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sarahcoller 's review for:
New York: The Novel
by Edward Rutherfurd
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Another incredible read by Edward Rutherfurd! Do I love it more than <i>London</i>? Not sure --- possibly! Or maybe I like them both the same for different reasons. Either way, this was such a satisfying read and I'm not sure I can just move on to the next novel very easily. I've lived in this world Rutherfurd made for a good 10 days now!
I appreciate his writing style and how he establishes a few storylines at a time, making sure the reader doesn’t get overwhelmed with too many characters and situations. I also love how he refers to things throughout the generations that keep the reader remembering the thread that runs through. Trinity Church, the wampum belt...
I learned so much about American history, the events leading up to the Revolution were especially interesting. I also found the discussion on the differences between the freedom of a 17th c. Dutch woman and her English counterpart to be particularly noteworthy. The tone of the book seemed to get darker and less hopeful the more history went on. The earlier families started off a bit naive and by the end, the entire society had suffered so much. Still, the ending offered hope; even on the heels of 9/11. (I had to laugh at, "Dad, I think I have ADD." Ugh... been there with my over-privileged teens, too.
Besides the profanity throughout, I had just one other pet peeve: his use of "if then statements" to contrast things:
<i>“If she was blonde, her sister was brunette”
“If the city was chaotic, the countryside was calm.”</i>
Or this really obnoxious one: <i>“Yet if, on the one hand she was independent, on the other, she was vulnerable."</i> I found these to be unnecessarily wordy and because he used them dozens of times, it was very noticeable.
Still the book is a definite five star for me. There were plenty of unexpected heroes and just when you’d decided you really didn’t like someone, they'd go do something wonderful! I'm sure I'll read this again and again!
I appreciate his writing style and how he establishes a few storylines at a time, making sure the reader doesn’t get overwhelmed with too many characters and situations. I also love how he refers to things throughout the generations that keep the reader remembering the thread that runs through. Trinity Church, the wampum belt...
I learned so much about American history, the events leading up to the Revolution were especially interesting. I also found the discussion on the differences between the freedom of a 17th c. Dutch woman and her English counterpart to be particularly noteworthy. The tone of the book seemed to get darker and less hopeful the more history went on. The earlier families started off a bit naive and by the end, the entire society had suffered so much. Still, the ending offered hope; even on the heels of 9/11. (I had to laugh at, "Dad, I think I have ADD." Ugh... been there with my over-privileged teens, too.
Besides the profanity throughout, I had just one other pet peeve: his use of "if then statements" to contrast things:
<i>“If she was blonde, her sister was brunette”
“If the city was chaotic, the countryside was calm.”</i>
Or this really obnoxious one: <i>“Yet if, on the one hand she was independent, on the other, she was vulnerable."</i> I found these to be unnecessarily wordy and because he used them dozens of times, it was very noticeable.
Still the book is a definite five star for me. There were plenty of unexpected heroes and just when you’d decided you really didn’t like someone, they'd go do something wonderful! I'm sure I'll read this again and again!