-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" i liked it fine until the cheesy love part towards the end of the book. "
- Karen, 2/19/2014
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Excellent. Individual stories shed light on Federalist America. Not riveting but well written. "
- Janice, 2/13/2014
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" I thought I would like this one (historical and all) but I just could not get into this book. This almost never happens, BUT I didn't finish. "
- Connie, 1/28/2014
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" well plotted historical fiction...well written and researched "
- Charles, 1/14/2014
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Wonderful. Excellent perspective of how a French nobleman might view post-revolution America versus an English orphan. Wish the book hadn't ended. "
- Linda, 1/14/2014
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" I loved Carey's writing but found that I most enjoyed the book before Parrot and Olivier got to America. "
- Lc16, 1/13/2014
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" If you liked this book, you might also enjoy Gould's Book of Fish. "
- Ticklish, 12/23/2013
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" A fun look at early democracy in America from the perspective of a French aristocrat and English commoner, this is also a great study of self-deception and how our background shapes how we view the world. "
- Carolyn, 12/11/2013
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Here's one of my pet peeves as a reader: I don't like it when I encounter a phrase in another language and have no real idea what I've missed. Once I read a book that contained an entire page in Latin - but, well, I guess that was probably a printing accident. "
- Lisa, 10/26/2013
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" I can't fairly review this because I gave up. "
- Mary, 3/23/2013
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Really loved this book, I studied it in my english class and enjoyed Carey's writing a lot. "
- Jeannie, 9/28/2012
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Interesting period piece - set in post French Revolution time. Tells the story of American democracy thru the eyes of a french aristocrat.. "
- Annegertrude, 9/19/2012
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Whilst I can appreciate this is a well written book and historically interesting, I did find it heavy going at times and there were parts I simply didn't understand! Too clever for me. "
- Catherine, 5/16/2012
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" This book was a bit slow at times, but I liked the characters and it was amusing in an intellectual kind of way. I have only read two other books by Peter Carey, but I liked both of them better than this one. "
- Briana, 2/24/2012
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" tough going at the beginning but I am glad I stuck with it, because I did end up enjoying it and now I want to find out a bit more about deTocqueville. "
- Anita, 12/6/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Struggled through it. Not my favorite. "
- Anna, 10/13/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Awesome! This book reads like a love poem to the American Colonies, and the author clearly researched it carefully. It's hilarious and touching in unexpected ways. "
- Mae, 9/4/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Really engrossing book - basically, at the start of every chapter I was like, hey keep going with the previous chapter and then next thing you know I was hooked again. Rewarding author. "
- Doruk, 7/15/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" I had difficulty staying with this book. The writing style was very dense with lots of detail and lavish description of place and action, but it was easy to get lost in all the words. I didn't have the historical background to understand many of the references.
"
- Mary, 5/21/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Entertaining and well-written with plenty of twists as the the protagonists cross and recross the Atlantic, with the action moving between America, France and England. However, reading this book was a journey I was only to happy to end.
"
- Patricia, 5/21/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" This was a selection for a book club at the Kimbell Art Museum. It took me a while to get involved with the story, but once I did I was hooked.
"
- Julie, 5/20/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" A bit of a slog. So good at times and at times, just too, too many words that truly, don't say that much.I didn't really care for any of the characters, although that guy in the bathroomless attic was quite a creepy hoot.
"
- Stephanie, 5/15/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Hard book to read! It seems to progress in fits and starts.
"
- Steve, 5/8/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Awesome! This book reads like a love poem to the American Colonies, and the author clearly researched it carefully. It's hilarious and touching in unexpected ways.
"
- Mae, 5/5/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Read this for book club and did not expect to like it, but found it to be much more interesting than I expected. The second story (that of Parrot) is fascinating. Enjoyed the look into America at the time of the revolution and the juxtaposition with the French revolution.
"
- Mary, 5/4/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Sort of like Dancing to the Precipice and Democracy in America
"
- Dan, 4/27/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" What might have been an engrossing read lost me when I lost patience with a seven-year-old narrator who had the thought process of a forty-year old rake.
"
- Gerald, 4/22/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Some of the funniest lines in this book were about chairs.
"
- Anne, 4/19/2011
-
Overall Performance:




Narration Rating:




Story Rating:




" Overwritten, and so very difficult to get at the characters, or the story.
"
- Dana, 4/18/2011
> Hide All