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A review by samidhak
The Great Mistake by Jonathan Lee
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!