You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
This is a painful 3 star review because the book started out so well. The beginning of the book was very captivating, the characters keep you engaged and you really get an appreciation of the history of NYC.
However, around the turn of the 20th century, the story began to go a bit down hill and I think a lot of that was due to the characterization of the Masters family (the main family). They became increasingly less relatable and more irritating. While the beginning half of the book had some great engagement between a variety of ethnicities, by the 1950s, minorities were written as accessories and their stories were not being told from their own points of view. It’s also a little surprising because there was a lot of cultural changes between the 1950s and 2009 (where the book ends) that could have given the plot a much more enjoyable end.
Overall, it was still a pretty good book and I did enjoy it for the most part, I just wish it had ended as well as it started. That said, as a newish New Yorker (moved here 4 years ago!), it was still very nice to imagine the history of my home.
However, around the turn of the 20th century, the story began to go a bit down hill and I think a lot of that was due to the characterization of the Masters family (the main family). They became increasingly less relatable and more irritating. While the beginning half of the book had some great engagement between a variety of ethnicities, by the 1950s, minorities were written as accessories and their stories were not being told from their own points of view. It’s also a little surprising because there was a lot of cultural changes between the 1950s and 2009 (where the book ends) that could have given the plot a much more enjoyable end.
Overall, it was still a pretty good book and I did enjoy it for the most part, I just wish it had ended as well as it started. That said, as a newish New Yorker (moved here 4 years ago!), it was still very nice to imagine the history of my home.
I have always loved Rutherfurd's books and this one did not let me down. I am a huge fan of histroical novels and loved how the novel told a lot about the history of New York City while also following afew families from the beginnings of the city to modern day.
One of my favorite authors growing up was James Michener. I was that kid who, when given a choice between a 300 page novel and a 1200 page novel, I always grabbed the 1200 page book, because bigger was better. When James Michener died in 1997, another up and coming author named Edward Rutherfurd filled the void of the grandiose historic novel that spanned generations. What James Michener's and Edward Rutherfurd's novels have in common is that they write books around a central setting. Michener wrote books titled Alaska, Hawaii, Poland, Texas, Caribbean, etc. Rutherfurd has written novels titled Sarum (area in England known as Salisbury), The New Forest (also in England), London, Russka, etc.
In this case, Rutherfurd's setting is New York City. Its ambitious and it starts off promising. The first few chapters are about the settlement of New Amsterdam, the control of the Dutch and Stuyvesant's rule, and how England came to be in possession of the the city, renaming it New York. The history is told from the point of view of the Master family, English merchants who make money any way they can. We watch the following generation of the Master family as they deal with all the major events that engulf the city, from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 and the Civil War. We watch them as the city grows around them, and they slowly move uptown with the growth. The original members of the family live near Bowling Green and by the end, the modern generation are living along Central Park in the Upper West Side, the family making stops in places like Gramercy Park, 5th Ave, and Park Avenue along the way.
The first half of the book was good, well written and well paced. I enjoyed the split in the family, one member a Tory and the other a Patriot during the Revolutionary War. It was a great devise used by the author to show both sides of the conflict. His descriptions of the Draft Riots of 1863, and the turmoil before and after those events was the pinnacle of the story for me. The last half felt hurried, as if the author was trying to jam as much of New York as he could into the story. But like the city he was writing about, Rutherfurd's story felt large, clunky and he seemed a bit overwhelmed. Another caveat that annoyed me: the story should have been called Manhattan, not New York. There are some scenes that take place in Brooklyn (trips to Coney Island come to mind) but the outer boroughs are largely forgotten. There's an Irish family thrown in haphazardly during the Civil War chapters that don't really do much to move the story along, other than give the Irish perspective of those years. There's an Italian family tossed in, mainly to touch on the Ellis Island experience and the building of the Empire State Building.
Once their stories have been told, they are largely forgotten about. I personally would have loved to read more about the adventures of one of the Irish characters in the story, but his job in the narrative was a way for the author to touch on Tammany Hall, and then he and his heirs vanished. Many strings seemed to have been left dangling, lost in the miasma of New York City.
I applaude the author for tackling a subject as large as New York City. I understand why some characters and their heirs had to vanish. If he had followed every thread, the book would have been overwhelming. Instead of writing a book that seemed rushed and full of characters there only to show the author's knowledge of New York City history, why not focus more on a certain chunks of time and flesh it out. Rutherfurd wrote a series of books about Ireland. New York, in its grandeur, could easily have been a series of fleshed out books. Trying to jam as much as he did in one novel, albiet a very long novel, did not seem to do the story justice. As I said earlier, the last half of the novel was just to clunky and tried to do too much in a short amount of time.
The first half receives 5 stars, and the second half receives 1 star, making for an average of 3.
In this case, Rutherfurd's setting is New York City. Its ambitious and it starts off promising. The first few chapters are about the settlement of New Amsterdam, the control of the Dutch and Stuyvesant's rule, and how England came to be in possession of the the city, renaming it New York. The history is told from the point of view of the Master family, English merchants who make money any way they can. We watch the following generation of the Master family as they deal with all the major events that engulf the city, from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 and the Civil War. We watch them as the city grows around them, and they slowly move uptown with the growth. The original members of the family live near Bowling Green and by the end, the modern generation are living along Central Park in the Upper West Side, the family making stops in places like Gramercy Park, 5th Ave, and Park Avenue along the way.
The first half of the book was good, well written and well paced. I enjoyed the split in the family, one member a Tory and the other a Patriot during the Revolutionary War. It was a great devise used by the author to show both sides of the conflict. His descriptions of the Draft Riots of 1863, and the turmoil before and after those events was the pinnacle of the story for me. The last half felt hurried, as if the author was trying to jam as much of New York as he could into the story. But like the city he was writing about, Rutherfurd's story felt large, clunky and he seemed a bit overwhelmed. Another caveat that annoyed me: the story should have been called Manhattan, not New York. There are some scenes that take place in Brooklyn (trips to Coney Island come to mind) but the outer boroughs are largely forgotten. There's an Irish family thrown in haphazardly during the Civil War chapters that don't really do much to move the story along, other than give the Irish perspective of those years. There's an Italian family tossed in, mainly to touch on the Ellis Island experience and the building of the Empire State Building.
Once their stories have been told, they are largely forgotten about. I personally would have loved to read more about the adventures of one of the Irish characters in the story, but his job in the narrative was a way for the author to touch on Tammany Hall, and then he and his heirs vanished. Many strings seemed to have been left dangling, lost in the miasma of New York City.
I applaude the author for tackling a subject as large as New York City. I understand why some characters and their heirs had to vanish. If he had followed every thread, the book would have been overwhelming. Instead of writing a book that seemed rushed and full of characters there only to show the author's knowledge of New York City history, why not focus more on a certain chunks of time and flesh it out. Rutherfurd wrote a series of books about Ireland. New York, in its grandeur, could easily have been a series of fleshed out books. Trying to jam as much as he did in one novel, albiet a very long novel, did not seem to do the story justice. As I said earlier, the last half of the novel was just to clunky and tried to do too much in a short amount of time.
The first half receives 5 stars, and the second half receives 1 star, making for an average of 3.
Guilty, these books take me a solid full month to read, and they are always my favourite. It's historical fiction at its best. Rutherfurd takes five hundred years of history and turns it into love stories, rivalries, david vs. goaliths, and in general makes it human, interesting, and relatable for all audiences. At 1700 pages, it's not a quick read, but when Rutherfurd ties it all together at the end it's completely worth it. Can't wait to read London!
This novel managed to cover well over 300 years of the history of New York city and make it a fascinating read. At over 800 pages, I never anticipated that I would finish it in just over a week, but I could not put it down. The stories were nicely developed, and there were common threads that helped connect all parts. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I've tried twice now to read this all the way to the end. I love NYC history, and I love long books. All told, I've probably ready 600 pages of this twice. It just looses me though...so I'm marking it read and moving on...
This 35 hour audio book was epic in scope and tale. Rutherfurd takes the well known city of New York back to its early days and slowly brings the reader to present day. This well researched novel provides with countless details and facts about the city as it has developed as well as giving the reader personal stories and people to make it very human lovely. If you are a fan of historical fiction and/or epic novels, this is for you!
I am a true New Yorker at heart. I should probably admit that I have actually never been there, but it doesn’t matter to me, I am a New Yorker. I live and breathe that city; its politics, architecture, finances, its fashion... ohhhhh the fashion, but now after finishing this book it’s all about New York’s history.
This book is a saga, one long 860 page saga, and a page turner at that. Rutherfurd magically connects each part of history to the next through families, politics, love and war in a way that is truly baffling. Some stories are long and detailed, some are short and almost unfinished. Sometimes you read pages and pages about one day and other times major events in time got merely a paragraph. But this is how it draws you in and keeps you in right until the very last page.
Typically books have the basic elements; plot, theme, main characters, supporting characters, beginning, climax, end... you know, the usual. But this book had one main theme and hundreds of everything else! To keep a reader interested through 800 pages without a main character is talent, and it’s rare. Though what becomes obvious towards the end is that this book’s main character and its theme are one and the same; New York. Rutherfurd gives the city itself personality, emotion, actions, consequences; he creates a living, breathing entity from merely a place.
I, along with most of the world, will never forget that Tuesday in September, 2001. Last night, reading the final pages of this book, watching the events unfold through eyes of characters that I got to know and love, watching the city that I had just spent 500 years in, be attacked, was so powerful it’s hard to describe. And it wasn’t the politics of it that was enraging, as it was back in 2001; Rutherfurd left that out, and focused on a day as any other with families, friends, coworkers, banking appointments, and job interviews; all what I expect would be any typical day in the financial district of New York. It wasn’t a political, staged, “the government failed” attack; it was personal, so very personal. It was the first time I didn’t feel emotions for the USA as a whole, but connected with someone who was there, who survived, and with the city, New York, who not only survived but fought back.
I am a Canadian, and as such know how young our history is, how much of it began in Europe and the USA, and that other nations’ histories are our history. The Hudson River, the fur trading, the railroads, the slave trading and the Underground Railroad, the British Rule and Independence; we are all interconnected. This book should be read by every North American citizen. It makes learning easy, the history flows, and you connect with it. It shows us pieces of the puzzle of who we are and where we come from. Thank-you Edward Rutherfurd, you opened my eyes to so much more of New York than Vogue and Vanity Fair, Fox News and Rap music, Sex & the City and the Sopranos, what you did was show me how all those things came to be, and it was no simple story to tell.
In my eyes, New York is a masterpiece, both the city and the book!
This book is a saga, one long 860 page saga, and a page turner at that. Rutherfurd magically connects each part of history to the next through families, politics, love and war in a way that is truly baffling. Some stories are long and detailed, some are short and almost unfinished. Sometimes you read pages and pages about one day and other times major events in time got merely a paragraph. But this is how it draws you in and keeps you in right until the very last page.
Typically books have the basic elements; plot, theme, main characters, supporting characters, beginning, climax, end... you know, the usual. But this book had one main theme and hundreds of everything else! To keep a reader interested through 800 pages without a main character is talent, and it’s rare. Though what becomes obvious towards the end is that this book’s main character and its theme are one and the same; New York. Rutherfurd gives the city itself personality, emotion, actions, consequences; he creates a living, breathing entity from merely a place.
I, along with most of the world, will never forget that Tuesday in September, 2001. Last night, reading the final pages of this book, watching the events unfold through eyes of characters that I got to know and love, watching the city that I had just spent 500 years in, be attacked, was so powerful it’s hard to describe. And it wasn’t the politics of it that was enraging, as it was back in 2001; Rutherfurd left that out, and focused on a day as any other with families, friends, coworkers, banking appointments, and job interviews; all what I expect would be any typical day in the financial district of New York. It wasn’t a political, staged, “the government failed” attack; it was personal, so very personal. It was the first time I didn’t feel emotions for the USA as a whole, but connected with someone who was there, who survived, and with the city, New York, who not only survived but fought back.
I am a Canadian, and as such know how young our history is, how much of it began in Europe and the USA, and that other nations’ histories are our history. The Hudson River, the fur trading, the railroads, the slave trading and the Underground Railroad, the British Rule and Independence; we are all interconnected. This book should be read by every North American citizen. It makes learning easy, the history flows, and you connect with it. It shows us pieces of the puzzle of who we are and where we come from. Thank-you Edward Rutherfurd, you opened my eyes to so much more of New York than Vogue and Vanity Fair, Fox News and Rap music, Sex & the City and the Sopranos, what you did was show me how all those things came to be, and it was no simple story to tell.
In my eyes, New York is a masterpiece, both the city and the book!
Great! Loved this one. Brings the reader right through the different ages of New York, develops characters well, and makes good links from past to present. Really good!
4.5 stars
Though I don't always love Historical Fiction, Rutherfurd is a doyen in the way he builds his story and his generations of characters. Like a mason, joining bricks together in a pattern mastered for its strength, he starts with seemingly disparate stories and slowly constructs his full picture. With the crisscrossing and overlapping lives of his characters' stories that span hundreds of years, New York comes alive, revealing the origin of so many well-known landmarks and the rich but malleable history. Rutherfurd's scope is always so impressive, and I find myself returning to his brilliant constructions again and again.
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Mark Bramhall|15011468|Mark Bramhall|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1498216235p2/15011468.jpg]:. Bramhall is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. His narration is so dependably good, steady, and engaging. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to anything he performs.
Though I don't always love Historical Fiction, Rutherfurd is a doyen in the way he builds his story and his generations of characters. Like a mason, joining bricks together in a pattern mastered for its strength, he starts with seemingly disparate stories and slowly constructs his full picture. With the crisscrossing and overlapping lives of his characters' stories that span hundreds of years, New York comes alive, revealing the origin of so many well-known landmarks and the rich but malleable history. Rutherfurd's scope is always so impressive, and I find myself returning to his brilliant constructions again and again.
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Mark Bramhall|15011468|Mark Bramhall|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1498216235p2/15011468.jpg]:. Bramhall is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. His narration is so dependably good, steady, and engaging. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to anything he performs.