Rutherfurd Edward, Sarum: The Novel of England, Informal Buddy Read, Start date 4 June 2018

[Sophie, The other one]

If you don't have any luck, say and I'll try to take some pictures and send them over

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Thanks Sophie. I was just thinking that may be the way to go 😉

[Sophie, The other one]

I'll try to get them nice and big and post in here. I don't know if they could then be added to the first page for everyone

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Thanks Dr Sophie! Yes if you can get them to work I’ll add them to the mod reserved post

[Stacey]

I finished the second chapter yesterday, and the family tree is already helping me! I'm glad I went with the brick from the library rather than the kindle - that would be tough.

I've enjoyed the first two chapters. I'm having some trouble picturing the landscape, but the migration of people and the effects on the land are interesting. Stonehenge is next, so that should be interesting

Hoping we are just about done with the prehensile toes....

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Unfortunately it’s been a rough book to get here. Not at my libraries and not on audiobook. Not sure if it’s because of its age or maybe just it’s not one of his more popular ones

[Stacey]

I think I likely got the only copy mine has! Hopefully no one else decides they need it for a few weeks. ☺

[Kirsten]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Unfortunately it’s been a rough book to get here. Not at my libraries and not on audiobook. Not sure if it’s because of its age or maybe just it’s not one of his more popular ones"

Probably due to its age. I own my own hard cover copy but when I tried to find an audiobook here my library didn't have it and the only library within the family of libraries had it on cassette tape in an archive somewhere (which I requested but still haven't heard if I'll ever see it). :( At least with the kindle it'll be lighter to haul around!

[Sophie, The other one]

I've got my mum's old copy. Her and my dad's books are still my secondary library

[Sophie, The other one]

Hope these help

Top left

Top right

Bottom left

Bottom right

[Sophie, The other one]

They are URLs so if you tap on them, they should be a bit clearer (works on my phone at least...)

[Victoria]

oh wow, didn't realize there was a family tree! I'm listening to an audio copy from my library so I definitely didn't get a copy of the tree, thanks for posting!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Very helpful, thanks Sophie! I've added them to message 3

I like how it is staged by the book chapters. I forgot he did it like that

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl)]

So managed two more chapters Sorviodunum and Twilight aka (view spoiler)[ The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire . The stuff about the battle with the Saxons and the Roman Britons becoming the legend of Arthur was interesting. (hide spoiler)]

It's starting to move towards history I'm more familiar with. I'd never really thought about the BC stuff but I guess every civilisation had to start somewhere...

[Victoria]

I finished listening to The Henge and started Sorviodunum. I also liked his interpretation as to how Stonehenge came about - and now I have a strong desire to visit it. I might even do a day trip out there later this week...

[Kate S]

My copy is still staring at me. Quidditch was more demanding of my reading time than I expected. I am excited to crack this one open though. And am planning on starting either tonight or tomorrow evening. Looking forward to the discussion.

[Kirsten]

Ditto & I didn't even have to read as much for Quidditch as you did, Kate!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Yes this was certainly not a Quidditch book. 😂

[Kate S]

Certainly not with the speed of that game!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "So managed two more chapters Sorviodunum and Twilight aka [spoilers removed]

..."

wow - well done for getting so far. I find a chapter takes me quite a while!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "I've finished The Barrow and the Henge. The Henge chapter was interesting, his interpretation of how and why Stonehenge was built. He must have done quite a lot of research in this area. ..."

I wondered about this, because I think it is still "unknown" about the history of Stonehenge, so I guess he has taken a theory and run with it?

[Victoria]

Just finished Sorviodunum!
Before moving to the UK I knew vaguely that the Romans conquered Britain, but since most of my studies covered Rome in mainland Europe I never gave their significance in Britain much thought. So till this past year I knew almost nothing of what Rome brought to Britain and it was nice learning a bit more from this last chapter.

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

The Barrow and the Henge

I felt a bit like I was going back to The Clan of the Cave Bear series with the two types of people.
Also, if anyone has read Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind it gives a really interesting history of people.

So many sacrifices in these chapters! (view spoiler)[ and the whole 19 women thing. horrible.

I was glad to see the end of this section. Just too much killing for me. The take on how/why Stonehenge was built was very interesting though (hide spoiler)]

[Victoria]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "The Barrow and the Henge

I felt a bit like I was going back to The Clan of the Cave Bear series with the two types of people.
Also, if anyone has read [book:Sapiens: A Brief History of..."

I liked how the first two chapters had such a stress on preserving human life. Even when there was reason to kill someone the characters did their best to avoid it. But then The Henge comes about and they're human sacrifices aplenty
(view spoiler)[ I also hated reading about the women being sacrificed (just because he couldn't get it up) and then sacrificing his first born - was also glad to see the end of that section. The worst part about it too is that while this is technically fiction, people did do human sacrifices. And some crazy people still do. (hide spoiler)]

I need to read Sapiens. I've come across it a lot lately and I think it's a sign that I really need to read it

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Good point Victoria. They knew there was a need to preserve human life in order for them all to survive. Such a different way of living it is really hard to imagine

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl)]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "I've finished The Barrow and the Henge. The Henge chapter was interesting, his interpretation of how and why Stonehenge was built. He must have done quite a lot of rese..."

Yes, I agree and what he imagined was so totally believable. I visited Stonehenge in 2006 and had built it up so much in my imagination I was kind of disappointed. The tourist aspect is so controlled ( I realise it must be for preservation issues) but somehow I just didn't feel "the vibe" or the mystery of the place.

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Yes, I agree and what he imagined was so totally believable. I visited Stonehenge in 2006 and had built it up so much in my imagination I was kind of disappointed...."

I've heard that from others too. Maybe Outlander has a lot to answer for there? LOL

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl)]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Yes, I agree and what he imagined was so totally believable. I visited Stonehenge in 2006 and had built it up so much in my imagination I was kind of disappointed...."
..."

Ah yes... no Jamie just hordes of tourists... and having a whopping major highway running along side it didn't help either.

[Victoria]

No Jaime? *sigh* what’s the point of even going

[Sophie, The other one]

The only times I've seen it have been from those highways!

The lack of Jaime would be a major disappointment. Think some of the smaller henges elsewhere might be more atmospheric

[Victoria]

I’m re-reading Kate Daniels and in the second book they’re talking about the Druids and how they’re trying to distance themselves from their history of human sacrificing - naturally I thought of this book

[Kate S]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "I finished chapter 1 - Journey to Sarum

I can’t believe for only 40 pages it took me about an hour to read! I kept thinking this book was a little shorter than his others, but I think the text is ..."

I have also finished the first part of this book. I found the prehistoric piece slower to read and thought it may have to do with the dense text, but also it's not a familiar setting for me. I do not read a lot of prehistoric fiction and found myself wanting to get a clear picture in my head.

[Kate S]

Looking through my books, I am pretty sure Paris is the only other book by this author I have read. Although, I have owned Sarum: The Novel of England for a while and I believe between my mother and I we have New York, Russka: The Novel of Russia and London. While I enjoyed Paris, I think it is difficult to read those big books while on the go. May need to look into borrowing digital copies when these books hit my radar again.

[Kate S]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "I've finished The Barrow and the Henge. The Henge chapter was interesting, his interpretation of how and why Stonehenge was built. He must have done quite a lot of research in this area."

My copy has an introduction by the author. He said about Stonehenge: "Of the religious, astronomical and building practices at Stonehenge nothing can be said with certainty and I have felt free to make my own selection from the many theories suggested." In the intro, he said a lot of things like that. I looked at the history and made decisions about what I liked and what I didn't. I suppose that is what makes a good story.

[Victoria]

I'm glad I was able to get the audiobook from my library. Not only is it easy to carry around, but it helps to get through some of the slower bits. I'm rather fascinated by prehistory, but it can only hold my interest for so long so the audio (and 1.5x speed) definitely helped with that chapter

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Kate S wrote: "Looking through my books, I am pretty sure Paris is the only other book by this author I have read. Although, I have owned Sarum: The Novel of England for a while and..."

I've read all of those (I think with Lisa!) except London. From memory, New York was my favourite

[Sophie, The other one]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "The Barrow and the Henge

I felt a bit like I was going back to The Clan of the Cave Bear series with the two types of people.
Also, if anyone has read [book:Sapiens: A Brief History of..."

I agree, was v glad to get to the end of the sacrifices! His theory for why Stonehenge was built was interesting, who knows how accurate though!

I'm managing to read about 30pages a day at the moment! Going to take me ages to finish this

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Same here Sophie. I’m trying for a chapter every 2 days but they seem to be very long chapters! 😂😂

[Kate S]

I have finished The Barrow and The Henge.

(view spoiler)[Completely agree with the horrible human sacrifices; could have lived without that. I find the language around the building of the Henge to be hesitant. The word choices suggested that the characters didn't understand their own motivation. This may be why the theory chosen by the author is less believable and more interesting to many readers. (hide spoiler)]

[Kate S]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Kate S wrote: "Looking through my books, I am pretty sure Paris is the only other book by this author I have read. Although, I have owned Sarum: The Novel of England ..."

That is good news. I have a copy of New York at my disposal (so no pesky due dates).

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "So managed two more chapters Sorviodunum and Twilight aka [spoilers removed]

It's starting to move towards history I'm more familiar with. I'd never really thought about the BC stuff but I guess ..."

I've just read Sorviodunum and about halfway through Twilight.
It is interesting as I don't know much about the time period (or have forgotten since school), but I am ready to move forward a bit at this point. I'd also like to spend a bit longer with a family generation. It is one thing I always have a love/hate relationship with Rutherfurd with as you get to know a family and then next chapter BANG you're forward a few hundred (or thousand) years! lol

[Sophie, The other one]

I know what you mean! I hope we get more time with the characters and less of the history lesson interludes as this goes on.

I'm still working my way through Sorviodunum

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl)]

I agree. I'm more than ready to tackle the medieval, War of the Roses, Tudors etc, etc. I wonder if the long toes will keep on popping up through the generations, LOL.

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl)]

The Two Rivers , now we get Vikings!

(view spoiler)[ I found this an interesting chapter, know a lot more about Vikings these days from the TV show. Well, the glam, hot men version anyway, LOL) It was a nice change getting the Viking invasion from the Saxon perspective. It would have been good to get a first person account from Aelfgifu, what a woman!

My daughter did one of these Ancestry DNA things and it came back 33% Scandinavian which we imagine came from Viking ancestry via Britain or Scotland. (hide spoiler)]

[Victoria]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "The Two Rivers , now we get Vikings!

[Spoilers Removed]"

I loved that chapter! Probably my favorite so far. It helps too that there are finally characters I like and care about. Not only has it been a problem connecting with characters in each chapter because you spend so little time with them, but it's also difficult because I don't like them most of the time.

But I liked most of the characters in Two Rivers (view spoiler)[ especially Aelfgifu! She was awesome! I would have also liked to to have had first person POV from her (hide spoiler)] I also liked some of the characters in The Castle (think that was the next chapter). I'm somewhere in Foundation right now.

And I need to start watching Vikings again!

[Stacey]

I'm lagging a bit behind -- not unexpectedly. :) Just finished the Henge. Interesting way to look at it, but oh my! the killing. So many sacrifices. I'm surprised they were so willing to sacrifice people when there clearly weren't that many of them...but they probably felt like there were plenty!

[Kate S]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "I'd also like to spend a bit longer with a family generation. "

I have just finished Twilight, and I am feeling the same way. I start to get comfortable with the family/characters/cultural structure and then we're moving forward again with tangential links.

It's an amazing skill to sketch out such an extensive history and to draw the readers into each of the time capsules he chooses to expound upon.

I will be interested to review my notes at the end of this book to see which time period I was most captivated by and seek out other books/novels set in those eras.

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl)]

The Castle - the most interesting fact in this chapter is (view spoiler)[ The origin of the sayings "Caught red handed" and "Blood on his hands". Used both sayings I'm sure, makes perfect sense now that I know the origin. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Kate S wrote: "Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "I'd also like to spend a bit longer with a family generation. "

I have just finished Twilight, and I am feeling the same way. I start to get comfortable with the family/characters..."

yes, it is quite a skill!

[Victoria]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "The Castle - the most interesting fact in this chapter is [spoilers removed]"

I love learning the origins of common sayings!