Customer Reviews

City of God: A Novel of Passion and Wonder in Old New York

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once upon a time there was a lovely little Chinese girl whose father was a pirate of a sort and worked with white men smuggling opium out of China. One day one of these white men, an American named Sam Devrey, spotted the girl, and though she was only three, he knew he must have her for his wife. And so this girl, whose name was Plum Blossom, was trained to be the perfect wife to a rich man who owned his own kingdom in a place called New York-right down to the three inch golden lilies (foot mutilation) that made the gait of the Chinese woman so attractive.

Years past and Sam was happily ensconced with his Chinese wife (not in a palace but above a warehouse which she believes is a palace because she can't leave the three rooms they live in or open the curtains), he realized he has a problem. The Devrey's, like their cousins the Turner's (See City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan for the back story") are one of the oldest and most predominate families in New York-and having a half-cast Chinese heir just won't do (Not to mention he doesn't want to share his wife, Plum Blossom or Mei-hua with anyone, or risk her life or figure in childbirth.) So he marries again, this time to a tall blond white woman, Carolina who he finds physically unappealing, but knows that upon her father's death, Carolina will inherit a great deal of money. Money he desperately needs to regain control of his shipping company from John Jacob Astor (See City of Glory: A Novel of War and Desire in Old Manhattan for background details.)

Just as Caroline Devrey gives birth to her first son, Nicholas Turner comes to town to take over the medical treatment at Bellevue hospital, the most corrupt place he has could have ever managed to find. Nick's already ahead of the majority of his profession in that he believes in germs and washes his hands before touching any patient, but he needs a place to do real research- real research including dissections of humans (illegal at the time) to find where disease comes from and how to stop it. At first funds are despaired of, since even to get medicine to a patient at Bellevue requires paying the dubious chemists out of your own pocket and the city council is in no mood to change the ruling structure of the hospital. But after an encounter with Sam and Mei-hua in which he saves the young girl's life, Nick finds his distant cousin, who owns him the life of the woman he loves (and his locked lips on the secrets), can fund his research. Now there's only one problem-he's head over heals in love with his cousin's mistreated, neglected and very much unloved wife Caroline.

Aside from the main plot City of God: A Novel of Passion and Wonder in Old New York incorporates into it the introduction of ether, making surgery painless and decreasing the chances of dying from shock, as well as the first licensed Jewish doctors, some old friends and a very valuable item from "City of Glory", the development of rural Manhattan into a metropolises and the increasing number of religious differences and sects that are popping up all over the island.

It seems like of Swerling's books manage to be different somehow. Shadowbrook: A Novel of Love, War, and the Birth of America (my personal favorite) is an epic love/war story in the spirit of Gone with the Wind "City of Dreams" (second favorite) is a generational epic, which tells the tale of the original feuding between the Devrey's and Turner's (who used to be, incidentally, one family) from the time New York was New Amsterdam. And "City of Glory" was a fast paced thrilled which took place in ten days and had a lot of narrators (too many really.)

If I had to categorize this book then I would say it's kind of a classic "villain who must be crushed novel" with a lot of extra history thrown in. There is no question that Sam Devrey is an extremely unlikable character-even hateful-who destroys, lies to or ruins everything he touches (in spite of his rare good intentions.) But unless the scenes he isn't in include a lot of medical information (which Swerling has always been excellent at making fascinating and disgusting and creating enormous gratitude in this reader that I didn't live back then-in spite of having to deal with HMO's now!)they just aren't that interesting.

I did have a really fun time reading this book, and as with all of Swerling's I had immense difficultly putting it down once I started in. But as of this moment it's my third favorite of her published books-which is saying something considering I worshiped "Shadowbrook" and "City of Dreams." I sincerely hope this isn't the end of Swerling's New York books, because I would LOVE to read once that concentrated on the women's right moments in the early 1900's. Of course I'd also like to see more books like "Shadowbrook"-which though it did have some relatives of the New York families was a completely different sort of book. Actually, you know what, if Beverly Swerling writes it, I'll buy it and read it. Bad economy be dammed.

The only problem I had with this book is that there's a genealogy chart at the beginning which extends well into the more than 20 year time span of the book. This wouldn't be a problem expect it lists liaisons, and children, which would otherwise have been a surprise to the reader. Maybe it should be put in the back of the book next time-then I wouldn't have known that X and Y shack up and have kids before it appears C is dead. (Random example used to protect the characters and prevent spoilers.)

Four point five stars. If this review (or any of my others for Swerling's books) sound remotely appealing to you-then go get all her books right now! I promise you'll love them!

I wholeheartedly recommend this book! It is absolutely engrossing; I could not put it down. You get a true feeling of the story, as if you were watching it unfold before your eyes. The characters have great depth, and the historical details and facts are such a wonderful complement to the story. In addition to the pure enjoyment and excitement of the story, I have learned a lot about old New York. Love it!

This is a grand book, written by a grand story-teller. All the texture of the time: different communities thrown together in the city, all equally ambitious - wealthy Dutch and wealthy but circumspect Jews, despised and suspect Catholic nuns stoically caring for those nobody else will care for, homesick Chinese without sight or smell or sound of anything familiar, except in their tiny enclave... -- all rubbing against each other in an uneasy truce.
Brilliant characters and complex relationships, male-female, parent-child:
Mei-hua, the young Chinese woman with `golden lilies', feet bound in infancy and the instep broken (a detail I did not know, though I come from a country with a large Chinese population, with a display in the National Museum about this custom) who considers herself a princess and first wife, though sold by her father to Samuel Devrey. Devrey himself, such a disordered confusion of east and west - New York born and of good family, growing up in China - that he seems to genuinely love - as much as he is capable of loving - this woman whose mutilation he caused, *because* of her mutilated `golden lily' feet. And who is unmoved by and eventually abusive towards his wife Carolina, the daughter of a wealthy New Yorker and his peer. Then there's their children... And Carolina herself, who is yes bound by her time, but by now means passive, and goes from battered and possibly bigamous wife to one of the powers of the city only to raise a daughter with a mind full of frivolity and lose the girl to a dashing Southerner - just before the civil war comes to separate them...
Then there's the mixed-race daughter of the `golden bud', whose life has a unique trajectory leading from an early gilded seclusion with her mother through a convent and relationships good and bad to a battlefield of that same war.
Tender and complex relationships: between two doctors - Nicholas Turner, from a family of prominent doctors (and a cousin of Samuel Devrey) and the young Jew, Benjamin Klein, and their wives. And parent-child relationships, even ones drawn relatively briefly, for example that between the Ben Klein (and wife) and his father, also full of tenderness, as well as conflicts about ways of worship, are the homemade cherry preserves kosher or not, and what in the world is the young man doing with his career? And then the next generation, Ben's children, hide runaway slaves without the young doctor's consent.
And that's only scratching the surface.
I fully intended to pace myself, read a few pages and put the book down and get back to my own work. That idea succeeded a couple of times. I read 20 pages and put it down. Then I picked it up after tea one day for another 20 pages, and presently it was 11 pm and I only realized the time then because I ran out of book to read. (Fortunately my husband was doing dinner that day, and he seems to have put a plate in my hand while I was reading because I wasn't starving at the end, but I honestly don't even remember eating).
Ms. Swerling tells a fascinating story in this series, and one which is still playing out today: successive waves of emigrants arriving in the city (and this country), working their way through difficulties and hostility up the social ladder; male-female relationships evolving, and the role of women; arguments over politics and religion. Unraveling the roots of these arguments - now over stem-cell research or medical euthanasia and in the time of City of God over the use of anaesthesia during surgery (the elimination of pain being, it was thought, a violation of Divine will). Then there's mysticism, or rapture, or ethics... Which way to God, and what does that require from people?
An important book, and a good read.

I really enjoyed City of Dreams. I felt City of Glory was mediocre. But this last book is so very disappointing. Ms. Swerling starts out so well. She thoroughly engages the reader with her researched history of New York City. However, her greatest flaw is that for every historical fact she presents, she must create a character to illustrate the history. As a result, she gets so tangled up in multiple subplots and doesn't know how to extricate herself. In this last novel, she should have ended with Book III.

I wish I had discovered historical novels earlier than I did. History bored me terribly in high school and college. Then I discovered my first historical novels (John Jakes) and I've been hooked ever since. Swerling quickly became a favorite author. I've enjoyed following the families through the generations as New Amsterdam develops into thriving New York City. Her stories are complex; you have to pay attenton because there are many characters and multiple story lines. But the stories hold your interest and always come together nicely in the end. I'm looking forward to the next novel.

I am a huge Swerling fan! It is astonishing that Swerling creates these masterpieces so quickly.
Every time you read her work, you think it can't get any better. And it does. If you've never read Swerling's epic tales, start here and you're in for a treat. I bet you go out and buy all the others too.
A rich, compelling, exquisite read. Martin Scorsese, miss this at your peril!

I've spent two unforgettable days time traveling. Arriving in New York 1834, and being taken on a thrilling ride through the most glorious city on the planet, with Beverly Swerling as my accomplished guide. She introduced me to a bunch of fantastic characters - my favorite was the magnificent Carolina, a true fighter - and got me thoroughly involved in their lives, all the way to Gettyburg, in 1863. Bits of this book reminded me of James Clavell (Noble House and Shogun)and there's also a hint of Dickens. A real page turner, but be warned... you'll keep telling yourself, 'Just one more chapter, then I'll put it down.' And if you're anything like me, you'll read it in one go, pausing only for sleep.

I'll admit to an impulse buy. I was Googling the different dialects of Mandarin and how one would say "foreign devil" in each of them. One of the first things that came up was a page on Google Books from this book. I saw things like:

"dog turd pirate father of plum blossom"
"make jade stalk get big and hard"
"his jade stalk was said to be the size of a courtesan's golden lilies"

I immediately went and bought the book thinking, "Early-to-mid 1800s? New York City? Chinglish? This has GOT to be good!" OH MY GOD, you all need to go buy it! This is one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. Beverly Swerling isn't even Chinese, but she captures the culture so well, it's almost unbelievable. I can't wait to go buy her others.

Beverly Swerling's historical novel, "City of God," is a big book, but it's packed full of history and human emotion. Set in the period between 1834 and 1857, exciting years in the development of New York and the great stew of population migration from Asia and Europe, major protagonists are Jews, Chinese, and British, including the Irish. I found most interestng this author's treatment of cultural aspects of the Chinese and the role of drug addiction as a source of wealth for some of the the truly rich in this country's history. Because author Swerling has developed complex characters the reader wants to understand and to like, the cruelty they often display is somethimes shocking as was the level of street violence in the city.

Threaded in the tapestry of this story of lives lived raw, racial injustice, and Dickensian institutions that abuse the poor--much of it devised by political and religious groups who punish the victims for the crime of being poor. Not unlike some groups in contemporary American life, Ms. Swerling's work portrays the cynicism and hypocrisy (not unlike some of those in our times) in a way that is as fascinating as an auto accident where passerby gawk at things they don't really want to see. Of particular note is the suppression of science and physical fact in the world of medicine of that time.

On the flip side, "City of God" is also a story of love--some won, some lost, and the strivings of people who want to achieve novel ends and create a better world. For those many reasons, Beverly Swerling has given us a splendid book about the good, the beautiful, and, yes, the ugly. It's a book you'll want to tell your best friends about, an experience you'll be glad you had.

This book was given to me by a pilot friend and his wife as a novel they thought I'd enjoy. And I was surprised to find out I could not put this down once I got started. I really enjoy the old New York, and the attention to detail was amazing. To me this book was "fun" to read and took my mind off of the grieving of the loss of a loved one. I'm really glad I read it and have already purchased my own copy.