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Dec 16, 2009

Patrick rated it:

Now this is a good Stonehenge book. Along with anything else that ever happened in Great Britain. This is one of those books that you have to say is 'sweeping in it's scope.' This book starts with neolithic man arriving in the Sarum area and follows certain bloodlines all the way to present day. It's huge. I learned more about British history with this book than I have with any history text book. I think its because its always presented from an individual as opposed to a national standpoint. Its More...

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Jul 12, 2007

James added it

Sarum is one of the most amazing books that I have ever read. It was almost magical reading. It was a book that just stuck with you so much that I actually dreamed about it. It was one of the few books I wished would never end and I felt almost lost once it was finished. It was like coming down off a high.

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Jan 16, 2012

Richard rated it:

Sarum is definitely what I would describe as a marathon read - I attempted the marathon more than 10 yrs ago, and events lead me on to other things.
The book clearly held a fascination for me and often called me when I walked past the book shelf! So, Northern Crete in August 2011 - I committed myself by including Sarum in my scanty allowance on a low cost airline, and the marathon began.
The novel traces back the history of man living in what is now the British Isles from around 10,000 More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 16, 2012

Viv rated it:

Sarum is my all time favorite book, coming from the south west of England myself it is my history and so much research has gone into it. Many if not all of the great structures are still standing. A great read

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 03, 2008

Katie rated it:

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 wai More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 30, 2011

Johanne rated it:

On the cover of the copy of Sarum that I own, The Toronto Star states that "Rutherfurd reminds us that we are all part of a long line of human experience." I couldn't agree more.

This is truly a jewel of a book, the first book by Rutherfurd in his line of epic history-oriented novels that span the centuries of a whole country or a single city. For me, it's the second I read by the author (the first one being The Princes of Ireland). It is truly amazing; though, just like the More...

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Dec 06, 2011

Gerry rated it:

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 More...

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Jul 21, 2011

Ensiform rated it:

The story of the small portion of humanity that settled in and developed Salisbury (“Sarum”: being an abbreviated rendering of the Roman name Sorbiodunum) from the stone age to the 1980s. Following the struggles, fortunes, tribulations, and remade fortunes of five lineages, the novel details how waves of invaders (Cro-Magnons, Normans, Romans, Vikings) changed the landscape, economy, and culture, from Stonehenge to livestock breeding to Cathedral building, but then were in turn changed by it an More...

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Mar 17, 2011

Ty rated it:

Given that I, slow reader that I am, often in need of days long breaks from a narrative of any size was able to finish, without skimming, a 1,033 page novel, said novel must have had something going for it, and Sarum certainly does on several levels. I will say, however, one should go into it completely aware of its nature, and should treat it as a marathon, not a sprint.

Some books in the 800+ page range can be treated more like sprints. The latter Harry Potter books for example. Whi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 04, 2011

Kristina rated it:

If you like historical fiction (which I do) and you don't mind devoting a fair amount of time to a book (which I don't), then I recommend this one. It traces the story of a particular location in England and all of the people who lived there -- the prehistorics, the druids, the Romans, the peasant farmers, the invaders, the vassals, the villagers ... all the way down almost to the present time. I felt like the book was very well-researched, and my feeling is backed up by the fact that my favor More...

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Jan 31, 2011

John rated it:

Sarum is nearly 1000 pages so it took a long time to finish, but I loved it. It follows about four or five families in England from the end of the ice age to the 1980s (hence the long book). This book reminded me a lot of The Pillars of the Earth, though this book came out just before Pillars and I wouldn't be surprised if Ken Follet was influenced by this book. In fact, the fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral in Pillars was based on Salisbury Cathedral, the building of which is featured prominently More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 22, 2009

Mick rated it:

I took my dear sweet time reading this novel, and cherished every second. Historical fiction works, and works well, when it can be lingered over, savored; when it can be read, then re-read, as the author's glowing accounts of historical events come to life right off the page.

James Michener was a master of this craft; Edward Rutherfurd aptly keeps him company, as evidenced by his sweeping novel, SARUM. Set in the author's hometown of Salisbury, England, this is a novel that tells the More...

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May 10, 2009

Terri rated it:

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 wr More...

16 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2012

James rated it:

I spent a fair amount of time in and around Salisbury in the early 1980's, one of my favorite areas in Britain. While I was (and continue to be) fascinated by Stonehenge, I particularly recall being totally transfixed by Salisbury Cathedral the first time I visited as an American tourist. The soaring spire, the gorgeous light in the nave, and the sense of awe at its astonishing size. It was a glorious place, and a place that I still think about all these years later. In my estimation, no oth More...

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Sep 08, 2010

Krishna rated it:

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

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Feb 09, 2012

DJ rated it:

I will the the first to state that this is an outstanding, engrossing, wonderful read. Rutherford has been compared to Mitchner in his ability to weave a tale spanning generations and he does it well if not with originality. Somehow in all the years since its publication I am amazed to find that no one has ever raised the issue that an entire passage of Sarum are lifted, sometimes word for word, from Mitchner's even more engrossing book, The Source(which, by the way, is also an outstanding, en More...

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Mar 11, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

This is my favorite author. This is the first book that I read from this author. I love this genre. I found it fascinating how Rutherford takes really believable characters and reinvents them in every chapter. I love how the characteristics of each family are passed down through the generations. I also love how the stories tell the tales of how history changes an area throughout the centuries. This is a must read book!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 21, 2010

Barbra rated it:

This is an absolutely magnificent novel some 1350 pages long. Don't be put off by this because you will miss out on a superb book.

Back Cover Blurb:
The towering story of five families through 100 centuries of turmoil, tyranny, passion and prosperity.
In a novel of extraordinary richness the whole sweep of British civilisation unfolds through the story of one place, Salisbury, from beyond recorded time to the present day.
The landscape - as old as time itself - shapes the d More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 15, 2007

Jim rated it:

Set in what becomes Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, Sarum is a look at the interconnection of the generations of inhabitants of this area. Through the span of centuries, you see vignettes recounting the rise and fall of families through multiple generations. Great read and a great evocation of setting on Rutheford's part.

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Mar 03, 2010

Cathy rated it:

This was delightful: a history of the Salisbury, England, area from the ice age to the 80s. I learned so much about stuff I never knew I was interested in. I think this book should be a history course. We learn best from stories, and students could research areas they found most interesting.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2011

Joanray04 rated it:

I loved this book, and will read it again. It is a wonderful historical fiction about England, its beginnings from the neolithic man through the ages, seemingly missing very few historical moments. I loved the way he traced the physical characteristics through the generations, having them show up here and there, sometimes in people who would have no idea they were really related to others. It made me think of how very little we know about our own histories and ancestors. He also had that happen More...

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Feb 04, 2009

Kate rated it:

This book was suggested to me after I reviewed Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, both of which are set in the fictional (I think) English town of Kingsbridge. Like the Follett books, Sarum is also set in an English cathedral town, Salisbury, but that's where the similarities end.

Sarum sweeps across the history of England, from the island's physical break from the continent through WWII. Five main families are followed throughout the novel, and as names and c More...

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Oct 14, 2011

Marji rated it:

This book attempts in scope what is nearly impossible. That it succeeds on any level is really amazing.
I owned this book in hardcover for years, but never got past the first few chapters. So I finally picked it up on audio and listened to it while knitting a cardigan for my granddaughter. It's not compelling listening, nor is it compelling reading. I'm glad I got through it, though I will never be tempted to listen to it again, much less pick it up and read the printed version.
I foun More...

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Feb 17, 2011

Clark rated it:

I am now 100 pages from the end of this massive tome. I have been alternately reading and not reading it for nearly 3 years. It's a fine book with lots of great storylines...but it's really less like reading one 1000 page novel and more like reading ten 100 page ones. I'll let you know when I finally close it.
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I finished it last week. Moved my 3 stars up to 4 because I really liked the last couple of stories, especially the WWII one that poin More...

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Jan 18, 2010

Mary added it

A collection of 19 linked stories & novellas, historical fiction, each one a snapshot of the social & political changes in the area around Salisbury Plain, beginning with an Ice Age hunter and ending in 1985. My interest is the time up to about 1000, culminating in the legends that become the King Arthur stories. I made it that far through the book - through the section called "Old Sarum." The take on history is interesting, but the characters and story lines could not hold my attentio More...

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May 20, 2011

Adam rated it:

This was recommended to me by another Goodreads member who read my review on Fall of Giants and suggested I should check out Sarum since I like historical fiction. All in all, it is an enjoyable read, even for all 1000+ pages. The book tells the history of Salisbury-and by extension England in general. It starts at the beginning, I mean the very very beginning and goes up through 1985. The book attempts to follow several families and their descendancy from the first nomadic settlers who wandered More...

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Nov 19, 2009

Steveclark rated it:

I have read Michener for 35 years and Rutherfurd since 1987 with Sarum. This is one of my most favorite historical novels and one that I read every 5 years (just got done again). I absolutely love the first half of the book, esp. the chapters on the journey to Sarum, the building of the Henge, the Roman Sorviodunum, the Cathedral and the Black Death. Once it gets into the religious wars and the royal houses, then it loses me, as I have never been much interested in that period of British/Europea More...

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Feb 13, 2012

Kirsten rated it:

I ordered this book off amazon after seeing all the glowing reviews. As someone else mentioned, this was recommended to me due to my liking another historical fiction book "the pillars of the earth". I have to say though, I was not impressed with this book. I made it to either the second or third chapter before I had to stop. Maybe in the future I will give it another go but this book just did not hold my interest. There are too many other books that I find far more interesting and wou More...

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Jul 04, 2009

Alcornell rated it:

Like others, I learned more about British history from this book than any history I've read. The story rolls along, the writing is solid, and I was sorry to see the book end. It's repeating motifs, intertwining stories, and exploration of the impacts and resonances of Stonehenge through the ages were wonderful. I will read this again and again. It's a book in which I take notes in the margins and refer back when I want to remember historical details. I enjoyed it so thoroughly that I also r More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Greta rated it:

Based on sheer page numbers, this is the longest book I've ever read. The challenge of finishing it is probably mostly what kept me going. I actually give it 2 1/2 stars. Three stars for the fact that I bought it at Waterstones in Salisbury and the subject of the book was pertinent to my summer vacation destination. I learned more about the history of the area from this book than I ever would have known just by visiting it. Two stars for the uninspiring prose, the somewhat flat characters a More...

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