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Summary: Excellent storytelling
Review: The book is well written and tells an extremely interesting story. What more could you want? I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Summary: A Good Beginning and a Frustrating Middle and End
Review: After reading City of Light, I will confess to 2 things: first, I thought that it was a fascinating study of a time and place to which not enough attention is paid. Second, as a narrative it was both tedious and frustrating. The mystery, such as it is, was superbly set-up and well placed within its setting to keep me interested. However, too often the story took little off-beat side trips that were not really necessary to move the story forward. I am not a novelist, but I would think that it is not necessarily a good idea to develop a good plot and interesting characters and then prevent those elements from proceeding at their natural progression and for that reason the whole story becomes "forced" halfway through. The main problem is that it is not too difficult to figure out what is going to happen if you pay attention to the details, and since the main character of Louisa Barrett is the prime participant in this story, it is EXTREMELY aggravating when her narration states, "If I had only known..." of "I should have seen..." Come on already! I don't want the protagonist of a mystery to apologize to me. I would think it a disservice to have created such an appealing and intelligent character who must constantly state that she was both naive and short-sighted. HOWEVER, as a glimpse into life in turn-of-the-century Buffalo it is unsurpassed. So I guess that balances out the problems with the overall storyline.
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Summary: Splendid historical fiction for those who don't read same
Review: I rarely read this kind of book, but was drawn to it, because of living across the border from Buffalo, and knowing something of the history of the city. What a lovely read. I have read all the earlier reviewer coments and find myself agreeing with so many of them -- an imperfect novel, for sure, telegraphing its 'mystery' well in advance, but entirely engaging just the same. The interviewing of fictional and real characters had me going to my local library to find out more about Mary Talbert, for example, (no mention in 'our' books on the NAACP (sp??))and others. Reminded me somewhat of the great epic nineteenth century historical fictions of Joyce Carol Oates (Bellefleur, for example).... Barthe and Doctorow. Not bad company to keep. Well done. Good start.
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Summary: Flawed, but still worth reading
Review: I found this book to be a real page-turner (I read it in one sitting), but it could have been more than that if the author had concentrated on her theme of power and possession instead of the mystery story. I don't know about the rest of you who've read it, but I could spot every plot development well before it happened - not much of a mystery. Anyhow, the rest of the book was great, especially the section called "Possession" which had fascinating ideas on how people can be possessed by ideas, by other people, by their circumstances in life; and about who "possesses" nature. The character of the narrator, Louisa, was very well-drawn, substantial, recognizable, and interesting. Overall, I'd say read this novel for its interesting ideas and main character.
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Summary: Buffalo is still something to be proud of
Review: I disagree with the reader from Southern California, who has obviously never been to Buffalo. True, Buffalo is no longer the incredibly busy port, the thriving industrial center, or the center of national attention that it was during the Pan Am exposition in 1901. Like the rest of North America, Buffalo's economy has shifted from industrial to post-industrial, and its culture has shifted from modern to post-modern. So, whoever you are in Southern California, who are being pig-headed and rude by saying that Buffalo is no longer something to be proud of. The novel, the source and cause of this debate, is excellent. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Entertaining.
Review: Perhaps not the greatest mystery plot ever written....but very entertaining none the less. As an Upstate New Yorker who has been to Buffalo many times I found the historical part fascinating. I even visited the web site for the Pan American Expo and found myself further awed by what technology had to offer at the turn of the century. The factual history elements are nicely woven into the novel...which did tend to drag on at times....but made for nice summer reading all in all.
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Summary: A wonderfully written novel
Review: The author has written a wonderful book reflecting life at the turn of the century. It tells of life in Buffalo - when the city was something to be proud of. I highly recommend it for her style of writing and allow the author to carry you back to a time in history that will transform you.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended, with reservations
Review: "City of Light" is a wonderful, richly detailed evocation of a fascinating time and place; what it isn't is a great mystery. I'm a huge fan of the mystery genre, and would have preferred either more surprises, or revelations that were...well, surprising. That said, Belfer knows how to write, which is in itself a blessing these days. Worth the time, but don't expect plot twists and shocks.
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Summary: Accurate depiction of Buffalo's elite, and necessary decline
Review: I spent my first forty years in Buffalo. Much of it in the heart of the area near the school. Belfer's demonstration of a closed and inbred society which controls the future of everyone is accurate even today. Attitudes are not much changed from Belfer's depictions. The elite in a small town do control and resist any change that benefits the general public. Only those who directly benefit from the mass distribution of residential electrical usage want it. Buffalo's current decline is demonstrated in the novel. In it, the seeds are sown for a long slide into obscurity and futility that is now Buffalo's existence. Belfer's backdrop is wonderfully accurate as metaphor. She was not alive in the period written about, but as she grew up there, she saw the same mistakes being repeated. To me, the point of the book was not a mystery, but a study of small town politics, small minds and small leaders. Democracy was not the issue to those of wealth. It was whether or not they could make a fast buck, when what was needed was the long term visionto maintain and nurture growth. Electricity was arguably the most important thing widely implemented in this century. Its' impact on our lives and our environment are more numerous than any person can accurately tell. The city fathers were only interested in the profit from a short fair (the Pan American Exposition. The death of President McKinley is the death of the city.) They had no interest in the long term value of the power plants. That required outside (of Buffalo) investors to show that vision.
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Summary: Brilliant first novel!
Review: CITY OF LIGHT shines in every area---story structure, character development, dialogue, description, research, originality, imagery, historical understanding, sensuality, human motivations, sense of place--everything. It's a wonderful, entertaining read and I recommend it to every fiction lover. I think it's an amazing accomplishment for a first-time writer and I look forward to reading Belfer's next works. She obviously has a long career ahead of her. As a former Buffalonian, I was charmed by her ability to weave people, places and events I had known about since I was a child into a compelling tapestry of first-rate storytelling.
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