Rating: 
Summary: Not a magnificent, but an original book
Review: Definetely NOT the best historical fiction I've ever read, but the book with a difference - it almost does not contain descriptions of events that changed the country, except for the main guidelines. They serve as a background for tracing destinies of 4 common families, back from the pre-historical mists till modernity. As you won't find here no heart-wrenching love stories, nor portraits of great historical persons, it might seem boring (and I was often lost in the debris of family trees of the main characters), and it often is. But after I have finished the book (it took me a couple of weeks), I felt a little sad, for human generations stem from immemorial times and generations ceaselessly go on, even if we, people of modernity, sometimes forget about it... Read the book, if you are in a philosophical or contemplative mood...
Rating: 
Summary: Bringing history to life
Review: Rutherfurd tells history in a way that people can relate to. He uses individual characters and then plots their ups and downs as they struggle through life's many twists and turns. He refines this by creating sub plots that follow the characters and their descendants through time. The result is that the reader is gradually drawn in and the book becomes compelling and even potentially addictive. Even though you know the various characters die (by definition they are long gone) you are desperate to know what happens to them. The section about the plague for example is tragic, and the reader can easily find themselves hoping that the spread of the disease is contained. Reading Sarum has rekindled my love of history and I am now well into other historical novels. Rutherfurds's style quite simply brings history to life.
Rating:
Summary: A picasso
Review: Okay. It's like the picture. It does drag on when you're reading it, and parts of it get slow with the political descriptions and the vivid descriptions of the wool fuller's plant, but parts of it were very interesting and made up for all that. But after you read it all, and look back, it's absolutely amazing how full and comprehensive it was. It gives you a complete tapestry of English history. When you look at the whole picture and the boring parts are in black and white and the interesting parts are in color, you realize that it sort of needed all of that. So I thought it was an amazing book.
Rating: 
Summary: Exceedingly clever idea, awkwardly written, badly punctuated
Review: This novel provides for me a palatable way to get a history of England, and I am determined to see it through. I have been reading it for months and have gained insight into why a previous reviewer found it such a slow read: The author violates almost every guideline for good writing, including changing points of view and introducing jarring incongruities. One can almost always tell what's to happen next because he telegraphs it well ahead of time. Punctuation is haphazard and inconsistent. I can't get into the story for tripping over bad writing, but the history he provides is worth it. Let's hope he rewrites, using a good editor and copy editor.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, I know. A long review. But it was a long book!
Review: The Salisbury cathedral and Stonehenge. Ancient, worn, mysterious structures only hinting at their former dominance and glory. Yet despite the age of these monuments, they have withstood the withering destructive forces of a stormy history, and are standing as tall and proud as ever.OK, excuse me for overdoing it with my rhetoric. But I may as well be talking about the country of England itself. Clearly Rutherfurd meant for the cathedral and the megaliths on Salisbury Plain to symbolize the durability and determination of the British people to survive the ravages of time. Of course, the reader also needs a little of that durability and determination to finish the book as it tends to drag on a little too much, especially in later chapters. But how can you fault a book for this when it dares to single-handedly tackle thousands of years of the nation's history. I think Rutherfurd's main theme is that heredity is something we have to struggle mightily to escape from, but perhaps it is so because we choose not to escape. A character living in the shadow of the glacier in Britain has descendants who have the same character traits in the modern age. One character in particular was an Ice Age thief and would-be rapist of another man's wife. Throughout the following millennia, his descendants continue his legacy, expanding it to cover the stealing of lands and even claims to nobility of their neighbors, all the way into the final chapter. I know many people may have a problem with this idea. Many feel that we are our own individual selves and not slaves to our ancestry, and I agree. But why then do we obsess over our heritage, our family trees? People cherish their link to the past. Now more than ever, people are exploring their heritage in order to define themselves, embracing the ways of their ancestors even though they probably can't even point out what country they were from on a map. Accordingly, it seems that who our forefathers were is very important in shaping who we are. We model ourselves after our parents, who modeled themselves after their parents, who modeled themselves after theirs, and so on. So I can easily see how we in the modern age would be just like our ancestors, especially when we try so hard to be as much like them as we can. Compassion, fear, hatred, good and evil can indeed all be handed down from father to son. While these character traits continuing on for thousand of years may seem far-fetched, I understand the point Rutherfurd is trying to make. We all live today with the consequences of yesterday actions. I also enjoyed the author's ironic treatment of his characters. People whose ancestors were noble Saxon thanes or mighty Norman knights end up nothing more than modest commoners, and cunning peasants use manipulation and crime along with the help of good luck to ensure that their spawn will be the lords, earls and other nobility of tomorrow (why am I reminded of Joe Kennedy, Sr. ?). Rutherfurd suggests that we must be on constant guard, because crooks are waiting in the shadows to get their hands on everything we have. Everyone who buys things from sweepstakes companies or sends money to televangelists should be forced to read this book. As time marches onward, many things in our lives are fleeting: our fame, social status, money, even our dignity. In the long run, all that will remain constant is our true nature. The nature of the English nation, the author implies, is to embrace the old ways in order to know how to handle the future. Good advice, I think. A positive way to use history. As for those of you who dislike Rutherfurd's assumption that we can't change who we are, I will just say that I believe he doesn't really suggest this. I think his lesson actually is that we can break from the bonds of our past and become something different, but not too many people are actually willing to do so. If you still disagree that people end up allowing an ancient past they had nothing to do with to shape their behavior today, what's that daily slaughter in Yugoslavia all about?
Rating:
Summary: Putting History Together
Review: Until "Sarum" I never could figure out the Irish Caholic versus Protestant conflict. Couldn't intelligent people find compromises? There was much more involved than religious principles; and "Sarum" took the bits and pieces I've learned about history, politics, religion, and economics and packaged them into an enjoyable reading experience. The four stars reflects that, at several points, the writing and editing becomes sloppy; and the characters and events become confused and hard to follow. The style, also, may drive some folks insane. I don't mind jumping from historical framing to narrative, but some of my friends mind this style very much. I look forward to Mr. Rutherfurds other works.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating story of the development of Great Britain.
Review: I read this novel as I was touring England for the first time and enjoyed the history even more. The stories around the families were interesting and kept my attention all the way through. I would recommend this to anyone who loves English history even though it is primarily fiction. You'll still come away with a sense of the wonder of it all.
Rating:
Summary: Uneven but OK
Review: "Sarum" is an enjoyable book about the history of England, but let's face it, 500 decades of English history is a lot of territory to cover in one volume, even if one is as fine a writer as Rutherfurd. I just finished a fast-paced, powerful novel of the Second World War called "The Triumph and the Glory" and maybe that's why "Sarum" seemed to drag, and take an eternity to read. Rustad's novel moved along so effortlessly and was so inspiring that I forgot I was reading a book. I LOVE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS. Anyway, one has to approach reading Rutherfurd's books in the proper frame of mind, and maybe I was a little impatient with Sarum.
Rating:
Summary: The History of England, from beginning to current
Review: Sarum was definitely an enlightening novel. I, myself, had to read it for a World History class, but what a pleasure it was. Not only did I learn about everything you'd need to know about England's history, but it was entertaining as well, something you very rarely find with such books as these. I highly recommend it to anybody who has interest in history. What was really great about this novel was the sections. You could pick up on one section, and not have had to read any of the other chapters, although it helped when it came to family ties and ancestry. I loved this book, and I'm almost positive you will too, with an open mind.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction.
Review: I read this book three times while living in Pakistan. Now, while some would argue it was out of boredom and a need for anything written in the english language, nevertheless it is an pleasureable read. What I enjoyed most about the book was, unlike many historical novels, the focus remained on a geographical location rather than one person. The only negative thing I can say about this novel is that I found the implication that "one cannot escape their past" to be a bit condescending. Unlike other reviewers here who say that they lost interest as they continued on with the book. I did not find that the case, I was interested to see how the characters were connected to certain interesting ancestors/descendants...so while a particular area of the book might have been less interesting than others, it was still interesting to see how the characters in that area were descended. A good read recommended for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
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