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This book is quite possibly the longest of any of the ones I have read by Edward Rutherford. Like his other books, the title is the subject of this book. It stretches from the ice ages to almost the present day. Of course there are periods of a hundred or so years skipped here and there, especially in periods where little was known (The Dark Ages). Genetic characteristics passed down through generations are one of the interesting parts of the book. White hair as well as webbed fingers are particularly seen in one family who make an appearance as fairly central characters in different periods of the book. The family even endures a split down the middle and some characters do not know they are related and only guess through these genetic characteristics.
Some obvious critiques of this book are the ones that would be difficult for anyone to avoid - the quickness of passing of some of the historical periods (particularly the ones rife with action such as the 16th and 17th centuries. There are also some that are borne out more with more character development and these were generally the ones I enjoyed more. Rutherford is not a great literary author - he doesn't have the gifts that many authors do, but he is amazing at developing characters and providing historically accurate information in an interesting setting, made more interesting by the fiction he adds in himself.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it.
This is one of Charles Dicken's more well known and regarded books. It's a coming of age tale in the same way that made The catcher in the rye so famous. Pip at the beginning of his story lives with his older sister and her husband Joe. An early experience leads Pip to question himself and the values he was brought up around. It's hard to go much further into the plot without giving the whole thing away so instead I'm just going to vaguely list what I found to be the assets of this book.
Firstly Pip is portrayed amazingly. Although he depicts himself through his faults, you come to love him through the things he doesn't talk about. The way this is done is actually genius. One would think that the portrayal through words is the most important, but Pip as a character proves that actions speak louder than words to quip. Furthermore, I found the character of Joe extremely endearing, although he's sadly portrayed in a light that he doesn't want further education, he just wants the status quo. As far as Joe is concerned, as long as everything is easy enough, e.g. food and shelter, he can go on as he has before. Despite this seemingly irrevocable view, through Pip, he comes to learn more but never succumbs to the same disease of wealth that Pip does.
Dickens is magical in the way he can portray characters through what is not said, rather than through what is said. He is famous for being extremely wordy and it would be correct to say that his sentences are longer and less punctuated than most. Despite this, his writing has always (with perhaps the exception of Nicholas Nickelby) maintained my interest. His characters are so intricately portrayed and the plot stems from them rather than being independent. The fact of the matter is that Dickens seems to have the idea already so firmly in his head that the story flows so naturally you wouldn't even believe it necessitated inventing.
A great book, not my personal favourite (as Bleak House is my favourite) but still a more than decent read.
This book following on from Dublin by the same author, beginning in 1597 and going right through until the twentieth century. Much like the last book, this one is centred in Dublin but also includes other parts of Ireland. It is in this sector of Irish history that we see the devastation wrought by Oliver Cromwell in the 1600s in his attempt to convert the Irish to Protestantism. Following on from this, the difficulties in attempting to build a representative parliament and the block-outs of those who followed Catholicism. Moreover, and perhaps more famously the potato famine of the 1800s started by a blight and later leading to mass starvation. Perhaps surprisingly this famine ended not when health was restored, but when England decided it had had enough and told everyone the famine had ended when it had not.
More so than the last book, I found many of the characters in this book entertaining and interesting. Fortunatus, for example of the Walsh family, who was brought up a Protestant unlike the rest of his family and who trains as a doctor rising up to become gentry. Georgiana was also surprising as a strong female character, who eventually is estranged from her son when he forsakes his family. There are several more strong characters which keep the book moving along well.
I think the sequel was definitely an improvement on the first book. It was fairly consistent throughout as none of the periods of history it covered were uncertain ones from a historical perspective. It also links into the context of wider Ireland as well as Dublin which helps move the story along.
Again I would recommend this, but make sure to read Dublin first. Chock full of historical facts and interesting asides, these are both decent books
This is the first in a series of books lent to me by a friend. The subject matter of all these books is a place, rather than a person. Many people come and go throughout centuries and although some of the characters are fairly well-developed, it is the place you get to know, rather than any character in particular.
It is obvious a large amount of research went into this book, which details the history of Dublin up until 1550. In this vein, it is largely inconsistent. Obviously, there are large amounts of research on certain periods of history, while others remain uncertain. Because of this, the beginning of this book in hunter-gatherer periods drifts a fair bit, as there is very little Rutherford can be sure actually happened. For this reason, he uses a lot of fairly descriptive language, which is scant in other parts of the book.
In all respects, this book and all those that follow it is chock-full of interesting historical information and Rutherford provides interesting commentary as to the sureness of this information in history books. Moreover, knowing the setting of these happenings well, as you get to throughout the book, assists the reader in understanding and placing events within context. As someone with an interest in Ireland generally, it made for an incredibly interesting read.
It's difficult to put a rating on this book. A lot of things about it could be improved. That said, it is an amazing book in that it contains such a large amount of information in a fairly interesting and acceptable manner. If you have any sort of interest in history or Ireland, it is an incredible book.
This amazing memoir is written by Miep Gies who helped to hide the Frank family during World War II. Gies recently died at the age of 101, the last person known of to have actually met the Frank family before they were tragically lost during the Nazi Holocaust. Gies wrote events in this book as she remembered them; Anne Frank as well as her entire family had obviously made a lasting impression of her and their fate through her words becomes representative of the fate of millions.
Gies begins the book with a short account of her life; as a child during World War I and later being adopted by a family in Amsterdam and eventually moving there for good. She then shows her first connection with Otto Frank (Anne's father) and how she eventually came to meet the entire Frank family. Gies has a purely touching writing style which means this book is both easy to read and emotionally understandable. For anyone who has read Anne Frank's diary; this is a version of events from someone who perhaps saw the political situation more clearly than Anne would have at such a young age and Gies does a remarkable job of providing the background to what would become the most famous personal account to come out of the Holocaust. Although she describes her acts as unheroic, it is clear for anyone reading the book that she risked her life in a way many people in the same era would not have dared.
This book has the capability of bringing many people to tears I would think, not only because of the way it is written but also because it is a historically accurate and poignant story.
This amazing book is the latest by Barbara Kingsolver and was bought for me for Christmas. I loved two other books I have read by her: The Bean Trees and The Poisonwood Bible. This story told through only letters and diary entries is the story of Harrison Shepherd, a young half-Mexican, half-American boy who loves to write. The book follows him all the way through to his supposed death.
The book is populated with both true historical characters such as Diego Rivera, Lev Trotsky and Frida Kahlo as well as ones like Harrison himself who is entirely fictional. How Kingsolver manages to incorporate both true historical accounts and an interesting fictional character is beyond me but she does it incredibly well, especially with the historical clarity which serves as a setting for Harrison's life from before World War II in an American Military Academy to the intrusive American practice of McCarthyism where Harrison finds himself persecuted as a political subversive. This story could contain mirrors of the truth of some people during this period in history and shows the possible consequences both emotional and life-changing of the twentieth century. The writing is entrancing and believable and matures as the narrator does throughout the telling of the book.
I guess what I appreciated most about this book was its awesome literature, the way in which even throughout the letters the story was told beautifully. The historical characters were brought to life and my interest in all of them began/was renewed. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Kingsolver or who is interested in this part of history. It is truly a classic.
This book contains a series of connected short stories all centred around a house in Massachusetts. In the first story we meet the builder of the house who goes off to sea with his sons who are killed when they all drown. A blackbird, the son's pet returns to the house and blackbirds continue to be symbolic throughout the book of the history of the house and the tragedy that befell its first owners. The house is also home to a ravaging amount of fruit trees and as it becomes weathered and less lived in over the years, the book follows the inhabitants and the various things they do to the house which turn up later in the book under the gaze of a different person.
Hoffman definitely had a gift with prose and this is probably the best book I have read by her. Partially because without over-exposing its many character, themes and symbols of the house are kept alive throughout the book. The way all the stories which could also be read separately, are connected is ingenius and the house becomes a magical place with a vivid history. The reader can picture the different things which happen to the house over the years and it is this, in my opinion that makes the book such a gift to its readers. I read it extremely quickly.
Widely speaking the book shows how every place has a history and how the 'spirit' of previous inhabitants can remain and can shape a livelihood. The house remains msotly neglected throughout the book and all the characters are confronted with a sense of loneliness, sadness and acceptance of their lot.
I would highly recommend this book.
I actually read this novel when I was a teenager but didn't remember it very well. I've also seen the film which is amazing just like the book. It weaves a story of the 2nd World War and its effects in both Italy and Greece, and paticularly on the Greek island of Cellaphonia during its Italian occupation and then after Italy and Nazi Germany split after Mussolini was overthrown. It contains blissfully humourous rants and raves which really make you question the dictator's sanity or even humanity. The book starts off with a young woman, Pelagia and her father Dr Iannis who treats the island's various ills. It takes you through the war experiences of Mandras, a love interest who finds out the true valor that lies in being a soldier. It also gloriously features one of the most loveable characters, a gay soldier named Carlo.
The story takes a twist when Captain Corelli is stationed at Cellaphonia and is living in Dr Iannis' house. A love story begins to unfold with the complexities of loyalty to Greece torn with the occupation by Italy. All the characters suffer as the war takes more of a hold and all are portrayed in different ways. The mandolin played by Captain Corelli is seen as a beautiful thing among all the ugliness which is also helped by a choir of Italian and German soldiers. One of the more interesting characters was a German soldier, eventually forced to betray his Italian friends in the name of his country. There is such a readiness these days to label all Nazi soldiers as evil but the German soldier's uncertainties and complexities are also shown especially towards the end of the book.
The bit that annoyed me was the end, all very romantic and everything but so idealistic which I suppose is an element of the time the book was written for. However, the language throughout the book, the new characters introduced and the historical accuracy are things that makes this book such a stellar read. A must-read if you haven't already, a true classic.
Surprisingly I only read this book recently even though it is the most famous of Philippa Gregory's works and has recently had a movie made about it. I have read two other Philippa Gregory books: The Queen's Fool and The Boleyn Inheritance. She seems to favour historical romances, and this book is no exception.
I always enjoy reading about Henry VIII and his six wives, not only because of the scandalous nature of the whole facade but also because it surprises me how people continued to crave this King's favour right until he died on his sixth wife. As with all Gregory's works, there is of course an element of fiction to add to the story. Not all of this history is known for obvious reasons (it has been a few centuries). The romance in this story was enjoyable as it was not the romance (or lack thereof) with the King, but instead something that seemed really charming, next to the affair
Mary Boleyn was forced to have with the King. In the book, (and I have no idea if this actually happened) Mary, ignoring the wishes of her family finally gets the guts to go to the man she loves. Awww!
Okay now that I've gotten over my romantic notions, as well as enjoying the plot of this book the writing was also great, it kept me wanting to read the book all the way through and heightened my historical interest as well. I guess the only criticism I would have is that some people take this book a bit too seriously and think everything it says as historical fact. That's not really a criticism of the book though, more of some people who read it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, even if you don't have a particular interest in England's history it's still a lovely and sad story. I haven't seen the movie but I've heard it's not as good as the book, it does have Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn though and I love Natalie Portman! Scarlett Johansson is also pretty cool.
I first became aware of Jane Boleyn while reading a Phillipa Gregory book called The Boleyn Inheritance which paints a rather different picture of this woman, however it is meant as a fictional story based on true events. Jane Boleyn on the other hand attempts to paint a broader picture of what life was like for Lady Rochford and to dispel rumours of her apparent sexual deviance.
I found this a not very enlightening historical account of Lady Rochford's life, while it outlined her early life well, much of what was said about her life as a courtier in Henry VIII's court was pure speculation such as "it was quite possible she was in the Queen's coronation". I'm sure I can't judge the book on the whole from this, as it was in the 1500s and there is probably not a lot of readable documentation existing from that time, however I do think that when a book is about facts, it should stick to facts and not speculate as much as this book did, because it makes it difficult to distinguish between what is actual historical fact and what is just this author's particular speculation.
I also had an idea from the back cover of this book that it would go more into the speculation, mainly after her death about her sexual deviance and her aid of Catherine Howard in extramarital affairs while with the King. Instead following the story of her life, and consequent execution there was just a single chapter with regards to the speculation surround her life.
The book however was well written and painted a coherent, well flowing story of not only Jane Boleyn's life but also of 5 of 6 of King Henry's wives and his reasons for divorcing or executing them. Unfortunately because of the purely unhistorical nature of this book, I would not recommend it to anyone very interested in English history, as it also comes up with nothing new, however I think it would serve well as an introduction to 16th century history.
This book was originally called "Georgiana" but when a movie with Keira Knightley in it came out about Duchess Georgiana of Devonshire, the book's title was changed which probably led to it getting a lot more sales, which I would say it definitely deserves.
Georgiana Spencer (1757-1806) was definitely a revolutionary woman of her time, one of the first women to participate in a political campaign in England, and a product of a loveless marriage (making her Georgiana Cavendish), and an easily addictive personality. She was also notably, Diana Spencer's ancestor.
The Duchess outlines the life of Georgiana and also details political events of the time, such as the rise and rapid fall of the "Whigs", and the crazy illnesses that plagued the King Charles III at a time when the monarchy still had the power to make or break a political agreement, as well as the Prince who deliberately went against everything his father wished so therefore became a Whig.
The thing that impressed me so much was not only the dramatic insight into Georgiana's gambling addiction, and the loveless (but not nasty) marriage which led her to have several affairs, most notably with Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey. Foreman's tremendous understanding of Georgiana's personality allowed a further understanding of what women at the time went through, although perhaps on a lesser scale. The letters which Foreman had gotten hold of also gave her credibility as not only an enticing author but also an incredible historian.
I would read this book again, not only as what I feel is an important lesson of the life of women in a time I did not know much about but also as an illustration of what was an early form of feminism, even if it was used wrongly by the press.
I would highly recommend this to anyone but only if you are interested in history and accurate portrayals.
Also unlike Keira Knightley and as was popular at the time from portraits at the time it is likely that Georgiana Cavendish was actually a rather voluptuous woman.
