soinavoice's review against another edition
4.0
Fantastic character study with great historical detail. Maybe a little cynical for my taste, but witty and nuanced and fabulously well-written.
c2pizza's review against another edition
4.0
I remember hearing the comparison of Gore Vidal to Stendahl a year or so ago and not being able to think anything of it having not read either author. A year later I found myself reading Burr at home and The Red and the Black at work and constantly overlapping the plots in my mind which rarely happens. So I have to support the notion that Gore Vidal is the Stendahl of the 20th century and that everyone should read both of them.
spinnerroweok's review against another edition
5.0
There are historical novels that sound 20th century people running around in a 18th century set. Then there are pieces like Burr that seem to be so meticulously researched that you can smell the stench of the past. Mr. Vidal does his homework as he uses Aaron Burr to skewer the founders and show them to be the self contradictory humans that they are.
This is a book within a book as Vidal sets up a frame story around 1835 in which a young would-be writer is studying law with Mr. Burr. Along the way, we are given Burr's history through recollections and attempts at a memoir. Mr. Vidal makes both the frame story and Burr's backstory very entertaining.
I enjoyed this so much! I am next moving on to a biography of Burr while waiting for Audible to release Vidal's Lincoln later this month.
If you loved Hamilton and how hate Burr, read Burr by Gore Vidal, and question your allegiances.
This is a book within a book as Vidal sets up a frame story around 1835 in which a young would-be writer is studying law with Mr. Burr. Along the way, we are given Burr's history through recollections and attempts at a memoir. Mr. Vidal makes both the frame story and Burr's backstory very entertaining.
I enjoyed this so much! I am next moving on to a biography of Burr while waiting for Audible to release Vidal's Lincoln later this month.
If you loved Hamilton and how hate Burr, read Burr by Gore Vidal, and question your allegiances.
emmaaxtco's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Thoroughly enjoyed most of it but other parts dragged on to the point that I felt like I had to power through. I learned quite a bit and would be curious to know what is fact and what is fiction or embellishment.
madd_anderson's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tbjork's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent historical novel. Very well written and a great way to tell the story of Aaron Burr. The book also does a great job of revealing the human side of the historical figures ("founding fathers") that is left out in the school history books that turn these people into huge heroes and give them a godlike status. I can wait to read the rest of the books in the American Chronicle Series.
elsiebrady's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the political perspective from the North. I grew up in Virginia so Jefferson, Monroe, Madison are local gods. Vidal’s book was very enlightening about our country’s early politics but even foreshadowing our current politics.
peggyluwho's review against another edition
5.0
5 out of 5 dueling pistols
This is one of my all-time favorite books and was the first novel that made me love historical fiction and how it makes me curious about the factual history that lays beneath it by making it into a story where gaps and questions we will likely never have an answer to are filled in. I enjoy Vidal’s writing, it’s accessible to me and just stylized enough. I like the device of a book-within-a- book as it is employed here but generally am a fan. It obviously doesn’t shy away from some of the less than pleasant realities of the time period, such as slavery, racism, and sexism, but I didn’t read any of it as an endorsement of the prevailing opinions of the time or apologetics. If anything, one of the things about this book that I liked was that it humanized historical figures who are frequently put on a pedestal, the “Founding Fathers”, and showed them with all their glorious flaws on display. It pokes holes in the mythology that they were all interested in government by the masses and that they were unanimously and wholeheartedly committed to democracy. Plots to colonize to the east and south of the United States and install new monarchies were not a thing that I was taught in history classes throughout my childhood, but I did learn about from this book. I took Burr as a starting point and was able to investigate the history further to find out more about not just Aaron Burr, but many of his contemporaries. At the same time, I was entertained.
This is one of my all-time favorite books and was the first novel that made me love historical fiction and how it makes me curious about the factual history that lays beneath it by making it into a story where gaps and questions we will likely never have an answer to are filled in. I enjoy Vidal’s writing, it’s accessible to me and just stylized enough. I like the device of a book-within-a- book as it is employed here but generally am a fan. It obviously doesn’t shy away from some of the less than pleasant realities of the time period, such as slavery, racism, and sexism, but I didn’t read any of it as an endorsement of the prevailing opinions of the time or apologetics. If anything, one of the things about this book that I liked was that it humanized historical figures who are frequently put on a pedestal, the “Founding Fathers”, and showed them with all their glorious flaws on display. It pokes holes in the mythology that they were all interested in government by the masses and that they were unanimously and wholeheartedly committed to democracy. Plots to colonize to the east and south of the United States and install new monarchies were not a thing that I was taught in history classes throughout my childhood, but I did learn about from this book. I took Burr as a starting point and was able to investigate the history further to find out more about not just Aaron Burr, but many of his contemporaries. At the same time, I was entertained.
jommerson's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5