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Summary: If you need something to fill time, or like Buffalo/Niagara
Review: Being from the Buffalo area, I thought I would really enjoy "City of Light". If you are from the area, or have ever visited, you may find it interesting to see what landmarks/streets are in the book, and you may enjoy the account of Buffalo development and society. It also gives an interesting "fictional" side to the true development of the Niagara Power Plant. At first I was intrigued by the main character, but began to give up when we discovered that Grace - the child she bore and gave to friends to raise as their own (which really wasn't the shocker I think it was supposed to be)- turned out to be the child of President Cleveland. The lenghty descriptions of the power plant are tedious - but may be more interesting for those history buffs or science folks. The darker side of Victorian society - particularly women's rights and racial tensions- is portrayed, but after a while I just wished for at least one character to have a happy ending!
I borrowed this book from a friend, and I would recommend you do the same. The library is my best suggestion to you.
Rating: 
Summary: Dim light
Review: What attracted me to this novel was the cover... a Victorian woman standing alone. I also liked the fact that this book was close to 700 pages which meant it would keep me busy. And yes it certainly kept me busy..... it took me two months to get thru this treacherous piece of "literature". I found all the little details of the hydroelectric power plants boring and uninteresting. I didn't see the point of all the details when the story just boiled down to romance (which never works out anyhow!). I did like some of the historical characters in this novel and how the author portrayed them. I also thought that other details of the time period were accurate and brought the reader to feel as though they were living then as well. But overall, this novel feel short of my expectations. Louisa thought of herself as an independant woman of her day, but in actuality she was no different than the other married women of her time: sheltered and protected. There are definately better historical novels out there.
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Summary: just stick to your historical romances...............
Review: Triteness is the adjective that would best describe this turkey. Initially, I was drawn to its cover. Believing that perhaps it would provide me with an interesting mystery of the Victorian period, I soon realized that it was actually a historical romance with people in it who were basically uninteresting. I found the writer's detailed descriptions of the electrical plant and all the references to the falls boring, very boring, and along with her tendency to tell her readers more than they probably want to know, she managed to alienate me also with her insufferable stuffiness regarding her 'salon' or is 'saloon'? Wasn't she the gift of all of Buffalo because she was the mistress of the girls's school???? I kept reading in the hope that it would perhaps improve, but like all historical romances it never went anywhere......the only difference was not everyone lived happily ever after.
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Summary: Brilliant!
Review: I loved this novel and the way that the author blended both fact and fiction. Her style of writing was new to me and I found it incredibly interesting. I hope to see another novel from Ms. Belfer soon.Louisa's story is about coming of age and a Mother's love of her child and what choices a young woman in the early 1900's would have to make to remain "appropriate". You find yourself hoping she will fight to uncover the manipulation that was so cleverly plotted in each stage of her life. Facts about the city of Buffalo, the introduction of electricity and the society of the times were excellent. Wonderful information about Niagra Falls. I highly recommend this book but would suggest that you have a good dictionary close at hand so you can look up all the new words that you come across.
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Summary: Nicely developed and intricate plot
Review: Excellent writing for a first book. Intermingles history with characters who touch a range of emotions. Set in Buffalo, New York, at the turn of the 20th century when electric lights were not the norm. Political intrigue versus environmental protection - the beat goes on.
Rating: 
Summary: my thoughts...
Review: About the story: Above all, it exemplifies how life's outcomes cannot be crafted. No matter how much effort is put into the planning and manipulating to construct the perfect life for someone you love, in the end it is how healthy or damaged the loved one's spirit has become that determines her fate. It is a story about two oposing (but interwoven) powers: the power one derives from high status in society, constructed partly by rational planning and a lot of "facade"; versus the power of truth and wider social solidarity. These two powers are played throughout the book in many sub-stories. In some of these stories it is the social-status power that wins (for example, Tom Sinclair losing his battle at Niagara). In the most important of the book's stories, it is the power of the human spirit who determines the course of events. A disturbed spirit spinning near dangerous currents, social convention preventing lower-status adults from alerting a child to danger... And in the end, at last finding a real friend in someone who "doesn't belong". So this story is a lot like real life. My major criticism is that Louisa Barrett ought to have gone mad at the end. I could accept that she might have been left so dead inside that she couldn't even go mad anymore, could only go through her usual daily motions. But the book seems to imply that there was still a positive life force left within her, a real role to play in the school. And that was too much for me to believe. One thing is stoicism, but this was just beyond humanly possible, I'm afraid...
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Summary: This is a must read for anyone visiting Buffalo this summer
Review: I first read this fast-paced, thoroughly engrossing novel two years ago, and couldn't put it down. I'm reading it again now for the wonderful descriptions of Buffalo and the Pan American Exhibition in 1901. It's not often that I can read historical fiction and actually recognize and visit many of the sites mentioned. This book has made me appreciate the history of my own city, and it has primed my interest in attending all of the 100 year anniversary events this summer.
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Summary: Fresh Approach to Historical Fiction
Review: "City of Light" successfully, via Lauren Belfer's excellent descriptions, allows the reader to travel to Buffalo, NY in 1901. This turn of the century historical fiction/mystery incorporates actual historical figures of the time with a set of characters who operate under their own political agendas. The main character is caught up in this mix of Buffalo society with some surprising twists and turns. I am looking forward to Ms. Belfer's next novel for what I hope will be another journey back to this era of American history.
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Summary: A good read, but it could have been great
Review: I was drawn into this book immediately. I loved the atmosphere Ms. Belfer created and was drawn into Buffalo at the turn of the century. I even enjoyed all the history she incorporated. There were so many interesting characters and sub-plots (Francesca, Mary Talbert, the infants asylum) and I found myself wanting to know more about these people and stories. However, things fell apart at the end when it seemed Ms. Belfer abandoned the wonderful main plot she had set up. Tom is initally seen as menacing (intimating he might expose Louisa's secret if she continues to question him about Karl Speyer's murder), but turns out to be this do-gooder in the end. Where did that come from? Also, when the "conspiracy" against Louisa is revealed near the end of the book I almost threw it across the room. Please - she was set up/sacrificed by all the most important people in the town? This book had so much potential, and I was hooked for days, but Belfer doesn't follow through with the strenghts of plot and character she has developed for 400 pages - the plot crumbles and characters become unbelieveable. A good read, but it could have been great.
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Summary: Enlightenment on the City of Light
Review: With 105 reviews this book hardly deserves another Bear with me because I could never understand why my grandfather traveleled 200 miles in 1901 to buffao. since moving here in 1942 I have developed a keen interest in the local history. I heard some raunchy stories about Grover Cleveland when he held public office even before he became the city mayor. But my real interest in this book was the development of the power stations at the Falls and the locale of the events that took place in the city of Buffalo. I was a student nurse at Millard Fillmore Hospital in the late '40s and I enjoyed the memories of all the local streets...I lived in a small mansion that had been used as a student's residence and relived the memories I imagined taking place there. I knew Elbert Hubbard's grandson and several descendants of the high society families that were patients at the hospital. The Forest Lawn cemetey was a favorite place to visit to absorb history and gain some relief from the stress students developed. That whole area is alive and thriving today despite the rust belt reputation. I found the book to be alive with the characters portrayed and realistic in the views they held then as people do today. Buffalo has not learned the mistakes of the past and that is why we are repeating those same mistakes today. If those readers who thought the book was hardly worth reading could not find the vitality of the life and times and events of the era covered, they surely missed the boat! I think every one from Western New York should read and enjoy this novel
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