Chesapeake (James Michener)

In Chesapeake, James Michener attempts the ambitious: trace the development of one geographic area (on Maryland's eastern shore) over a span of almost 400 years (1583 to 1978).  Starting with how Native Americans would have settled the area, he moves on to the coming of the British (and other Europeans), and so on from there.  He uses generations of families to tell the tale.  He stresses that this is a novel, and the primary families followed throughout the centuries are fictitious, as are some covered locations.  Still, there's an undeniable historical element, and Michener tries to be true to the periods discussed in terms of culture, religion, food, dress, lodging, etc. 

This book is 1001 pages; I finally gave up after 252.  It's not bad . . . but I didn't think it was great, either.  The primary problem: character/plot development is very rushed (which makes sense, as there's a lot of ground to cover), and in this case that leads to many unrealistic or improbable actions, thoughts, and situations.  At times, the dialogue is done in ways to convey historical information to the reader, but in so doing, the characters seem unrealistic.  In the end, I like the concept, but not the execution.  Michener is respected by many; he's just not for me.

Rating: C+