Paris by Edward Rutherford

I love Edward Rutherford's sagas of a place, usually a city, that span centuries and follow several families through time and generations as their fortunes rise and fall.  Paris was different from the others that I've read (i.e., New York, London, Sarum, etc) in that he didn't tell his story strictly chronologically, which made it a bit hard to follow at times, but overall I enjoyed learning about Paris through the stories of its citizens, landmarks, and geography.

The main story line begins with the building of the Eiffel Tower in the 1880's and ends with the liberation of Paris at the end of WWII.  I loved reading about Thomas Gascon, who talks Eiffel into hiring him as a laborer, and who witnesses the funeral of Victor Hugo, and ends up igniting the Resistance in Paris.  I also enjoyed reading about his devil of a handsome, charming brother, Luc, whose amoral behavior burdens Thomas.

Other wonderful characters include those of the bourgeois Blanchard family, the aristocratic de Cynges, and the radical Le Sourds.  I absolutely loved Eloise Blanchard, who supported the early Impressionist artists, and her niece Marie who reinvents herself a few times, developing a boutique department store in Paris and then retiring to the Loire Valley during WWII and helping the Resistance in her own marvelous way.  And then there's Louise, a bastard child who discovers her parentage on her way to becoming Madam of notorious brothel.  All good stuff, right?

Personally I think the book would have been stronger if Rutherford had kept to a linear arc rather than jumping around, but given the number of books that he's done in that way, perhaps he felt like experimenting a bit with Paris.

The best parts of the book were when he returned to the main story thread--from the 1880s to the 1940s.  I didn't feel like the parts about the French Revolution or the Middle Ages added that much to my enjoyment of the story.  Maybe too, though, I wanted to read more about the French Resistance during WWII, having just finished All the Light We Cannot See.

Now, I would love to see Rutherford tackle Rome.  I would read that novel for sure!

New York: A Novel by Edward Rutherfurd

I have a weakness for Edward Rutherfurd's novels and so was very excited when I received a copy of his latest, New York: A Novel, for Christmas. I've had the good fortune to visit Manhattan several times over the past couple of years, and with each visit, my comfort level and interest in the city grows. With another Spring Break in the city looming at the end of March, I've been chugging through New York, memorizing the early maps so that I can recognize street names and geographical points, even though they may be garbed in 21st century trappings.

The book is moving at a slower pace than most of the other Rutherfurd's I've read, starting with New Amsterdam in 1664 and staying in time periods and with specific characters longer than usual. I like this. With some of the other books, I've felt frustrated that just as I was getting comfortable with a set of characters and interested in their story, he would abandon them to leap ahead and start telling me about their descendants.

I loved the first part, especially showing the contrast between the Dutch and English inhabitants, and their treatment of and interaction with the native Americans and slaves. I also loved reading about the geography of Manhattan and the East and Hudson rivers. With all the bridges and tunnels of today's city, it's easy to forget that before all those bridges and tunnels the fact that Manhattan is an island was a defining part of life there. It was so interesting to read about the currents, and the wildlife, and the bends in the river and the cliffs and the swamps and the hunting grounds and the trails.

I also really enjoyed the Revolutionary War section and the insights into why New York remained mostly a hotbed of Loyalists. Most RW literature focuses on the Patriots, and this was an interesting and different perspective, especially with the Masters family and their love/hate relationship with England.

I just finished up the section on Civil War last night and again I found refreshing the different perspective from the usual CW lit--this time mostly related to the Irish immigrants and the draft riots and Tammany Hall.

I'm really looking forward to reading about the New York of Edith Wharton days--pre-skyscraper, that is.

It's not the definitive book on the history of New York, but it's a good opening salvo for me. I'm thinking I might give Gotham a go later in the year, unless someone recommends a better definitive history of NY book.

Here is a National Geographic article and photo gallery on the Mannahatta Project, in which Eric Sanderson, an ecologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), superimposed maps from Manhattan since the time of Henry Hudson to develop computer-generated images of what the island looked like when Hudson discovered it.

Is this cool or what?

The Rebels of Ireland...the problem with Edward Rutherford

I keep on reading Edward Rutherford's historical novels, so I can't have too big a problem with him, but having just finished his The Rebels of Ireland: The Dublin Saga minutes ago, I have to say that I like his subject matter more than his writing. His characters tend to be somewhat cardboard in texture and they all end up sounding the same, but I love learning the history of an area in the way he presents it. That is, looking at members of a half dozen families over a long period of time and sticking them into major events that happen along the way.

Another issue I have with Rutherford's books is that despite being intensely interested in the various characters, he never moves me to tears or laughter. This is a big deal because it really doesn't take much to move me to tears, but despite horrendous things happening to the good, interesting people who people his novels, I never feel that gut-wrenching angst that I love. I never get swept away and feel that I inhabit the world he is describing. Perhaps this comes from the fact that he does move from generation to generation in almost a novella or short story fashion, or perhaps I can simply chalk this up to the cardboard quality and uniform dialogue I noted earlier.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the complete Dublin Saga - both the Princes part and the Rebels part - learned a great deal, enjoyed scouring the maps and geneology trees provided at the front of the book, and will probably read his next book. I haven't read Russka yet, and just visiting his site, I notice that there's a sequel to the Dublin Saga books called Ireland: Awakening, which I may dive into at some point.

Now, however, I have a log jam of books that need attention, not the least of which is Claire Tomalin's Jane Austen: A Life. I should have read this years ago, but I haven't so I intend to rectify that huge gap in my reading life.

Rutherford's Rebels of Ireland and Tentative Itineary for June Trip

One of my daughters and I are planning a trip to Ireland, Wales, England, and Scotland this June, and we will have three days in Dublin, so I decided to delay Wives and Daughters for just a bit so that I could read Edward Rutherford's Rebels of Ireland as homework for the trip. I read his Princes of Ireland are few years ago, and enjoyed it so much. I've read several of his books--Sarum, The Forest, London--and always enjoyed them, though it seems just when I am getting into a character, that part of the story ends and we jump forward by 200 years to find out what the descendents of the character are up to.

I've also been pouring through guide books and watching Rick Steves' PBS specials on DVD from the library. The trick is to have lots of options, but not feel like we have to do and see everything. We only have just over two weeks. Here's our itinerary thus far--advice? Opinions?

Arrive in Dublin, stay 3 nights

Ferry to Holyhead, proceed to Shrewsbury with stops along the way, stay 1 night

Proceed to Stratford, stay 2 nights (see 1 play)

Proceed to Haworth, with a possible stop at Knutsford if it's not too out of the way, stay 2 nights

Proceed to Scarborough, with a stop at York Cathedral, stay 2 nights

Proceed to Edinburgh, stay 2 nights

Proceed to Inverness, stay 2 nights

Return to Edinburgh and fly home