Heyday Audiobook

" great time period piece of work "

" Tried three times to read this book, as I love historic fiction, especially in this time frame (late 19th, early 20th century). I never got past the first 25 pages. The characters did not pique my interest, nor did the story lines. I normally try to give a book at least 50 pages before giving up on it, but I made an exception for this one. "

" Dull, wordy and empty. I couldn't even bear to finish it. "

" It took me awhile to really get into this book (although, admittedly, my reading has been "on hold" for a while...). It didn't grab me like a lot of "historical" type books do. There was a lot more fiction than history. The characters lacked vibrance. The story jumped around a lot. And, in the end, it was predictable. There were a few interesting story lines, but, kind of a yawn overall. At least I stuck with this 600+ page tome, that says something for it. But, I'm ready to move on. "

" The fictional account of historical characters is a little hokey, but I learned the word "micturate," so I'll call it a draw. "

" This is a really neat historical novel set in the late 1840s during the gold rush. The characters are intriguing, and I found myself not wanting to go to work because I wanted to know what happened next. "

" So in the end ... after 4 mos of sloggin' through this book, I was SO let down. Don't reco... "

" I hated to leave these characters. "

" I finally made it through this on the 3rd attempt. I was pretty good for the first half or more but then slowed down when the group of friends headed west. The end was not as climactic as I had hoped but overall an entertaining read. "

" my favorite recent read. "

" I enjoyed the obvious amounts of research and attention to detail, which really put me into the time period. Some of it seemed a bit too precious for it's own good, but overall it played well as an epic travelogue through an era of history. "

" Really good read, if you like historical fiction. Read this a while back, reminiscent of John Jakes "Homeland" and "American Dreams", both good reads too! "

" Very good, though lengthy. It is an entertaining account of the life of interesting characters in New York City and the wild west in the mid 1800s. "

" I raced through this book like Manifest Destiny itself. I think it read it in 3 days. I loved the beginning but it started to fall apart in the middle with just one too many coincidences. However, I still recommend it to fans of historical fiction. I have a copy if anyone wants to borrow it... "

" Too long of a book. It had a nice ending with some twists, it just got to drag to the point of exhaustion. "

" much too long and slow moving, but interesting. "

" Enjoyed the wit and bits of historical trivia. "

" I hated this book so much, I gave up on it an hour into a 4-hr train ride and purposely left it for the maid at the hotel. I got to about page 130 and realized the 4 stories hadn't bothered to come together and I really didn't care about any of them. Not engaging at all. "

" Half a dozen characters making their way through Europe, and the US in 1848-1849. Like Forrest Gump, they pass among the famous and yet to be famous; unlike Forrest Gump, they are being trailed by a vengeful French soldier. Good, not great. "

" Epic and pretty original. Do want. "

" Really good read, if you like historical fiction. Read this a while back, reminiscent of John Jakes "Homeland" and "American Dreams", both good reads too! "

" really good, historical fiction but very slow moving "

" great time period piece of work "

" "Raucous fecundity" seems a bit overstated. How about "the stagy picaresque"? 'Heyday' could make a great silent movie, with parts of the film run at double speed. "

" An adventure story set in 1848-49; four fictional characters bump into real historical figures and events. Kind of like experiencing what it was like to "be there." "

" Interesting from the historical novel perspective, but hard to get into the story and know the characters. Too much information connected in a not so believable chain of events. "

" First half of the book was very good, lots of facts along with an exciting story. When the journey leads west the book starts to drag. It did end pretty good though. "

" Dull, wordy and empty. I couldn't even bear to finish it. "

" I had NO empathy for the characters...they weren't nice people...I didn't care about them "