City Of God: A Novel Of Passion And Wonder In Old New York (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
Beverly Swerling did a very good job of making history interesting in this book. The plot was complicated enough to keep me reading, which is usually hard, and kept me from guessing exactly what would happen next; I did occasionally get the feeling of "oh-no-I-know-what-this-character-is-going-to-do-and-I-wish-I-could-jump-into-the-book-and-stop-what's-coming." That, in my opinion, is not an entirely bad thing. The characters were likable and despicable as needed and were fairly easy to acknowledge as full, developed characters. She uses many people from different backgrounds and seems to point out how different-and-yet-the-same the New York of 1830-1850 and modern day America are in eerie ways which make a reader think.One criticism I do have is that I am not sure at all why the Chinese characters had to speak and think in broken English, even when it was clear that they were speaking amongst each other in Chinese, or thinking in Chinese. Clearly, when a person speaks in a native language, the language is not broken. It may not be perfect - very few native speakers have a perfect command of their own language, after all - but this seemed entirely unnecessary and a bit of a trope to make Ah Chee and Mei-Hua seem more frail, more out-of-place, and really, more useless in the world of New York. I would have given Ms. Swerling four stars for being a compelling story teller, but I can't praise the book without bringing up this glaring problem. Take it as you will.
Sometimes there's nothing for it but a great, sweeping, "Swerling" saga. You get involved in the generations of families, their history as well as the history of their cities, countries, causes, etc. Beverly Swerling is my go-to author for her "City Of" books; the city being my own, New York. Mostly, she follows two intertwing (and often quarrelsome) families, but she rarely fails to make you care about them. I confess to not reading this series in order--but I would recommend it. (City of Dreams; City of Glory; City of God; and her newest, City of Promise. The one I just finished, City of God takes place pre-civil war days during which our families, The Devreys and the Turners become involved with the early Catholics, fiery Protestants and those (pesky...and a little stereotypical) Jews. But there is so much more as our protags tussle with (some, intimately newly arrived Chinese immigrants, Italians, Irish, and eventually slaves. Some do the right thing; some the very wrong. Everyone gets his/her just desserts. Four stars.
What do You think about City Of God: A Novel Of Passion And Wonder In Old New York (2008)?
A aof two cultures melding in New York. The child bride brought from China wedded to a powerful shipping businessman in a chinese ceremony and kept in secret in the Chinese section of lower New York. At the same time, he marries another who he ignores but who is a member of society and is convenient for his rise to power. Interesting detail about the traditions of old China and her customs. A three generational saga of their parallel lives. A wonderful read about the famous people who established early New York from 1800 until 1865.
—Dkeslin
The plot line was quite novel, which is the only reason I was able to complete the book. The author seemed to focus so much on name dropping events and famous people of the time that she failed to focus on her character development. I never once could relate to her characters and the seemed way too fantastical for the novel. It could have been so much better! Additionally, her use of the flashback was a complete failure. The literary device is supposed to be smoothly interwoven so that the reader barely notices the time transition. Her transitions felt like being hit with a brick.The novel was a great idea, but ultimately a waste of time for how shoddy it was written.
—Jacqueline
This is the third book in the series, and, after having been disappointed by the second book, I was glad that this one got back to what made me love the first book so much. There were moments where I felt as though the plot was moving along way too fast, but the family relations and medical history were fascinating and more than made up for it. I found myself learning a lot about neighborhoods in current NYC and how they came to be, and about the political machines and how they began. In fact, I also learned why Bellevue was regarded as such an awful hospital by many in the New York metro area, even years after marked improvements had been made there. The ending left a little to be desired and I thought it wandered a bit, but it was a very well-written story and I am looking forward to reading the fourth installment.
—Michaela
