Customer Reviews

City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

"City Of Dreams" provides an extremely rich slice of Manhattan history along with an intricately plotted novel filled with unforgettable characters. I couldn't put this book down!

English barber surgeon Lucas Turner and his apothecary sister, Sally, land in mid-17th century Nieuw Amsterdam after a grueling sea voyage from the Netherlands. The two are devoted to each other, having escaped from a life of squalor and poverty to make their way in the New World. They are aided by Governor Peter Stuyvesant after Lucas performs a successful surgery on him to remove a kidney stone. The future seems filled with promise until a terrible betrayal causes a rift between the siblings that will impact generations to come.

In a series of eight segments, author Beverly Swerling unfolds the lives of the original Turners and their descendants, as Nieuw Amsterdam becomes the city of New York and finally the first capital of the United States of America. This absorbing multi-generational saga continues through the Revolutionary War providing detailed and accurate historical background as well as an extraordinary storyline and subplots. Patriot Nathan Hale, British Generals Clinton and Howe, and colonial General George Washington are some of the characters who interact with Ms. Swerling's fictional cast.

The history of the beginnings of medical science are absolutely fascinating. A number of medical interventions, all performed without the use of anesthesia, are vividly described, including tracheotomies, amputations, a radical mastectomy, and the removal of kidney stones.

As an added attraction the dust jacket is illustrated with a wonderful view of early Manhattan taken from a copper engraving. The inside end papers show beautiful aerial illustrations of the city in its early days. There is also a family tree at the beginning of the book, although I was easily able to follow the plot without using it for reference. I highly recommend this absorbing and informative novel.
JANA

I will truthfully say I bought this book at a dollar store. But I could not put it down. I would gladly pay full price to own this book. If a reader is even slightly interested in medicine or history this book will appeal to them. It tweeked at my patriotism also. You become enthralled by the characters in the story. I could not decide which side I was on so I decided to root for everyone. The goryness and truthfullness of the medical prcedures is not for the weak or immature reader. The sex scenes are also explicit but flow with the story. I felt the story would have held it's own without the detailed sex scenes but they were consistant with the story. I would definetly monitor younger readers with this book. I would not let my 12 year old read it. But I loved it!

Lucas Turner, a barber-surgeon and his sister Sally Turner, an apothecary, arrive in the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam to start a new life in the year 1661. Lucas starts an affair with the butcher's wife. Sally is raped and impregnated by an American Indian. Lucas trades Sally as an unwilling bride to the Dutch physician Jacob Van der Vries for the money required to be with his lover...and so the soap opera and the family feud has started.

City of Dreams follows their lives and the lives of their descendents up to the American Revolution, jumping through time in each new section of the book and switching the focal characters tied together through family, medicine and geography. Jennet, a colorful descendant of Lucas Turner, links previous and future generations. She is a young woman interested in medicine but forbidden to practice because of her gender. She marries a wealthy Jew whose secret occupation is running whorehouses and dealing arms. This part of the story exposes us to the seedy underworld and politics of historic Manhattan leading up to the American Revolution.

The more serious and interesting topic of this fictional work is the evolution of the practice of medicine in NYC. The gains in medical science in the early days of modern medicine were won over public superstition with great sacrifice and suffering by the patients who were sometimes healed, sometimes guinea pigs and sometimes unfortunate victims. Operations appear in all there gruesomeness. This book is not for people who faint at the sight of blood. Descriptive passages walk you through amputations without anesthesia, the horrible conditions of the city's early hospitals, fatal abortion attempts, pox vaccinations and more. There is a keen edge to the surgeon characters, making them capable of inflicting unendurable pain in the name of healing. Contrasting the surgeons were the apothecary healers, administering medicine, or the physicians of the wealthy with their accepted practices like leeches.

There is so much historical detail and as a person that has spent many years living in and around Manhattan, it is horrifying to learn that slaves were burned alive on Wall Street. But I also had fun imagining the entire island covered in trees and woodland paths with boats in the harbor. Visit www.cityofdreamsthebook.com to see great illustrations like the one of a horse drawn carriage on Broadway and Canal street where the Collect Pond was, or read the time consuming recipe for making soap that Roisin learned from her mother.

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, I couldn't give it 5 stars because some of the plot seemed over the top, even for my entertainment tastes. But I totally enjoyed this book and wonder if the loose threads (treasure) will be covered in a sequel. I would be eager to read it.

Quick paced, entertaining read with great medical and historical detail. Recommended.

City of Dreams is a wonderful idea of a novel; set in the earliest days of Niew Amsterdam, we meet a brother and sister relocating to the new world in order to follow their dreams. The story begins quite excitingly, with Lucas Turner, a barber/surgeon by trade, able to relieve the suffering of colony leader Peter Stuyvesant and arrange a place within the city to ply his trade. As we follow the story, Lucas and his sister Sally portray the entirely human foibles that lead to great storytelling: Sally, in her misguided headstrong ways, finds herself raped by an Indian, which leads to a pregnancy, and Lucas finds himself led by his hormones and emotions into an affair that results in him basically selling his sister in order to gain his own desires. Just when we become fully engaged in their tales, the scene shifts and we are thrust approximately thirty years into the future lives of their descendants.

Well written and incredibly well researched, City of Dreams is full of woe, entanglements, disease, shifting fortunes, and gore. And more gore. And still more gore. I understand the need to portray the situation as it was, but it did seem that scene after scene was full of violence and gore. Knowing that the novel centers around a family known for its medical "expertise", I was impressed with Swerling's descriptions up to a point, but when it began to feel as though she was relentlessly pounding home the ruthlessness of colonial life, I began to feel that perhaps she was using the gore as a device to simply move the plot along through shock factor. Life was rough; I understand that. I would have appreciated more character development, particularly in the latter pages when I began to realize that the story had become a lower class=good/upper class=evil tale. Truth be told, upon reflection I've realized that very few of the characters had many redeeming qualities, with most letting down/destroying those closest to them. My sympathy level is not high for many of them, well drawn though they are.

I should also temper this review with the note that I read this novel after reading City of Glory, the third in the series. I loved City of Glory and its fantastic characters, and I think Swerling's character writing skills have grown tremendously. Still, this is a well written novel and I have to admit that while I can't say I enjoyed it, I was indeed pulled into the story and found it hard to put down. Swerling's research seems to be beyond compare, and I do feel I learned a great deal about the early days of medicine, politics, and life in New York. I can recommend it as a fine example of a historical fiction, but with the cautions that it is filled with violence and gore, and the characters would have benefited from being less selfishly inclined to glory seeking. Overall, it's probably a book I'm going to think about for a long time, which indeed means the author accomplished her purpose.

This is a terrific novel that begins in the Dutch Colonial period when New York City was New Amsterdam and continues until just after the American Revolution. Swerling's story is filled with interesting characters, some sympathetic and others appalling, but all of whom are captivating.

She tells the story of our great city through the lives, loves and adventures of several families whose members are surgeons (barbers), medical doctors (physics) or pharmacists (apothecaries). That these families include African and African-American slaves is especially satisfying and I learned a great deal about the interactions between whites and blacks in the early days of our nation. (Sadly, in some respects, not a lot has changed.)

I especially enjoyed the early chapters of the book that focus on the Dutch and the role of those settlers in forming the character of NYC -- many aspects of which endure today. And if you live in the city as I do, you will probably also enjoy knowing where some of the key colonial landmarks were located and what has happened to them over the centuries.

In short, this is a highly entertaining book whether or not you are a New Yorker, as it offers an interesting plot line, believable characters and what seems to me a realistic window on life in colonial America.

This lush, intricately woven novel is truly arresting on several levels, the first being perhaps the most important: it's a darn great read, and a page turner to boot. I loved it.

Given the fast pace and many exciting events, you'll find it hard to put down. However, as you won't be able to digest it in one sitting, you'll have time to absorb and appreciate the fascinating cast of characters the author assembles. You can reflect on their motivations, desires and next moves in a way that's truly rewarding.

The scenes in the book (particularly the medical scenes) are blunt and, at times, shocking in their depictions of early American life. (You won't easily forget the kidney stone scene at the beginning! Gory!)

Don't be put off, though. There's a real thread of humanity and compassion at work here; the themes of healing and medicine that frame the book reinforce this impression and ground the author's project in the context of the larger struggle that each of us faces: our own fragility as human beings.

This essential humanity defines nearly all of the characters in some way and thus provides the true basis of a well-told tale; we can connect with these people. They live and breathe for us.

Unlike most fiction of this genre, the characters here are not drawn into simple absolutes of good and evil; each character's thoughts, feelings and actions reflect real human complexity. Nevertheless they are all (thankfully) people of action, and it is this action that makes the unfolding drama so appealing. There are sexy bits, there are touching bits, there are exciting bits, and intellectual food for thought as well. These colonial types obviously didn't have time to sit around hemming and hawing -- like all New Yorkers, they were busy!

The amount of well-researched history, both medical and colonial, that anchors this story is also phenomenally impressive. The author provides an essential history "primer" of lower Manhattan, as well as interesting but more trivial tidbits about daily life and common mores of the time. The background is varied, expansive, and vibrant; complex historical information is presented in a clear and easily understandable way without being watered down.

The clash of cultures (Dutch, Slave, English, American Indian, Jewish, etc) is very compelling, and the focus on NYC as a cradle of the American Dream seems right on target. By turning this history into a tangible, fictional narrative, Swerling makes it jump alive for the reader. We relate.

Finally, it's worth noting that given the recent tragic events in New York, the timing of this book is an eerie coincidence: the epic is really all about lower Manhattan and the people who lived there, worked there, died there and ultimately helped to shape the city we know today.

Although completely fictional, the book therefore provides an unfortunately relevant look at the history of the small geographical area that the world's attention has been focused on since the attacks.

Perhaps in some way, then, by giving life and context to the rich and dramatic saga of lower Manhattan, this exceptional book can somehow serve as an unintended tribute to lost souls. Perhaps we can take its core as a reminder of the freedoms America's forefathers fought for in the first place, and a view of New York as the rightful and unassailable bastion of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

At the very least, it's nice to think so.

A really good read -- lots of sex, gore, colorful characters, interesting history. Would be a 5 star if only the author had shown a bit more restraint; sometimes it is just too over the top. Obviously, the historical look at medicine took a great deal of research and the "medical" scenes hold true. It just seems as the author felt required to bring absolutely every sort of bizarre character and scene into the story as if to say "top this" and in the next chapter, she did. It's not Michener, but it's still a good read.

Similiar in style to Edward Rutherford's historical novels("London," "The Forest"), Beverly Swerling's book "City of Dreams" focuses on early Manhattan and more specifically, medical practices during the early colonization of Manhattan.

"City of Dreams" is crammed with interesting characters such as "Red Bess" who runs the local apothecary; and fascinating descriptions of early medical procedures like the "stone cutting" (a.k.a. the removal of akidney stone) performed in all it's gory detail in the first chapter of the book.

This is not a book for the squeemish as some of the medical procedures described require the holding down of patients or the biting on various objects against pain, as well as a lot of screaming, blood, slicing, oozing pus, et al, which was how medicine was practiced in the 1700's. However, I think Ms. Swerling did a great job in showing how truely miraculous it was that anyone survived during this time period and her descriptions of medical practices ring authentic to me. In addition, the book touches on the subjects of local indians, Dutch traditions, women's rights, and other topics relevent to this time period.

This book is a really interesting read for lovers of historical fiction. I highly recommend it to all!!

City of Dreams is an epic novel beginning with Lucas and Sally Turner, brother and sister, who come to the New World. Lucas later sells Sally for marriage, and so begins the epic tale of the Turners and the Devreys. We meet many of the descendants for Lucas and Sally. Some are memorable and some are not. And each of them is somehow involved with the age old themes: Money, sex, and love.

A family tree is included at the beginning of the novel. I referrenced this many times as the number of cousins and all the other relations were difficult to remember.

This novel is viewed as a near perfect historical novel, and I have no doubts. The author clearly did her homework here, as she weaves in the current social and political changes into the novel. Even General Washington makes his appearance during the Revolutionary War. She also describes in detail the building and planning of early Manhattan and other NYC boroughs. NYC history buffs would enjoy these details.

A enjoyable, historical read.

Beverly Swerling's historical novel "City of Dreams" chronicles colonial life in New York City. As the novel implies, is about dreams; fulfilled and unfilled, altered by unforeseen events. The dream of a better life begins with siblings Sally and Lucas Turner being rowed ashore after eleven harrowing weeks about a small wooden ship. The seas tossed the ship like a toy boat, the passenger's insides tossed out, arriving more dead than alive. The Turner's are healers;Sally is an apothecary and her brother, Lucas, a barber surgeon. It is from these two the story, their dreams and six generations of decendents evolve.
Sally and Lucas initially work together using their knowledge of medicine to advance them in the New World. Medicine is the central focus for the book. But love, lust, murder and greed conspire to pitch the two family lines apart, burdening their descendents with their sins. Some of the medical scenes are agonizingly graphic but accurate. Swerling did her homework about medicine during the colonial period.
The art and science of medicine is brillantly portrayed with the discussion of smallpox. The religious, moral and political ramifications of the controversy parallel many of the dilemmas that we face today in the medical community.
Readers want characters to care about and have the characters in the book be true to the spirit of the time. We read to be entertained as well as educated and as I finished "City of Dreams", Swerling had entertained, educated and enriched my life with a broader understanding of early New York City. Than as now New York City is the City of Dreams.
If one is interested in learning more about New York City the book "Gotham" is an excellent resource.