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hollygoltly's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
mrchrisprice's review
3.0
A good read. I’d recommend to anyone with a tie to New York. It was fun to get a bit of New York history. Overall, a bit verbose. What was said in 300 pages could have been said in 200. I loved the character and representation but it was a bit slow at parts.
samidhak's review
4.0
Absolutely terrific! I enjoyed every character in this book. I admit that I was not aware about Andrew Haswell Green and his contributions to New York’s Architecture and Public spaces. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this imagined historical fiction that centers around him. This book follow a reverse story-telling process; it starts with the murder of Green. Over the course of several chapters and through multiple characters, Lee builds Green’s life for us.
I immensely enjoy character driven stories, and this was no exception. There is something magical about the lyrical writing and the various characters that we read about; be it Mrs Bray or Samuel Tilden or Bessie Davis, that just made me fall in love with the book.
The most touching chapters for me were around Green’s voyage to Trinidad. The inner turmoil that he feels as if he’s lost in a sea of things and forgetting who he really is spoke to me on a spiritual level. It mirrors a lot of my own anxieties and I related so much to his inner dialogue during those chapters.
There’s not much plot to say the least and even though the title seems like it might be a mystery, this book is actually a character-story on Greater New York’s father, as well as a murder due to mistaken identity. I would highly highly recommend this!
I immensely enjoy character driven stories, and this was no exception. There is something magical about the lyrical writing and the various characters that we read about; be it Mrs Bray or Samuel Tilden or Bessie Davis, that just made me fall in love with the book.
The most touching chapters for me were around Green’s voyage to Trinidad. The inner turmoil that he feels as if he’s lost in a sea of things and forgetting who he really is spoke to me on a spiritual level. It mirrors a lot of my own anxieties and I related so much to his inner dialogue during those chapters.
There’s not much plot to say the least and even though the title seems like it might be a mystery, this book is actually a character-story on Greater New York’s father, as well as a murder due to mistaken identity. I would highly highly recommend this!
mitchk's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I wanted to like this more - but it grew on me! Lee’s writing style and language choices took getting used to but then they became one of my favourite things - really transporting me to that time and place. I love the NY history and the evolution of the city - but it felt a bit slow and took me a while to get through even though it’s a slim (ish) novel.Â
kez's review against another edition
3.25
Interesting information but it felt a little too disjointed. The timeline dealing with Green's murder worked well, but the one dealing with his life up to his death seemed to jump around and I never really felt that I got to know him in any great depth.
louismunozjr's review
3.0
3 stars, not a "great mistake" to read, LOL. A historical character, a forgotten figure that once loomed large in the world of New York and the turn-of-the-last-century, about whom I had heard a little about in the past, brought to fictional life in a fairly interesting way. Not a stellar read, however, which I am sorry to say, having expected a lot more from this book.
Many thanks to #NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Many thanks to #NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
thisotherbookaccount's review
3.0
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2.5 stars, rounded up.
Andrew Haswell Green is known as the Father of Greater New York because he’s responsible for everything from Central Park and the New York Public Library to the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, not much is known about him because he was an intensely private person. In 1903, he was shot dead in front of his apartment along Park Avenue, sparking off an investigation into the perpetrator’s motive. Green’s enigmatic life is also fertile grounds for author Jonathan Lee to explore, including a potential same-sex relationship with Samuel Tilden, a Governor of New York and a Presidential Candidate at one point.
I had high hopes for The Great Mistake since I heard about it late last year. Unfortunately, the book falls short on too many fronts for my liking.
Lee’s authorial voice is as intrusive as it is disruptive. Instead of allowing the characters to tell the story, Lee’s ‘voice’ constantly butts its way into the narrative. It’s hard to describe, but imagine yourself at a dinner table with a talkative aunt. The aunt says that Cousin Sam has an interesting story about what happened last weekend but, instead of letting Cousin Sam do the talking, your aunt takes over the conversation — it’s like that. It doesn’t help that your aunt goes off on big tangents and doesn’t speak with quotation marks (the horrors).
By pure coincidence, this wasn’t the first book I read this year about a man trying to hide his attraction for another. Unlike James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, the treatment of Green’s secret relationship with Tilden feels forced and clumsy, almost like a bad facsimile of the real thing.
All of this is stretched over a threadbare plot, with a murder mystery that’s all too easily solved.
Was it a great mistake to read The Great Mistake? No, but it’s not a mistake it will likely learn a lesson from in a week or two.
2.5 stars, rounded up.
Andrew Haswell Green is known as the Father of Greater New York because he’s responsible for everything from Central Park and the New York Public Library to the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, not much is known about him because he was an intensely private person. In 1903, he was shot dead in front of his apartment along Park Avenue, sparking off an investigation into the perpetrator’s motive. Green’s enigmatic life is also fertile grounds for author Jonathan Lee to explore, including a potential same-sex relationship with Samuel Tilden, a Governor of New York and a Presidential Candidate at one point.
I had high hopes for The Great Mistake since I heard about it late last year. Unfortunately, the book falls short on too many fronts for my liking.
Lee’s authorial voice is as intrusive as it is disruptive. Instead of allowing the characters to tell the story, Lee’s ‘voice’ constantly butts its way into the narrative. It’s hard to describe, but imagine yourself at a dinner table with a talkative aunt. The aunt says that Cousin Sam has an interesting story about what happened last weekend but, instead of letting Cousin Sam do the talking, your aunt takes over the conversation — it’s like that. It doesn’t help that your aunt goes off on big tangents and doesn’t speak with quotation marks (the horrors).
By pure coincidence, this wasn’t the first book I read this year about a man trying to hide his attraction for another. Unlike James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, the treatment of Green’s secret relationship with Tilden feels forced and clumsy, almost like a bad facsimile of the real thing.
All of this is stretched over a threadbare plot, with a murder mystery that’s all too easily solved.
Was it a great mistake to read The Great Mistake? No, but it’s not a mistake it will likely learn a lesson from in a week or two.
magicofthepages's review
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thebookfare's review
3.0
This is a 3.5 stars rounded down. But depending on my mood and if I sit and think about it long enough it could be rounded up to a 4? I’m very on the fence about it. Beautifully written. The author has a stunning way with words. That being said I just never got to the place where I couldn’t put it down. I never HAD to turn the page to find out what happened next. It’s a good book. It just didn’t connect with me in a way that felt GREAT.