I am conflicted about this book; on the one hand, it’s historical fiction set in southern California, where I grew up; on the other, the characters frustrated me so badly I wanted to reach in the pages and slap them.

The story is told mainly through the device of it being told by a real estate agent to a prospective buyer of Rancho Pasadena, a huge ex-orange orchard and mansion that have gone to ruin. Blackwood, in 1944, is thinking about buying it to turn it into tract housing, which should net him huge profits. With WW 2 ending, lots of GIs will be returning and wanting to buy new homes. But he wants to know why the Rancho was abandoned. The story is told, in large part, via Cherry Ney- real estate agent and longtime friend of the main characters - as she relates it to Blackwood.

Sieglinde (later Linda) and Siegmund are the children of Dieter Stampf. They grow up on a sea cliff, fishing and growing onions, in abject poverty and near incestuous closeness. When they are teens, Dieter goes off to WW 1, and after years, returns with Bruder, a fellow southern Californian, who stays with the family. Linda’s attention turns to Bruder, but he mostly remains aloof. After leaving to work as foreman at Rancho Pasadena, he requests that Linda come work there, too. Does he love her, she wonders? Why else would he ask her to come to Rancho Pasadena- but why does he act so standoffish? She can’t read his thoughts and he refuses to talk. Meanwhile, the current owner of the rancho, Willis Poore, is using his money to impress- and coerce- Linda. Linda doesn’t know who to trust, much less who to love. Poorly socialized by her upbringing, she’s not good at reading social cues. Linda was thrown into situations that she was totally unprepared for and Bruder was an unforgiving man.

I really enjoyed the book, but I felt it badly in need of an editor. A lot could have been cut and the story would have been tighter and easier to follow. There is an abundance of details; sometimes too much detail. The author tells us all about the sights, sounds, and especially the smells- especially the smells of men and how that attracted Linda. Some of the detail that seems excessive actually tells us about the era, such as the lists of things in store windows or groceries, but I felt it was too much. The book sprawls in an ungainly manner.

The story is as much a love letter to southern California’s past as it is a human love story. In that aspect it succeeds as well as it does when it deals with the humans, if not better. There is a lot about classism and racism here, as well as environmentalism. It just tried to do too many things. ( )

What a curious book! Based on Wuthering Heights, with recognisable characters from Emily Bronte's gothic saga, David Ebershoff's novel is also a lush history of California, bringing the early to mid twentieth century development of Pasadena to life. Very slow and ponderous in places, with an omniscient narrator who tends to alienate the central characters ('But Linda did not know this', etc.), Pasadena is still eminently readable, with evocative descriptions of scenery and buildings, wry commentary on the lives of the rich and the poor (Cathy and Heathcliff would have felt at home in Baden Baden by the Sea, even in 1919!), and a modern, twisting take on Wuthering Heights. Getting through the 500 pages took longer than usual, but I was rewarded for persevering.

The story within a story narration of Emily's novel is taken over by Andrew Blackwood (Lockwood), a property developer, and Cherry Nay (Nelly Dean), the agent showing him around the Rancho Pasadena, owned by the enigmatic Mr Bruder (a better name for Heathcliff!) Between Blackwood and Cherry in 1945, and Bruder's reminiscences from 1919 on, another tragic story of doomed love and a lack of communication is replayed, but in California instead of Yorkshire. Orange groves, beaches, heatwaves and the nouveau riches make for a surprisingly timeless setting, gradually being steamrollered in the name of progress. "It seems it's what the citizens want these days. Modernity. Convenience. Speed. People want to live in the future now, don't they?" Blackwood asks Bruder, who replies, "The past is of little use to them." Sad, but true.

Reading Wuthering Heights is not necessary to understand this novel, but comparisons are inevitable. I also picked up on shades of The Great Gatsby and The Thorn Birds, and I haven't read East of Eden, but that's no doubt in there too. Pasadena is a wonderful blend of history, family saga, literary classic and travelogue that will work for some and bore other readers to death. ( )

Linda Stamp ist sechzehn Jahre alt, als ihr Vater aus Europa von der Front des Ersten Weltkriegs zurückkehrt. Begleitet wird er von Cal, einem verschlossenen jungen Mann, der fortan bei ihnen auf der kleinen Farm der Familie an der kalifornischen Pazifikküste bleibt. Und schon bei der ersten Begegnung weiß Linda, dass dieser geheimnisvolle Fremde ihr Leben grundlegend verändern wird. Cal ist ein unnahbarer Mann, der sich und seinem Glück oft selbst im Wege steht. Wie und warum, das versucht Jahre später der Grundstücksmakler Andrew Blackwood herauszufinden, als er dem rätselhaften Cal eines Tages auf dessen Anwesen begegnet. Und unversehens wird Blackwood hineingezogen in eine bewegte Familiengeschichte, die ihn nicht mehr loslässt .

I could not get into this book! Unable to fathom the motives of the characters, nor ultimately did I care to. ( )

I never understood why Bruter didn't tell Seglinda about ownership of property; nor that he was in love with her. What a waste, but whether or not she knows it, she was better off marrying Willis Poore. The hidden saddeness is that as hewent on his marry way and shared sex with many and I am sure more than those 3 women got the disease.
After 5 years of marriage, Seglinda secretly believed she would soon be out of Pacadena. As smoke and golden flames headed toward them, Willis and Lindy knew the ranch would be safe.
Lolly took Edmond's son and eloped with Breuter when he got out of San Quinton. ( )