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Dec 17, 2009

Natalie rated it:

A sprawling historical novel as big as London itself - it was required reading before I went to study abroad and I've read it twice since. Rutherford did an incredible amount of research and it all comes together beautifully. The characters' family trees carry through the entire history of Britain - pre-Roman through WWII. This book is so dear to my heart!

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Dec 23, 2010

Chariti rated it:

I did not like this book, and probably won't finish it though I'm 3/4 of the way through. The author goes from life to life through the history of London, and because it's such massive history, is unable to give details about the characters and environments that I usually adore. Because of this lack of detail I feel disconnected from the characters and the story. I chose to read it after going to London and wishing I could learn more about the historical day to day. I think reading seperate boo More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 11, 2011

Mary JL rated it:

This is a long book--I will be a few days on this one. Looks good so
far.

************
Tuesday 1/6/09. Now on page 365 of London. Still good. Will review when finished.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Finally finished London (we have been a bit busier at work).

The historical details of this book are excellent. I know a bit out history and there we More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Apr 23, 2008

Dave rated it:

The third book of Rutherford's that I've read of this type. Have previously read Sarum and Russka and this book pretty much followed those; nothing really surprising or extraordinary about this book.

I suggest reading this book for more of the historical facts than any sort of story-telling. As a history of London (and England) it's nice in that it's not too dry and involves a little bit of fictional aspects. However, the fact that the characters change every couple of chapters (as More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Oct 15, 2011

Tmayoral rated it:

I adored Edward Rutherford's Sarum, Russka, and the two Ireland books. However, London is just falling short of these other books. While it is keeping me entertained enough to want to continue (I rarely if ever stop reading a book, I've done it twice in my life) it isn't enough for me to sit down and want to keep reading past a few pages. The issue for me is I'm having trouble with the main characters. I've only had this problem when I read War and Peace. Rutherford has created names that w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 08, 2009

Laura rated it:

Ugh. Every physical description of a female character began and ended with her breasts. Wooden prose, stilted dialogue -- actually, the only thing I enjoyed about this book were the descriptions of London as it grew and changed. If Rutherfurd had written a story about the city itself, rather than bringing characters into it, I might have enjoyed it more. Maybe a better writer will attempt that book.

4 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2008

Lindsay rated it:

London: The Novel is an entertaining, albeit long, read. It takes some time to get into the book; you have to make your way past some dry geographic passages and slow character development. Each chapter is its own short story which could probably stand on its own. Since the author couldn’t use the same character through two millennia, he has simplified the character development by using several families and their descendents. Different genetic traits and/or attitudes reoccur through the ages More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 03, 2008

Lisa rated it:

This was a lonnnnnnnnnnnng book! It traces the history of London, from Roman times up through the 1990s. The author cleverly establishes several families and follows them throughout the various historical periods of London's history. It was a fascinating book, and I learned a great deal about the city, the history of British royalty, the origins of buildings and businesses in London and also the origins of many archaic says we still use today. I enjoyed the book, but it was a little too long for More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 31, 2009

Linnaea rated it:

The prose is pedestrian and the characters are pretty one dimensional, but I'm a sucker for multi-generational historical novels of the kind that require a family tree to keep track of.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 27, 2009

Margaret rated it:

It's odd to read a 1,124 page novel and feel that it's too short. This is not a "haute" literature novel, but rather a sprawling ramble through the history of London - the terrain and its people - made accessible through a series of chronological tales told through the ages. As with "Sarum," Mr. Rutherfurd follows different families over the centuries, with their stories intertwining due to coincidence, marriage, and friendship. This book genre is terrific for learning lit More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 09, 2011

procrastin8or rated it:

Edward Rutherford writes mammoth books where the central character is a place and the people in them are incidental and used to drive the plot across a given time period (usually several thousand years). It is a formula that has worked well and gained critical and popular acclaim. ‘London’ is the third such novel of his I have read; the other two are ‘Sarum’ and ‘The Forest’.

‘London’ contains all of the best and worst elements of those two books. In ‘Sarum’ the characters and their sit More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 04, 2011

Debie rated it:

If you happen to like hauling around 1000+ page books with you for weeks, you'll love this one! Although not in the same league as Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth" and "World Without End", this is a nice book for Follett fans who are suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms after finishing those two great novels.

I probably could have done without the first 200 pages, I really didn't need to know how the White Cliffs of Dover were formed to lead into the rest o More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 22, 2010

Tony rated it:

Edward Rutherfurd belongs to the James Michener school: he writes big, sprawling history-by- the-pound. His novel, London, stretches two millennia all the way from Roman times to the present. The author places his vignettes at the most dramatic moments of that city's history, leaping from Caesar's invasion to the Norman Conquest to the Great Fire to (of course) the Blitz, with many stops in between. London is ambitious, and students of English history will eat it up. The author doesn't skimp on More...

3 comments like

Jul 15, 2009

Seamus rated it:

This book is quite an undertaking. Its scope is vast. It tells the story of London through the lives of its inhabitants from just before the Roman invasion of Britain up to 1997. I did like this book, it is well written, interesting and mindblowingly epic. It takes the form of a series of short stories about several connected families throughout the history of the city.

There are, however a couple of things about it that bugged me. First occasionally there was a paragraph or a couple More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 09, 2011

Emma rated it:

I read and enjoyed Rutherfurd's Russka and didn't realize till near the end in what contempt he held his female characters, but by a few stories into this one it was unmistakeable.

Now let me be clear: I'm not objecting to the lack of rights and opportunities women have in the distant time periods portrayed. That's historical accuracy. But a modern author demeaning women, portraying them as interesting only in regards to their relationships with men, is inexcusable.

I'll More...

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Jul 01, 2009

Patricia rated it:

Hot summer days between the move and the arrival of household goods - no better time to start a long epic by Rutherfurd. I discovered this book was loaned to me about ten years ago by someone who doesn't want it back. I love these Michener-like authors who start with the creation of the earth and bring it through the centuries to modern day time, especially when, like Rutherfurd, they have families who intertwine through the epochs and are followed from earliest times to the present.

More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2009

Ian rated it:

The 2nd 1000+ book of the year and officially the largest read at 1300 pages.

Still, if you are trying to show the history of the capital from the roman invasion to modern day, its going to be lengthy.

This is a book like nothing that I have ever read before. It is fiction - plotting generations of the same family through the years as they are identified by their flash of white hair and webbed hands - but its also the best history lesson that you could have as it plots all More...

0 comments like

Jan 15, 2009

Talena rated it:

This was the first book I read by this author and though it was difficult to stick with at the beginning, I found myself soon burning through the pages. Much like Michener, here we see the history of London brought to life. I truly believe that 'those who forget history are doomed to repeat it' and think this is an excellent way to avoid dry, monotonous texts and get right to the vital lessons that can be learned from the past. Not only an insight into the rise and fall of the various rulers More...

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Dec 17, 2010

carriedaway rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jul 15, 2011

Rob rated it:

...On the whole I thought London was a better novel than Sarum. It's more balanced I suppose. Rutherfurd doesn't need to make to many large jumps in history since there is plenty of material from the Norman Conquest onwards. It makes the ride a bit smoother. I thought the way Rutherfurd managed to keep the attention focussed on the city, always using the outlook of London's citizens on events in the wider world in his story very well done. With twenty-one different sections set in different peri More...

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Jan 25, 2008

Ann rated it:

Sweeping history of London beginning in the first couple centuries A.D., when the Romans arrived in the remote backwater settlement, extending into the present. Spans the economic, cultural, and political development of London through the centuries. But you get to have stories, too, with characters and drama and intrigue. History and fiction. Perfect combination.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 29, 2009

Barbara is currently reading it

A long time ago I saw Sarum in a bookstore, started reading it, and realized after a while that standing there reading that engrossing but LONG book was making my feet ache. The irresistible solution was to buy the book! Since then I've bought Russka, The Forest and London (Russka has been sitting unfinished on a shelf for quite a while, but I plan to remedy that)...and my next Rutherfurd purchase, since I could use some weight training that doesn't involve lifting cats, will probably be New Y More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 02, 2010

Michael rated it:

In this book one will find Great Stories that flow from 54 B.C. to 1997...

The hardcover is close to 830 pages so this took me a while to finish. Each story is quite fascinating. I happened to see the movie LION IN THE WINTER with Katherine Hepburn & a very young Anthony Hopkins during the middle of the book. I would highly recommend that because it takes you to that period. I found some of the stories better than others but overall it was quite an informative novel that intermingled More...

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May 27, 2011

Karla (Mossy Love Grotto) rated it:

It started out fine, but about 3/4ths of the way through, the repetition (particularly every era having a character with an odd streak of white hair) got to be annoying, and in a 1100+ page book, it ended up seeming interminable.

Rutherfurd's got a schtick of writing massive doorstoppers following one family over the course of millennia. There's intimate domestic dramas and high points in history all mixed together. A fine formula, but once is enough. I tried reading his Russka: The Novel of Russia More...

4 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 01, 2011

Theresa rated it:

I simply could not put this book down. I especially enjoy books that share great human truths and many are tucked neatly into this book. Until I read this book, I had never fully appreciated how our current capitalistic model evolved step by step and many of the rights we feel entitled to today were privlidges hard won through the centuries. I especially enjoyed learning where phrases in our language today started with actual events, actions, or moments in time.

I found the character More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 04, 2009

Rick rated it:

History does not automatically come alive for me. I stand in a museum surrounded by old objects and what I see are old objects, not hints of the lives that others from an earlier time have led. Rutherfurd's book brings that history alive. By weaving fictional life stories into the tapestry of history, all of a sudden the history comes to life and I see the events of history flow by on a river of time in a way I never had before.

Having visited London briefly on several occasions, More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 23, 2012

Nikki rated it:

See my review of the same author's The Forest for the general appreciation of this author's work. As I recall, London covers even more historical territory than The Forest, and does it well. Highly recommended for lovers of long historical novels that cover the march of time in a particular place. More...

0 comments like

Nov 08, 2010

John rated it:

Hmm, well it's a page turner and great for rainy saturday mornings in bed. I'm mildly interested in British history and this book is great at providing a timeline and overview to the non-aficionados. However, I found the prose a little immature which made me think of myself as less of a simpleton. Also, as another reviewer previously mentioned, female characters are always introduced and described sexually with avid mention of breasts. So disappointed and so amazed that editors didn't spot the " More...

0 comments like

Aug 06, 2011

Teddee rated it:

My first foray into historical fiction. Felt like I picked up on English history by osmosis. In addition to the fictionalized personal lives and interactions of all the characters, the book gives a good flavor for the various royal dynasties and successions as well as the various religious and international conflicts which predominated much of early English history. Other than that, it's basically short stories of people for a chapter at a time, chronicling the lives of the same set of families More...

0 comments like

Aug 14, 2009

Sara rated it:

I’ve been a fan of Rutherfurd’s since reading his debut novel, “Sarum”. “London” remains my favorite, possibly because of my great fondness for that city but also because of the bang-up job Rutherfurd does bringing it to life. He starts at the beginning—the end of the last Ice Age—and goes full-tilt from there on. Following the fortunes of six families, the story winds through the Roman occupation to the days of Chaucer, the Globe Theatre, Dickens, and beyond. The pace is fast, characters c More...

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