Reviews

although it took a long time to finish the book I never lost interest. this is a really great story which incorporates the history of New York. I felt like I was travelling through time along with the caracters!

ronathereader's review against another edition

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1.0

While I absolutely Loved Rutherfurd's Russka and Dublinia, for some reason I couldn't get into this book and I found the story rather boring. I gave up halfway through and decided not to waste my time on the rest of the novel. I might give it another try sometime, but not right now.

sjdunlop's review against another edition

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informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

lilylanie's review against another edition

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4.0

I feel like the subtitle could be “Racism and name-dropping over 400 years.”

This book was too massive to adequately review but I did really enjoy the fact that it put many of the people and things that we know about today into their proper historical context, and provided a bit of continuity between the big events that we all know about. It also did a good job of showing us that things aren’t necessarily black-and-white. We think we know all the reasons behind the Revolutionary War and the American Civil War but nothing is quite that simple. History makes us think that everyone in the north thought one way and everyone in the south another but that’s of course not possible.

Some of the characters resonated with me more than others but I guess that’s true to life, not every generation of a family is going to have outstanding individuals.

I’m honestly amazed that I managed 37 hours of the audiobook and was almost never bored. Perhaps the fact that it was really more like six or seven books put together is what made it bearable. Next time I have 36 hours to kill I’ll probably try one of his other books.

rihamb's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a really great read for someone who loves New York and has no knowledge of its history. The most enjoyable parts was learning more about the landmarks of the city and how long they've been there.
The combination of fictional characters as well as historical information keeps the book from falling into a "documentary" or "history lesson" sort of thing.

I would have enjoyed a little more diversity in the characters though. The focus was too centered on rich families. I would imagine this is to reinforce the American dream idea, and the fact that New York is where dreams come true. This wasn't particularly bad, however it makes the reader wonder whether the author has ignored a whole side of the city.

atb's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Audio is the way to go here.

vorgable's review against another edition

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3.0

If you like historical fiction, you will probably Iike this book. It basically follows one family from the early settlement of New York in the 1600s through the 2010s. The book tells the evolution of the city and history using the Master family as the tie that holds the story together. There were other families interwoven, but not too much detail about them.

Many key historical events were used in the story, such as Revolutionary war battles that were fought around the area and the Triangle Shirt Factory tragedy, but others were not even mentioned, such as World War 2. This is probably due to the span and scope of the novel. How can you include everything in one novel when your story cover 500 years?

Overall, the story held my interest, and I cared about the characters.

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