I've been a Belva Plain fan since I was a teenager, but I haven't read all of her books. So I was excited to choose CRESCENT CITY for the February 2014 "New Orleans" theme in my online book club, The Reading Cove.
I thought the first half of this story was very engaging. A German widow fleas to America to make his fortune after his wife is killed, and returns to Germany to collect his children as the book opens. The kids were being raised as Orthodox Jews, but their father had relaxed his beliefs and embraced the freedom of the American culture. So his kids, Miriam and David experienced a great culture shock, unable to adapt to the institution of slavery and the lax attitude toward their faith.
But then the Civil War hits, and it's all Gone With the Wind knock-off from there! Complete with Miriam cast as Scarlett O'Hara, Andre as Ashley, and Gabriel as Rhett. And the David character, for all his passionate convictions, basically amounted to nothing. Very, very disappointing.
The second half of the story was tedious, boring and, most of all, done better before. You may as well just go read Gone With the Wind. Sorry, Belva.
I give CRESCENT CITY a C+.
I thought the first half of this story was very engaging. A German widow fleas to America to make his fortune after his wife is killed, and returns to Germany to collect his children as the book opens. The kids were being raised as Orthodox Jews, but their father had relaxed his beliefs and embraced the freedom of the American culture. So his kids, Miriam and David experienced a great culture shock, unable to adapt to the institution of slavery and the lax attitude toward their faith.
But then the Civil War hits, and it's all Gone With the Wind knock-off from there! Complete with Miriam cast as Scarlett O'Hara, Andre as Ashley, and Gabriel as Rhett. And the David character, for all his passionate convictions, basically amounted to nothing. Very, very disappointing.
The second half of the story was tedious, boring and, most of all, done better before. You may as well just go read Gone With the Wind. Sorry, Belva.
I give CRESCENT CITY a C+.
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