A review by duanebutcher
New York: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd

2.0

First disclosure: I did not read this book, but heard it as an audio book. I am very glad I did not waste time reading it. This is not really a novel--much more a series of short stories very vaguely intertwined with a highlights of New York history here and there. Rutherfurd's New York is Dutch and English, with the vaguest nods toward other groups. He seems to make a decent effort at dealing with the earliest African Americans, but they disappear entirely by the end of the book. Even Jewish people are barely represented by a single character. More importantly, this is not a serious book about what a city like New York is really about--instead it's just a pastiche of cardboard characters experiencing famous moments in history.

I'd skip it.