![]() ![]() ![]() Would a stable hand really think that he 'identified' with a horse 150 years ago? Whichever editor let this book slip out should have their fingers rapped. Yet it's hard to forgive an author who strives so hard for historical realism and then punctures her own balloon with anachronisms. It makes the book seem heavier than it should be, unravelling all the months of research that must have gone into it. ![]() In other words, Gaffney doesn't know when to let the story flow and when to occasionally indulge herself. Instead of reading on, this reader thought the fire was a fine place to put the book down for the night. For instance, Gaffney reckons the middle of a life-threatening fire is a good time for a quick literary tour of Barnum's circus. Too often you'll find a moment of genuine drama slowed to an unbearable pace. Unlike Kevin Baker's hyperkinetic Dreamland, Gaffney does a fine job sorting 19th Century New York myths from reality. Unfortunately, the admirable would have fitted into 200 odd pages, leaving the reader wading through an extra half a book. There is much to be admired in the 450 pages of Metropolis, a story of post Civil War New York. ![]()
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