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john_raine's review against another edition
3.0
It was pretty good. I would have given it four stars if it ended around the end of the 19th century. I slogged through the 1900s part of the book but I did not like it nearly as much. A big reason that I liked it is because it deals with the area around where I live, and have visited the primary location several times. Still an enjoyable, albeit long read.
mikebarbre's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
drdumplings's review
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
hofmerin's review against another edition
2.0
Michener bested me this time. I made it through the War of 1812 before giving up. The final straw was that I felt let down at the fictional account of the war. In other Michener books he deftly threw his fictional plot lines directly into the path of historical events and navigated both expertly. Chesapeake just failed to toe that line for me. I couldn't embrace the families or their ties to the region and I felt completely lost from the region's timeline. I put this one down and don't regret it for a moment. As one saving point, Michener did an excellent job describing the religious affiliation of Catholicism with Maryland and I fully intend to find a better resource to learn more about this part of the states history.
travis_zalesky's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A Forest Gump style amble through 500 years of American history. The families of the Eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay find themselves in the center of ever major event that shaped America. Entertaining and bold, if long-winded. Occasionally the stories stretched disbelief, but the characters were very strong and dynamic, with morally gray protagonists and diverse perspectives. Overall it was quite good with an exceptionally strong ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery
Moderate: Death, Classism, and Animal death
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
No doubt I enjoyed this book so much because I was raised around the Chesapeake Bay and still consider it home.
mbondlamberty's review against another edition
4.0
I have never read Michener before and he does an epic justice.
Frustrating as a historian that most of these characters are not historical but still a nice introduction to a history of the Eastern Shore.
Follow several family through the many changes and centuries.
Some are a little too simple caricatures of a real person but still I was eagerly listening through the whole book
Frustrating as a historian that most of these characters are not historical but still a nice introduction to a history of the Eastern Shore.
Follow several family through the many changes and centuries.
Some are a little too simple caricatures of a real person but still I was eagerly listening through the whole book
readers_block's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to like this so, so badly. It has everything I love. I adore historical epics spanning generations, and I love the history of this part of America. Unfortunately I couldn't get past page 200 or so. I deliberated for a while before ultimately deciding to put it down. What really did it in for me was the lack of characters development. The characters are basically just used to move the overall story along, but they don't really matter and they're not very deep. Michener will say in a single sentence that a main character has died and his three sons, who he's never mentioned before, moved to London. If you blink, you genuinely could miss it. I'm really bummed about this, but ultimately wasn't willing to stick it out for 800 more pages.
crabbytaco's review against another edition
Female characters became stereotypes, excessive racial slurs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Racial slurs, and Violence
Minor: Incest and Child death