Sarum: The Novel Of England (1997) - Plot & Excerpts
This is the first book of its kind I've read, and probably the only book I've ever read that I think can properly be called 'epic'. It's a series of chronologically ordered short stories about the people and history of Salisbury in England, starting around 10,000 BC and ending around 2000 AD. I enjoyed it most because of how it took me through the history of England, and I learned a lot while also being entertained.It takes you through hunter-gatherer times, the separation of England from mainland Europe, Roman England, Vikings, the Norman invasion, medieval times, the Plague, the agricultural revolution, witch-hunting, feudalism, child labor, chivalry, nearly endless wars with France, the evolution of parliament and decline of the monarchy, civil war, expansion of the British empire, two world wars, Guy Fawkes, the Magna Carta, Catholicism v Church of England, a thousand more minor things, and all the kings and queens you'll recognize by name if you've heard the Horrible Histories song. I'm American but my wife and children are English, and it was good to learn more about all of the things I'm already a little bit acquainted with. It made me wish that America had the same sort of history for me to feel connected to - too bad the Native Americans had no written language to record our country's early history and then they all mysteriously died out, just like the noble buffalo.Some things I read about in it I had to look up just to learn more about them because they were so interesting. For example, Jews were exiled from England in the 13th century and none were allowed to return for 500 years! I'd never heard about that, and to me the whole book would be worth it for just that new thing I learned. For telling me history in an interesting way, I'd give it 5 stars.The novel part of it though wasn't quite as good on its own, and I probably wouldn't have read the whole thing if it wasn't just so well put together with the history aspect. There were a lot of connections drawn between places and things, and it was very enjoyable when there was a reference to something from earlier in the book, but I felt like the connections between generations of families weren't so clear. It was pretty hard to keep track of the families as they changed over centuries, with some even changing their name through marriage or just because they hate me. Port became Portus became Porteus become Le Portier became Portehors who changed his name back to Le Portier because it was fancier who became Porter who married and became Shockley who's children went to America and came back centuries later and had sex with their very distant cousins. By the time we were in the 1800s I'd completely lost track of how anyone was related to anyone else from the BC days, except for the Mason family, which was easy because they were always actual masons and had started by working on Stonehenge. I didn't feel too bad about it though, because the people in the book (like most of us in real life) had also lost track of their own history and generally didn't know anything about their family farther back than their grandfather. Anyway, it was good. I wouldn't read it again because it was 1,033 pages and I'm not a flagellant, but I enjoyed it the first time around.
I'm not actually sure how one reviews such a book as Sarum. The first thing that you must know is that it is 912 pages. That's 912 pages all written about a core group of families that live in a small river valley in the south of England. This is the England of Stonehenge and the Avon river, Old Sarum and Salisbury Cathedral. Our story begins in prehistoric times as ancient peoples made their way from the north to the warmer south. As the centuries go by, the groups of people intertwine - they leave and return, they have specific characteristics that we as readers know have been handed down and which helps to differentiate the various ancestral lines. Sarum: the Novel is really two different things. It is a giant group of short stories that give you a wonderful taste of what life might have been like, what pleasures there might have been and what struggles people may have been faced with during many different of seasons of British history.This book is also a crash course in British military, political, and social history. As the characters work through their own lives, we learn all about the kings and the economics and the rise and fall of different groups of people - Saxons, Romans and the Normans. We get a solid education in cathedral building and for the rest of the book the cathedral in Salisbury is a constant feature in the lives of the townspeople. We see how fortunes were made and lost, how wars divided families, how industries grew and thrived and disappeared.While the writing wasn't astonishing or particularly lyrical, it moved right along and did a wonderful job of making each time feel distinct and real. The author took time to make sure the background was laid out in a way the flowed well with the story and didn't feel like a time out from the narrative the way it could have. I feel so connected to this area now - I have such a better sense of how deep and rich a history lies between the five rivers. Sometimes the "family characteristics" piece felt a bit too obvious, bordering on cheesy, but I mostly appreciated it. I had to refer to the family trees at the front all the time because I liked keeping the families straight in my head. I think one of the things that really contributed to the two months it took me to read it is the fact that we don't have one set of characters to carry us through the narrative. By its very nature, this books is filled with dozens, maybe hundreds of characters and so the plot itself isn't ever really riveting - I had to keep reading for the book's sake instead of from a desire to know what happens, if that makes sense.Yep, it's long. I thought Vanity Fair was long and this was 200 pages longer. Even Anna Karenina is shorter! It took me a REALLY long time to read it, but I chose it and stuck with it because my beloved sister has moved to this part of the world and as she has told me about the places she is visiting and learning about, I realized how ignorant I was about much of British history. The Roman part was particularly informative and interesting as well as the creation of Stonehenge. Yes, I could've just read a history book - but this was definitely more fun.
What do You think about Sarum: The Novel Of England (1997)?
Sarum is nearly 1000 pages so it took a long time to finish, but I loved it. It follows about four or five families in England from the end of the ice age to the 1980s (hence the long book). This book reminded me a lot of The Pillars of the Earth, though this book came out just before Pillars and I wouldn't be surprised if Ken Follet was influenced by this book. In fact, the fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral in Pillars was based on Salisbury Cathedral, the building of which is featured prominently in Sarum. Sarum is another name for Salisbury, England, and this is where most of the story takes place. You are taken through the entire history of England, though never that in-depth, and it's quite an education. Since the book is in story form, however, I never felt like I was reading any dry history. I like the way the author would step aside from narrating the story and give background history to set up the story. I'd highly recommend this is you like epic novels based on history or would just like to know the history of England. One of the most interesting parts was reading different English perspectives of the American Revolution.
—John Stanley
I enjoyed the novel well enough, but I was expecting something of the caliber of James Michener, and this certainly didn't deliver. The writing is wordy and overly passive. The character are rather flat. And his research fell short in developing his ancient culture of England. He uses corn as one of the first crops farmed on English soil, and even has it as such an intricate part of their culture that there is a corn festival and princes. It's all ridiculous because corn is a New World species that only came to Europe after 1492. He probably thinks potatoes came from Ireland--they came from the Americas as well, as did tomatoes. Michener would never have made such an egregious error. Michener also gets you, the reader, more into his characters. Rutherfurd isn't bad, but comparing him to Michener is an insult to Michener.
—Ronald
I love Edward Rutherfurd, I really do. But... this book has to be one of his worst.Pros: The first 400 pages or so are amazing. But once I got into the 1300's... my interest started dwindling fast. I love historical fiction, and for the avid historical fiction reader (especially British history, or European history in general), Edward Rutherfurd is the guy for you.Cons: Like I said, after about 400 pages, I started to lose interest fast. It seemed SUPER boring to me, and I could only read about 10 pages at a time before I practically tossed the book aside to reach for another one.Judgement: If you have a LOT of spare time, and love historical fiction, then I totally recommend this book. If not... I would recommend his shorter novel, "Princes of Ireland", or maybe just another author with shorter books. 3/5 stars.Edit: I went back and finished the book, after heavy recommendation from my AP European history teacher. She was totally right... The book DOES get better after the 1400s. Even so, this book still isn't one of my favorites by this author.
—Ashley
