions he's written about, so there were times that I was metaphorically looking on with my hands over my eyes, peeking between my fingers. (The Draft Riots segment was one part - I knew what was coming there, and I was very worried about the characters.) Rutherfurd does a great job with the history, especially things like the Wall Street crash of '29 - most people think that it all happened in a day, and Rutherfurd shows here that it didn't.
So, that's the good. There's several reasons I didn't give it a 5.
The novel follows only the people who go from poor to rich (or from rich to even richer). We do see some wealthy characters fall from "obscenely rich" to "comfortably well-off," but we never see anyone descend from rich to even middle-class. The Whites apparently remain lower-class to lower-middle class...and Rutherford drops them. The O'Donnells lose their fortune, and Rutherfurd drops them too...until we run into a descendant who is making their fortune back. And so on. The characters and their descendants who stay lower-middle class or worse either because they can't quite get it together (the Whites) or because they are in a demographic that ensures the obstacles to their success will be insurmountable (Hudson, the last of whom winds up lynched) are abandoned. Our view of American history is, in many ways, the WASP view of American history. In a country of immigrants, it is frustrating that the only consistent viewpoint characters through the ages are the ones that are descended from the British guy.
I think it's the Hudson thing that bothered me the most. I would have liked to have seen Quash's descendants followed through the generations to the present day. I wanted to know why Hudson left the basement (a monumentally stupid thing to do, and something that seemed absurd behavior for someone who was clearly interested in his own self-preservation). And...for that matter...why bring a descendant of Quash's back into the story just to lynch him?
Also - and this may seem like a minor quibble - the Masters are the central focus, and part of the gilded elite, and yet there's no mention of the Titanic disaster, which took out a significant subsection of that inner circle.
As I said above, I did enjoy this, and I felt it told a rich history of New York. But it could have been richer.
This is an area I know the history of better than I do the history of some of the other regions he's written about, so there were times that I was metaphorically looking on with my hands over my eyes, peeking between my fingers. (The Draft Riots segment was one part - I knew what was coming there, and I was very worried about the characters.) Rutherfurd does a great job with the history, especially things like the Wall Street crash of '29 - most people think that it all happened in a day, and Rutherfurd shows here that it didn't.
So, that's the good. There's several reasons I didn't give it a 5.
The novel follows only the people who go from poor to rich (or from rich to even richer). We do see some wealthy characters fall from "obscenely rich" to "comfortably well-off," but we never see anyone descend from rich to even middle-class. The Whites apparently remain lower-class to lower-middle class...and Rutherford drops them. The O'Donnells lose their fortune, and Rutherfurd drops them too...until we run into a descendant who is making their fortune back. And so on. The characters and their descendants who stay lower-middle class or worse either because they can't quite get it together (the Whites) or because they are in a demographic that ensures the obstacles to their success will be insurmountable (Hudson, the last of whom winds up lynched) are abandoned. Our view of American history is, in many ways, the WASP view of American history. In a country of immigrants, it is frustrating that the only consistent viewpoint characters through the ages are the ones that are descended from the British guy.
I think it's the Hudson thing that bothered me the most. I would have liked to have seen Quash's descendants followed through the generations to the present day. I wanted to know why Hudson left the basement (a monumentally stupid thing to do, and something that seemed absurd behavior for someone who was clearly interested in his own self-preservation). And...for that matter...why bring a descendant of Quash's back into the story just to lynch him?
Also - and this may seem like a minor quibble - the Masters are the central focus, and part of the gilded elite, and yet there's no mention of the Titanic disaster, which took out a significant subsection of that inner circle.
As I said above, I did enjoy this, and I felt it told a rich history of New York. But it could have been richer.
informative
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyable enough, but it did drag in a lot of places.