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amandalb's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. Historical fiction has never really drawn me in, but I'm starting to like it more. This book focuses on the stories of five people and how their lives intersect in a year of great change in the 19th century. The story drags a tiny bit toward the end, but overall, it's fascinating. A great read- I was glued to it!
lizdesole's review against another edition
3.0
SOmehow I just couldn't get really into this book. It seems like it would be great for me. I takes place in the mid-1800s: first in NYC then during the California gold rush. The characters have a Zelig-like quality that somehow more annoyed than intrigued me. The coincidences just piled up too easily and I just never made an emotional tie to any of the characters. It's a pretty long book to get through without the emotional attachment. It had lots of excitement but also didn't propel me along. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as it should have been given the material
jlmb's review against another edition
4.0
I ended up really enjoying this book. It started off slow and I was beginning to regret starting a 650 page book but then it turned around once the story got to NYC. There were a ridiculous amount of coincidences in the book - Ben started reminding me of that Woody Allen movie Zelig. Was there any pivotal person from 1848 he didn't run across? I kind of liked the coincidences & the insertion into the story of random famous people (Darwin! Lincoln! De Tocqueville! Poe!) - it was fun.
I found the 4 main characters to be overly modern in their thoughts. All four have absolutely no racial prejudices and no hang ups about sex? Hmmmm. It's a bit like seeing a western made in 1965. The cast is supposed to be from the 1800's but instead the women have big bouffant hairdos and false eyelashes like it's 1965. It's jarring and makes it more difficult for the audience to immerse themselves in the story.
I didn't see that ending coming at all which is always great. I hate reading books where you can predict from the get-go how it will all pan out. I mean, what is the point? I was hoping for a happy ending and got it, somewhat. I wish Andersen had wrapped up the plotlines a bit more. Sometimes I like them all tidied up, with a nice red ribbon on top lol. Oh well.
I found the 4 main characters to be overly modern in their thoughts. All four have absolutely no racial prejudices and no hang ups about sex? Hmmmm. It's a bit like seeing a western made in 1965. The cast is supposed to be from the 1800's but instead the women have big bouffant hairdos and false eyelashes like it's 1965. It's jarring and makes it more difficult for the audience to immerse themselves in the story.
I didn't see that ending coming at all which is always great. I hate reading books where you can predict from the get-go how it will all pan out. I mean, what is the point? I was hoping for a happy ending and got it, somewhat. I wish Andersen had wrapped up the plotlines a bit more. Sometimes I like them all tidied up, with a nice red ribbon on top lol. Oh well.
stellarya's review against another edition
4.0
Andersen's characterization of the cast of Heyday is enviable. It's amazing how he constructs such realistic characters from deftly revealed snippets of their pasts without interrupting the flow of the present-time narration.
Interestingly, he fits concerns we think of as "modern" seamlessly into the context of American life 150 years ago, especially the relationship between time and communication across distances, aided by technology.
The last quarter of the book dragged on a little for me until it ramped up to the ending, which was admittedly pretty darn cool. I didn't see that one coming.
As far as I'm concerned they could've stayed in New York; the wild west setting wasn't as compelling, in my opinion. I think that New York was more richly and completely portrayed, and the settings west of Gotham weren't as lavishly described. Well, OK, I did enjoy some of the historical flavor he used as a background once the characters headed west. There were some people and places that I looked up in Wikipedia because I wanted to know more about the real story behind them.
Interestingly, he fits concerns we think of as "modern" seamlessly into the context of American life 150 years ago, especially the relationship between time and communication across distances, aided by technology.
The last quarter of the book dragged on a little for me until it ramped up to the ending, which was admittedly pretty darn cool. I didn't see that one coming.
As far as I'm concerned they could've stayed in New York; the wild west setting wasn't as compelling, in my opinion. I think that New York was more richly and completely portrayed, and the settings west of Gotham weren't as lavishly described. Well, OK, I did enjoy some of the historical flavor he used as a background once the characters headed west. There were some people and places that I looked up in Wikipedia because I wanted to know more about the real story behind them.
mavenbooks's review against another edition
4.0
A long one, but really enjoyable. So many intertwined plots and characters, but it kept my interest throughout, especially with the tie-ins to actual historical events.
vanessaglowe's review against another edition
3.0
Overly long. Historical details and persons become distracting. Picks up speed at the end.
destak's review against another edition
4.0
Another book club pick. This one reminded me of The Alienist by Caleb Carr which I loved.
meli65's review against another edition
4.0
A terrific, sprawling book -- it follows a few characters across Europe and America in 1848-1849, a time when the world was suddenly becoming modern (photography, telegraphs, steamships, etc.). I really loved the part of the book set in NYC and thought it dragged a bit towards the end. Still, all the historical details were very interesting and the story was good.
encgolsen's review
4.0
1848 was quite a year, in Paris, New York and San Francisco. I enjoyed this wild story of revolution, prostitution, utopia and golden fortunes. The ending wasn't quite what I'd hoped for, but at least it made sense.
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