judyward's review against another edition
4.0
No doubt I enjoyed this book so much because I was raised around the Chesapeake Bay and still consider it home.
mbondlamberty's review against another edition
4.0
I have never read Michener before and he does an epic justice.
Frustrating as a historian that most of these characters are not historical but still a nice introduction to a history of the Eastern Shore.
Follow several family through the many changes and centuries.
Some are a little too simple caricatures of a real person but still I was eagerly listening through the whole book
Frustrating as a historian that most of these characters are not historical but still a nice introduction to a history of the Eastern Shore.
Follow several family through the many changes and centuries.
Some are a little too simple caricatures of a real person but still I was eagerly listening through the whole book
readers_block's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to like this so, so badly. It has everything I love. I adore historical epics spanning generations, and I love the history of this part of America. Unfortunately I couldn't get past page 200 or so. I deliberated for a while before ultimately deciding to put it down. What really did it in for me was the lack of characters development. The characters are basically just used to move the overall story along, but they don't really matter and they're not very deep. Michener will say in a single sentence that a main character has died and his three sons, who he's never mentioned before, moved to London. If you blink, you genuinely could miss it. I'm really bummed about this, but ultimately wasn't willing to stick it out for 800 more pages.
crabbytaco's review against another edition
Female characters became stereotypes, excessive racial slurs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Racial slurs, and Violence
Minor: Incest and Child death
shailendraahangama17's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
tnsbandgeek's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
panglott's review
2.0
The first half of this book comes off as pretty racist by contemporary standards, with stereotypical treatment of Natives Americans as a simple and ignorant people (hunter-gatherers who don't know what geese are) that confuses distinct native societies and legitimates "Indian princess ancestor" myths. There is also a near-complete erasure of black perspectives in the first half of the book, and the author mixes the authorial voice with statements of the racist conventional wisdom and explicit pro-slavery arguments of specific characters in ways that confuses them and seem to endorse the latter. The author simply assumes that readers will regard slavery and racism as morally wrong while offering the characters' defenses for it. Characters are extremely stereotypical, with the aristocratic Steeds embodying noble gentility, while the poor Turlocks are stupid and inbred. The planter families are with few exceptions allowed to protray themselves as kind and gentle masters, whose slaves are personally devoted to them—even after episodes of violence and rape. The second half of the book is better, when the author finally gets some black characters.
Don't get the audiobook version unless you want to actually hear the n-word a lot.
Don't get the audiobook version unless you want to actually hear the n-word a lot.
firerosearien's review
4.0
My favorite type of historical fiction - sweeping generational sagas. Michener, to his credit, even though the novel was written in the 1970s, didn't shy away from slavery or racial inequality. He also spends more time writing about the causes leading up to the Civil War (and yes, slavery was the cause) than on the Civil War itself, which I really appreciated.
readerkat8's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0