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Title: Centennial by James A. Michener ISBN: 0-449-21419-2 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 12 February, 1987 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.37 (35 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Michener at his best
Comment: I grew to love Michener, when I read Hawaii, Mexico, and The Novel. I lost a little faith in him when I attempted to enjoy the Covenant, Source, and Journey. Fortunately, I'm glad to say that Michener redeemed himself with the Centennial. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a wonderful novel that is as sweeping as his best works are. Finally, the biggest weakness of his writing, binding all the characters together, is gone because the span of time is relatively short. Even though some events seem hurried and never fully explained, Michener is still poetic and fills the novel with startling images and original characters. I especially liked the final fourth of the book. Michener foreshadowed what would happen in the first few pages, but he took sweet time getting there. The Wendells and the Grebes are the most intriguing characters in the book, so be patient until you read about them. The only gripe I have is Michener's knack of cheating his readers by providing an interesting portrait of a character and then, suddenly, drop them out of the picture: e.g., Elly and Soledad. Overall, he is at his best here and I would rank it third on my list of his best works, behind Hawaii and Mexico.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Sprawling Epic of the American West
Comment: I've been fortunate enough to read several of James A. Michener's works, and CENTENNIAL is by far my favorite from this gifted author. In fact, I've read this book twice, which is no small task, given its 900-plus pages.
CENTENNIAL is about a fictitious town of the same name in Colorado. The town is not nestled in the majestic Rockies, as one might expect, but instead is located out on the vast, open, treeless, windswept plains that run down from the eastern slopes of the mountains. It is here, at the nexus of two radically diverse land masses, that Michener gives the reader a comprehensive history of the area, from the formation of the land and its rivers, to its prehistoric inhabitants, to its early settlers, to its subsequent clash of various cultures. The plains Indians, fur trappers, pioneer settlers, soldiers, ranchers, dry land and irrigation farmers, and the hearty descendents of these diverse groups--all are depicted vividly and weaved into an engrossing story by an author with a keen eye for detail.
CENTENNIAL furnishes an impressive assortment of powerful, unforgettable characters: Lame Beaver, an Arapaho chieftan; Pasquinel, a French fur trapper; pioneer Levi Zendt; trail boss R.J. Poteet; ranchers Jim and Charlotte Lloyd; and many more. Through these characters the reader is given an epic tale of the American West, a tale that is beautiful, compelling, profound, and often tragic. CENTENNIAL is higly recommended to any student of the American West, or to any lover of epic literature.
Rating: 5
Summary: To sir, with love
Comment: Once again, James Michener has created a wonderful story about a place, Colorado this time. From the rock formation, to its inherent animals, and, afterwards, the people - indians, english, german, russian, italian, japanese, Michener presents us with a lesson in writing, describing the arid landscapes, the flat, ugly Platte river, the majestic Rockies, the beaver trappers, the search for gold, the extermination of a race, the cattle ranchers. What more can I say about a book that's more than a thousand pages long and even so a very pleasant reading, never tiresome?
Centennial, the focal point of the book, is an imaginary town, but very vivid in my mind. That's the power of Michener's storytelling. He was able to provide his readers with a great cast of characters, this time spanning a little more than three centuries. Blending history with things as different as, for example, dry-land farm technincs, Michener gives us a fantastic lesson about the United States.
James Michener is one of my favorite authors, and, in my humble opinion, one of the great writers of the 20th century. We have to mourn his passing because Michener is that rare kind of author, the kind that have his readers always on his mind, always respectful, doing excellent researches, providing historical fiction like no one else. Thank you, Mr. Michener, wherever you are. Thank you for your kindness, for worrying about the quality of your books, thank you for compelling me to read more than 10,000 pages of your work, and not regreting even one minute of that reading.
Grade 9.3/10
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Title: Chesapeake by James A. Michener ISBN: 0449211584 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Hawaii by James A. Michener ISBN: 0449213358 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Texas by James A. Michener ISBN: 0449210928 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Alaska by James A. Michener ISBN: 0449217264 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Source by James A. Michener ISBN: 0449211479 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 December, 1992 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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