Details Books In Favor Of Sarum: The Novel of England (Sarum #2)
| Original Title: | Sarum: The Novel of England |
| ISBN: | 0517223546 (ISBN13: 9780517223543) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://www.edwardrutherfurd.com/sarum.html |
| Series: | Sarum #2 |
| Setting: | United Kingdom |
Edward Rutherfurd
Hardcover | Pages: 912 pages Rating: 4.08 | 39370 Users | 1500 Reviews
Narrative To Books Sarum: The Novel of England (Sarum #2)
Quantity not quality. I have to admit, I was more than a little surprised when I came to this book on Goodreads to leave a review and saw all the glowing reviews. I expected maybe a couple 4 stars and mostly 3 stars, but that is not what I found. I found all 4 stars and 5 stars. How can this be? I enjoyed the first chapter of this book so much that I was excited that there would be 1400 pages more of it. By Chapter 2 however, my excitement was blown out of the water. Rutherfurd's writing style has neither finesse nor elegance, both of which I had expected from a book and author that sells so many copies. This book was written in such a simplistic manner that I only got halfway through before I had to give the book away. The characters were one dimensional and without substance, and their stories were uninspiring. For a book that started so awesome it sure did flatline. I cannot remember the last time I didn't read a book all the way through. Even if I don't like a book I usually still force myself to read to the end. But I just couldn't have done that with Sarum. It was so poorly written and the short stories were becoming so boring that I found myself choosing to not pick the book up before going to sleep at night and that is just unheard of for me. I generally NEED to read for a while before I can get to sleep. I will try and finish it, 'one day', but I cannot imagine how far away 'that day' will be. Far, far, FAR away I'd say. Maybe Rutherfurd should have concentrated more on the quality of his writing and his stories instead of trying to simply write big books. This was my first Rutherfurd, and definitely my last. For those who are fussy, like me (I admit it) I don't think this book is for you.
Mention About Books Sarum: The Novel of England (Sarum #2)
| Title | : | Sarum: The Novel of England (Sarum #2) |
| Author | : | Edward Rutherfurd |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 912 pages |
| Published | : | March 2nd 2004 by Gramercy (first published May 7th 1987) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. European Literature. British Literature. Epic. Audiobook. Novels |
Rating About Books Sarum: The Novel of England (Sarum #2)
Ratings: 4.08 From 39370 Users | 1500 ReviewsWrite Up About Books Sarum: The Novel of England (Sarum #2)
It took me a long time to read this one, it's huge but worth it. It's a history lesson disguised as fiction, and it's gorgeous.The book follows five families from prehistoric to modern day, jumping through some of the most important moments in the history of Sarum and England. The last two chapters were the most heart wrenching for me, but there are a lot of moments like that. Rutherford doesn't try to make it happily ever after, it's real life and believeable.I can't wait to get started on hisI greatly enjoyed Sarum. All 1033 pages of it. Sarum is the first Edward Rutherford book I tackled, although his New York book has stared at me with longing on a shelf for years. Starting at the end of the last Ice Age, Sarum follows the generational paths of five families through time to the modern day. The book hits all the strong beats: the building of Stonehenge, the Roman Invasion of Britain and their colonization, the Dark Ages, Saxon Britain, the Norman Invasion, the War of the Roses, the
A really marvellous read -this one follows the format that the author uses in all his work so far, he tells the story using ordinary folk who go through the momentous times in history.In Sarum , we go back further into the past than ever before with Rutherford. we go right back to the end of the last ice Age and meet the people who get cut off from continental Europe by the rising sea levels.We also watch as the first farmers arrive and make contact with the hunter gatherers already here. The
Ambitious undertaking, this 1,000 pager. So very much of it is interesting covering enormous changes over historic eras with the added benefit of principal characters that brought to life the history of change. Salisbury Plain is the center and one can almost see the scholastic slides being shown as we march through the ages from paleolithic/neolithic to fund raising to repair the great cathedral spire. In fact, the book is dedicated to "those trying to save Salisbury Spire."
Not a great book, maybe not even "good." But I found it an interesting way to absorb the history of England. It's long and covers several millennia but still skips a few centuries here and there. Unfortunately it assumes you already know the significance of 1066 and a few other important events in English history. It's told as personal stories, following the fictitious families of different classes of people, their rise and fall from prosperity and society. For me it filled in some blanks, put
This is another book that gets 5 stars for being a great big hunk of enjoyable cheese. But it's historical cheese!Sarum tells the entire history of England, from its ice-age prehistory when the first men arrived on the island to the 1980s, by focusing the passing of ages on the city of Salisbury, once known as "Sarum." Located on the edge of Salisbury Plain, at the juncture of five rivers, archeological evidence tells us it's been a trading settlement since prehistoric times (and of course, it
Rutherfurd writes amazing family sagas over long time frames, concentrating on one geographical area (e.g. Paris, New York, Russia). In this book he focuses on one area - Sarum - which is site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury in England. Starting in pre-historic times right through to modern day, this book reads as a series of novellas, but still focusing on the same 5 families through the generations.It took me two months to read this, not just because it is so HUGE but also because the
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