Family Saga-type Books

[JaneBennet]

I read Pillars of the Earth and The Red Tent last summer - thoroughly enjoying both. Ploughing my way through Jean Auel's The Mammoth Hunters at the moment, having read the first two years ago. I find myself unable to get into the whole story again so have been casting about for something else 'meaty' and family-saga-ish. Any ideas?

Susan Howatch was very much in to family sagas before she started her CofE series.

My personal favourite was Penmarric, though I know some prefer Cashelmara.

I suppose you would describe them as meaty as they are at least 1 1/2" thick even in paperback.

A Suitable Boy which is by Vikram Seth and set in India slighly post-partition, it's a goody. I recently read A S Byatt's The Children's Book and loved that. It follows a group of loosely interlinked families over about 40 years from the late 19th century to post WWI.

Elizabeth Jane Howard's series about the Cazalet family is lovely: www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/search/?searchfor=book&keywords=Cazalet+Chronicles+

Was also going to say Elizabeth Howard.

How about Game of Thrones? Don't be put off by thinking its fantasy genre. I'm not at all into fantasy type books. I don't really consider this to be fantasy, although its in a different world that there used to be dragons in. Bit its more like a medieval family saga. And I'm not into medieval stuff either but this is great.

www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Thrones-Song-Fire-Book/dp/000647988X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309106486&sr=1-1

Thanks for the recommendations, will have a look into these.