mono_vox (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} mono_vox) wrote,@ 2008-05-14 22:37:00 |
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50 books in 1 year - 2008 - # 13
The Good Father
by Marion Husband
I started this for my book group, and wasn’t sure if it was for me, but was gradually taken in due to the thickening plot and mysterious pointers placed that indicated a ‘big reveal’. I ended up guessing most of the twists, the way in which you can with a soap, but this isn’t a bad thing, it just means it was easy to get into the flow of the plot.
The Good Father
by Marion Husband
I started this for my book group, and wasn’t sure if it was for me, but was gradually taken in due to the thickening plot and mysterious pointers placed that indicated a ‘big reveal’. I ended up guessing most of the twists, the way in which you can with a soap, but this isn’t a bad thing, it just means it was easy to get into the flow of the plot.
It goes something like this:
“When Peter Wright's father dies he leaves his entire fortune to Peter's best friend Jack. Over a few weeks in the summer of 1959, the consequences of the old man's legacy affect three families, Jack's, who has brought up his three children alone since his wife was killed, Wright's solicitor Harry who is trying to rebuild his relationship with his estranged son Guy, and that of Peter himself, whose friendship with Jack is threatened by his father's death and the terrible secrets he has kept since his return from the Japanese POW camps. "The Good Father" explores the nature of fatherhood and the bonds betweens fathers and their children in a gripping story of love, betrayal and adultery.”
Husband writes about the past in an engaging way, with just enough references to brands and clothing to put you in the right place, and her representation of social mores seem accurate and true.
There were a couple of things that irked me. At points, major moments were built up, then when they came, they were merely alluded to instead of any explanation or enlightenment about what actually happened (what is now wrong with Ava? What crimes did Hans actually commit?). I also found the sex scenes embarrassing, not for their harshness, but the fact they tended to slide into Mills and Boon territory at points, but hey, some people love that.
Although I wasn’t swept away by it, it was an enjoyable, mostly well-written read.
