About this title: This epic novel is set in New York's Hudson Valley in three time periods: the late 17th century, the 1940s and the 1960s. It follows the interwoven destinies of three families (one Indian family and two Dutch settler families) during this time period. It begins with Walter Van Brunt, a descendant of Dutch yeomen, whose fondness for drugs and ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1987-01-01
Description: Fair. Paperback. Cover shows moderate wear to edges, notable spine creasing. Top corner of front endpaper is dog-earred. Pages are very lightly sunned to edges, no markings. Binding is intact. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780140299939ISBN:0140299939
Description: Acceptable. Moderate cover wear with scuffing to edges. Partial tear to spine and markings on first pages. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1988
ISBN-13:9780140097603ISBN:0140097600
Description: Good. Pgs clean & tight, scuffing to cover, wear rubbing ight yellow color to outer edge of pgs to the edges of cover Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 456 p. Contemporary American Fiction. Audience: General/trade. Shipped in bubble mailer unless it is a real expensive item. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1987
Description: Good with no dust jacket. Good. No dust jacket as issued.; Sewn binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. Audience: General/trade. Great Value. Prompt delivery with tracking. Satisfaction guaranteed. read more
"This is the second novel of Boyle's that I've read, and I liked it quite a bit. The story is immense. I can't imagine how he contained all of this in his head while writing.
At times I did think some of the hippy qualities came on a little strong. But in general I loved the exploration of history, desire, and determinism"
"Darkly comic with a huge list of characters and a story line that spans three different, but interconnected, groups over 400 years, this book was hard to put down and well worth the read. Makes the whole area around Peekskill come alive with history and with capitalism/idealism and everything in between. I'll never be impressed by a historical mansion on the Hudson again!"
"The story opens up in the late 1960s with Walter Van Brunt, a 20-something year old who sees ghosts and had a motorcycle accident that caused him to lose his foot. He attempts to find out what happened to his father and why his father abandoned him.
T.C. Boyle then switches between Walter's story in the present, Walter's Dutch ancestors in colonial America before the English took over, and sometimes goes into the story of the Communist raids in the 1950s. The entire novel plays out in upstate New York and all of the characters are somehow interconnected.
The character list is long and wide, but Boyle has a list explaining everyone in the beginning of the novel. It's necessary to check it in the beginning so you don't get everyone mixed up, but it becomes easier to remember once you get into the story. There are Dutch colonists, the rich Van Wart family and their tenants, the Van Brunts, plus a scatter of English colonists and Native Americans. In the 1960s, all of the characters stem from those in the 1600s, but none of them are aware how similar their lives reflect those in the past.
Perhaps this sounds confusing, but Boyle writes well and once you get it into it, it's very difficult to put down. What I loved about the novel the most is its mix of historical fiction with family drama in the present. It never gets boring and just when you start to think, "But what happened to...?", Boyle delivers and gives you what you want."
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