Take a photo of a barcode or cover
leahnoel 's review for:
Sarum: The Novel of England
by Edward Rutherfurd
This is the first book I've ever read where the land is the main character and the supporting characters are several family bloodlines followed through thousands of years. The plot of this book, I think, is to show how the land shapes the people and not the other way around. Stonehenge is NOT in the spotlight as a previous reviewer claims- the people who built it are.
The book follows the lineage of several families, and over time you see which family traits are more dominant than others, or you might pick up on a certain character's personality being very similar to an ancestor's. It took quite a while to catch on to family traits and to become more interested in how the families interact with each other. It's a slow read.
I thought the concept of this book was more interesting than the writing itself, which was disappointing. I'd give the concept a solid 5 stars and my actual enjoyment a 3ish. I don't see a way around it though because the breadth of time is so vast that I don't see how the story could be more gripping. Anyway, I think I read that Sarum was the first of several books with the same concept of letting the land be the star. I'd like to read at least one more of his books to see if the dullness I experienced was just having to do with low interest in the subject or if it was in fact the author's writing style.
The book follows the lineage of several families, and over time you see which family traits are more dominant than others, or you might pick up on a certain character's personality being very similar to an ancestor's. It took quite a while to catch on to family traits and to become more interested in how the families interact with each other. It's a slow read.
I thought the concept of this book was more interesting than the writing itself, which was disappointing. I'd give the concept a solid 5 stars and my actual enjoyment a 3ish. I don't see a way around it though because the breadth of time is so vast that I don't see how the story could be more gripping. Anyway, I think I read that Sarum was the first of several books with the same concept of letting the land be the star. I'd like to read at least one more of his books to see if the dullness I experienced was just having to do with low interest in the subject or if it was in fact the author's writing style.