G1116 Book Review of The Revolutionist by Robert Tucker
Author: Robert Tucker
ISBN: 9781944056520
Publisher: Wise Words publishing
Part of a Series: Prequel to Burton Blake
Type of book: 1890s to 1900s, corruption, escape, Chicago, race, racism, getting ahead, philosophy, socialist, immigrants, lessons
Year it was published: 2017
Summary:
Two different families escape from the political tyranny of their respective homelands, the Josephsons from Sweden and Matias and Kurt Bauman, brothers from Germany and Austria Hungary, with the aid of a Viennese opera diva, Sophie Augusta Rose, and Jean Guenoc, a former Jesuit priest, family friend and protector and partisan of the French underground.
Their journey brings them to America in the throes of the industrial revolution during the 1890s and early 1900s. Ingrid and Olaf Josephson settle on a small wheat farm in North Central Minnesota to raise their children, Newt and Julie.
Among the Jewish entrepreneurs forced to leave Germany and Austria-Hungary, Matias and Kurt Bauman re-establish their transportation company in Chicago, Illinois.
In search of a secret list of insurgent social democrats, the bounty hunter assassin, Luther Baggot, tracks his victims to the American heartland. Following the murder of their mother and father, Newt, Julie, and their friends, Aaron and Beth Peet, hide from the killer in a Northern Minnesota logging camp. Believing the children have taken possession of the list, Luther tracks them down.
Fleeing to a central Minnesota town, the four young people come across a remote business location of Bauman Enterprises and meet Matias Bauman, who had been a friend and former political collaborator with Newt’s and Julie’s parents. He takes them all to Chicago where a different world opens up to them as they are thrust into the turmoil and violence of an urban society and economy careening into the new century.
Characters:
There are tons of characters within the novel, and with few exceptions I didn't really get to know the ones I wanted. First there are the Baumann/Wohlman brothers, who are of Jewish origins and are sociliast as well as portrayed as ideal bosses to have and to work under. Due to family connections, they take in the Josephson siblings as well as their friends when the circumstances force them to run away from home. Most of the book is from Julia Josephson's point of view and its amazing how much she knows in what is going on in the city of Chicago. The focus is more on the life of 1890s early 1900s rather than building characters.
Theme:
It takes a lot to succeed
Plot:
The tale is in third person narrative from everyone's point of view. A lot of important details, or at least details that I'd expect for the novel to pay attention never materialized. The story is very broad and its clear that Robert Tucker shares passion and excitement for the tale because of the vast scope and variety of subjects that it covers. It definitely had a lot of potential, but unfortunately that potential wasn't taken advantage of, and a lot of details aren't included within the tale.
(From iRead Book Tours)
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Meet the Author:
Robert is published by Tell-Tale Publishing Group LLC / Wise Words Publishing under a multi-book contract. The author of four previous earlier novels, Robert infuses his books with unique dynamic stories and characters that portray social and cultural conflicts of their time. His career encompasses many years as a business consultant that have given him access to a wide range of organizations and an appreciation for people in all areas of society. His life experience is reflected in the literary quality of his work. Born and raised in the Middle-West, he has traveled throughout the United States and abroad.
Now retired, he resides with his wife in Southern California where he devotes full-time to writing. Robert is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Masters Degree in Communications at the University of California, Los Angeles where he received the Samuel Goldwyn and Donald Davis Literary Awards.
An affinity for family and the astute observation of generational interaction pervade his novels. His works are literary and genre upmarket fiction that address the nature and importance of personal integrity.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook
Opinion:
I really hate giving a historical fiction novel 1 stars, but unfortunately, despite the formula of details and a lot of research as well as broad scope of issues that author attempted to hook the reader, I couldn't really get into the tale. I think what bugged me more than anything are the small details that weren't addressed, and unless you read the sequel, then the tale wouldn't make sense, especially since I suspect that the author was experimenting with two novels. As mentioned previously, a lot of things really bugged me about the book: one is that I feel as if he did very little with the race in the tale, and it saddened me that he didn't dig deeper into the Asians that settled into America. What I also didn't enjoy is that the years are very sporadic, and I am uncertain as to how much time has passed between one vignette to another, and the African-American characters he did use in the tale, I felt that their potential wasn't fully explored into carrying the plot further, and unfortunately they seemed as more of a distraction. Some vital details aren't really mentioned and the same old tales tend to repeat themselves within the book. I think if the authors enjoy John Jakes, then they might enjoy THE REVOLUTIONIST, but I am one of the readers who didn't like John Jakes.
This is for iRead Book Tours
BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE:
May 27 - Working Mommy Journal - review of The Revolutionist
May 28 - #www.redhead.with.book - book spotlight / giveaway
May 29 - Corinne Rodrigues - book spotlight / giveaway
May 29 - Viviana MacKade - book spotlight / guest post
May 30 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review of The Revolutionist / guest post / giveaway
May 30 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review of The Revolutionist / giveaway
June 3 - Working Mommy Journal - review of Burton Blake
June 4 - Jayne’s Books - review of The Revolutionist
June 5 - Paulette's Papers - book spotlight / giveaway
June 5 - T's Stuff - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 6 - Locks, Hooks and Books - review of The Revolutionist / giveaway
June 11 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review of Burton Blake / giveaway
June 12 - My Devotional Thoughts - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 13 - Locks, Hooks and Books - review of Burton Blake / giveaway
June 14 - Jayne’s Books - review of Burton Blake
June 17 - StoreyBook Reviews - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 18 - Haddie's Haven - review of The Revolutionist / giveaway
June 18 - Celticlady's Reviews - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
June 21 - Cheryl's Book Nook - review of The Revolutionist / giveaway
June 24 - Literary Flits - book spotlight / giveaway
June 25 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review of Burton Blake / giveaway
June 27 - Haddie's Haven - review of The Burton Blake / giveaway
June 28 - Cheryl's Book Nook - review of Burton Blake / giveaway
TBD - Library of Clean Reads - review of The Burton Blake/ giveaway
TBD - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of The Revolutionist
TBD - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of Burton Blake
TBD - Library of Clean Reads - review of The Revolutionist / giveaway
1 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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