And when we do, we’re given not only the history of those buildings (for example the Church of the Madeleine or the Palace of the Louvre) but the history of the buildings they replaced. Everything is subsumed to the idea of presenting events and facts - even the route the characters take on their walks through the streets of Paris are arranged carefully so that the reader can view important buildings.
Of course this book is not a character study, nor is it a novel dependent upon the experiences of the characters within it. But Rutherfurd’s characters are not really independent people: they serve only to be convenient witnesses for historical events, and as such their motivations are usually completely unoriginal and often completely clichéd.įor instance, early in the novel one narrative thread is introduced when a character is motivated by the desire to revenge the murder of his grandfather - a person he had never met or known - by killing the murderer’s own grandson. Paris moves back and forth in time between several major periods and weaves together the lives of various family lines from generation to generation.
Rather they are histories with a spoonful of sugar provided by the narrative. Paris takes the same form as his previous novels: a sweeping overview of the history of a particular place, sometimes over thousands of years, as seen through the lives of a group of families, whose members are conveniently present at moments of great change, import, or historical interest.Īlthough meticulously researched, these books aren’t really stories. The fans of course will buy whatever he writes, and those who haven’t read his work may be enticed by the subject itself. Paris, his eighth effort, will most likely only increase his audience. Each of these has been a major bestseller, all of them are huge, and have gathered an enormous fan base for Rutherford. He began his career with Sarum, about England, and since then has tackled Russia, London, and Dublin ( Russka, London, The Princes of Ireland, The Rebels of Ireland). After four years since his last effort, New York, Edward Rutherfurd is back with his latest historical doorstop.
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