For her he would give up everything: his home, his work and even his freedom. When his marriage fails, he does just that. A chance meeting with a stranger on a train changes his life - and his daughter's - in ways he could never have imagined. From her earliest years Tina is exceptional, a brilliant student and a joyous person with a loving spirit. At university she falls in love with Gilbert who, three years older than she, graduates from law school just as she is about to enter medical school. Together they go to New York, where they learn a truth about Donald that shatters Tina's regard for the father who has for so long protected and cherished her. When a terrible lie has been told for love, can it be forgiven?
Her Father's House
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Book Description
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From Publishers Weekly
Usually a crowd-pleaser, Plain (Looking Back, etc.) sleepwalks through her latest novel, in which old-fashioned style clashes uncomfortably with contemporary content. Donald Wolfe, a 25-year-old North Dakota native, comes to New York City in 1968 to practice law; five years later, he meets and falls for the captivating Lillian Morris. Marrying in haste, he repents big time when Lillian reveals herself to be disturbingly erratic. After she becomes pregnant, the two divorce, but when Donald judges his daughter, Bettina, to be neglected, he kidnaps her. Taking to the road, he invents a new past for himself and adopts the name Jim, renaming his daughter Laura. Many years later, the truth is revealed and Jim stands trial for kidnapping. Will Laura, now a young woman, be able to forgive her father his deception, which he claims was for her own good? An unbelievably na‹ve attitude on the part of young Donald and creakingly stilted dialogue all around make it difficult to suspend disbelief; meanwhile, the dated language will have readers expecting descriptions of porkpie hats. Preachy double standards regarding parenting will be unappreciated by modern readers, and there are a few glaring anachronisms (music CDs in the '70s?). When Donald/Jim, sanctimonious from start to finish, asserts late in the novel that "Running away is never the answer," readers will rightly wonder whether this man has been paying attention to his own life story. More importantly, has the author? A pass, even for completists.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Is it kidnapping when a father steals his cherished daughter away from a destructive and unstable mother? Plain's heroine, now a grown woman, must decide for herself.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By SmallAgain
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I usually like Belva Plain but found the glaring historical inaccuracies distracting. Rap music the early seventies? Widespread artificial insemination in the mid 70's?
I kept double checking to see if I had skipped ahead several years in the storyline. But no, Bettina/Laura was still a baby...
Shouldn't the editors have picked up on these errors, or were they just too young to remember the real 60's and 70's?
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the first book I have read by this author. Maybe I should have started with a different book by this author. What I had the most trouble with is the timeline. The things that were going on in the early 70's in this book seemed more like present day. I mean rap music, A $175,000 sports car. Besides that the story seemed to drag on.
Format:Hardcover
Man meets woman whom he thinks is the love of his life. You know that they will get married, both will discover that they are wrong for one another and get a divorce. Enter a sweet and innocent daughter to complicate matters. Man knows she is more important than his life and he will do anything to protect her from his ex-wife, who is highly unsuitable as a mother. You know that a few years down the road, lies will be exposed and there will be heartbreaks, but you also know where things are leading towards in the end.
Predictable and boring -that's how I feel about the book, no doubt the emotions are pretty powerful, but this doesn't stop me from flipping through most of the pages and knowing what ending to expect. The synopsis of the book, which in a few short paragraphs, sums up what is covered in more than three quarters of the book, proves my point.
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3.4 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Belva Plain wrote this?
I don't understand how the author of Evergreen and Her Father's House can be one and the same. I mean, there is no comparison between the emotion and depth of Evergreen to this... Read more
Published on Mar 10 2003
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good storyteller
You can count on a Belva Plain novel to tell a good story, and this book is no exception. The main character is Donald Wolfe, a young man who lives prudently and plans his life... Read more
Published on Jan 21 2003 by Karen Potts
1.0 out of 5 stars
Neither Complex nor Plain
This is the second Belva Plain's book that I've read. The first one was 'Looking Back', which seemed to be engaging in the beginning but after a while kept dragging on and on... Read more
Published on Dec 31 2002 by reddinga
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Story
This is the first book I have read by Ms. Plain. I will surely be reading more of her books if they are anything like this one. Read more
Published on Oct 26 2002 by "wildwoodldy"
4.0 out of 5 stars
A relaxing read
I am a huge Belva Plain fan. I look forward to every new release. "Her Father's HOuse" is a worthwhile read; however, it lacks what many fans may see as Plain's punch.
Published on Oct 16 2002 by irons
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read
How far a mother would go to protect her child is never a question, but how far a father would go is something to write about. Read more
Published on Sep 7 2002 by "clinspired"
5.0 out of 5 stars
UNFORGETTABLE
Donald Wolfe a very successful lawyer married to vivacious, wicked, restless, Lillian, flees with their 2 yr. old daughter, Betina to begin a new life.. Read more
Published on Aug 29 2002 by LUV TO READ
1.0 out of 5 stars
A far cry from "Evergreen"
I am always sad when a writer, such as Belva Plain, continues to write long after she has nothing to say. Her last few books have been disappointments, but this is the worst yet. Read more
Published on Aug 24 2002
4.0 out of 5 stars
NOT A SIZZLER
THIS BOOK DIDN'T SIZZLE, BUT IT WAS ALL IN ALL VERY SATISFYING. THE TONE OF THE BOOK WAS OLD FASHIONED WHICH REMINDS ME OF PLAINS EARLIER BOOKS. Read more
Published on Aug 21 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars
A solid 4.5 stars
HER FATHER'S HOUSE explores the relationship between a father and his daughter and the lengths he went to to protect her.
Donald Wolfe didn't love Cookie at her birth. Read more
Published on Aug 9 2002 by Jody
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