Customer Reviews

The Immigrants

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

 

 

Is it possible for Howard Fast to write a bad novel? Probably not. The man can't even write a bad sentence! Plus, he obviously likes people. There aren't any real villains in this novel which follows several interconnected families living in and around San Francisco from around 1900 into the early 1930s. Instead, there are real people trying to make sense out of the world they have been born into, and their own capabilities, ambitions and capacity to love and be loved. Some times they act "badly", but even the least likable has some reason for being that way. Some characters make horrible mistakes and die, some do the right thing and fail, some do the wrong thing and prosper, and some make horrible mistakes and live long enough to find redemption. Which is, I think, the way life is.

Since this novel is set against a historical background, it important - to me anyway - that the background material be as accurate as possible. I know a bit about California and West Coast USA history, and it looks to me like Mr. Fast has done his research. That historical material I already knew he corroborated, and I'll bet most of the material I didn't know is right on. When Fast decides to show you that he has done his research, he is much better than almost any other author I know at presenting that research in simple, interesting and meaningful ways. And if there isn't any way to do it simply, he admits it by presenting it as equally confusing to the characters in his book as it is to the reader.

So, why didn't I give this novel five stars? Simply because Fast has written better novels, like "Moses" and "Spartacus", and I want to mark the difference. Probably it is the political agenda that he brings to those novels which adds the extra bit of energy to the characters. Whatever, if you are looking for an effortless and enjoyable read with serious content, this particular book is an excellent choice.

The first review I sent in got botched up in transmission or something. This is an outstanding family (families) saga set in San Francisco around the turn of the century (and later). It is the first book of a page-turning trilogy with an excellent story and Fast's usual sparkling writing. After a 20-year or so hiatus, Fast also wrote a fourth book about the Lavettes that was released a couple of years ago. The entire series is highly recommended.

I didn'k know who Howard Fast was until everyone in my family personally handed me The Immigrants and said to me "You've got to read this!" I did, and I was suddenly in a world of suspense, imagination, happiness, death, romance and humor. The novel opens with a beautiful narration of the voyage the Lavette family had as they are headed towards America and then how they're met there (not a very charming welcome!). Howard Fast is an excellent story teller, his books are ninty percent real "page turners" and he always comes up with stories that grip you. Right after the San Fransisco earhtquake (excellent part) Dan Lavette builds himself a shipping empire out from nothing. His motivation is his love towards a beautiful and aristocratic woman, daughter of a rich banker. The Immigrants give you Jack London simplicy and Howard Fast deepness. The saga continues around two families through five different books and the more you read, the more you got the love the big Lavette family... and then one day Howard Fast becomes your favourite author. :)

This is an easy read. First in the Immigrant Series. Wonderful history of San Francisco brought to life beginning in early 1900's. Fascinating families intertwined in the fishing industry, banking industry, wine industry, etc., with San Francisco and Napa Valley as a backdrop.

The Lavette Family saga eventually took six books to tell, so The Immigrants has the feel of setting up the story for the directions in which it is to go. Beginning with Daniel Lavette's parents arriving at Ellis Island, we meet the patriarch of this fascinating family as he is born in a bucking boxcar on the way to the West. Five hundred pages later, we have gotten to know a rich tapestry of interesting characters, each with their own backstory, faults, foibles and virtues.

There were points where I felt that The Immigrants could have been trimmed a bit, and for this I gave the book four stars rather than five. Having said that, I love stories that take their time and unfold in interesting ways, so I loved this book immensely. The threads eventually come together, and we are assured that those characters we meet in this first book will be revisited in the next ones, so there is every incentive to keep reading.

This is a worthy addition to the Fast canon. In the tradition of John Jakes (another of my favorites) he never fails to satisfy.

Well, I must say that this is one hell of a novel. I think Howard Fast is much more better than other well-known authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald or J.R.R Tolken. A very well done. This is a must read. Later! :)

Not the most fabulous writing around, and definitely put-downable, The Immigrants is not for those who aren't already in love with San Francisco. If you are one who would take out your old love letters just to reminisce about days that were great and awful at the same time, you might enjoy this book. The story isn't enthralling in any way, but the backdrop...
He does justice to the growth and plunder of the best city on earth

Absolutely mesmerizing account of San Francisco around thetime of the great quake and later. A++. END

Whew. Those other reviewers must have read a different book, or they're all on acid. One of them even used "The Immigrants" to compare Fast to F. Scott Fitzgerald! The authors who come to my mind are Edna Ferber and James Michener, who were both more adept than Fast at using the trivial genre of "family saga" as the basis for a good adventure story. "The Immigrants" is a skin-deep, boring travelogue of events in the lives of a dull selection of character stereotypes. The cliches are thick and fast. I could hardly hold the book up. All I can think is that the often fascinating Fast was showing off his famous eclecticism by demonstrating that he could write trash with the worst of them.