Belva PlainRecensioni

Interesting story and not as predictable as I first thought. Reminded me a bit of Gone With The Wind. Enjoyed the characters and story.

1907. Adam a vingt ans. Il quitte son père, immigré juif allemand, sa belle-mère, et ses deux demi-frères pour tenter l'aventure vers l'Ouest, bien décidé à profiter de la croissance de l'Amérique. Si la famille offre une apparente harmonie, Adam cache une blessure qu'il ne peut oublier... À Chattahoochee, au Nouveau-Mexique, il grimpe rapidement les marches de la réussite et rencontre Emma, riche héritière. Ils forment un foyer uni, les affaires sont florissantes, la vie leur est douce.

Cependant, Adam connaîtra bientôt la pire des trahisons...

Another book I read so long ago that all I remember is that I enjoyed it very, very much.

Une famille qui se déchire... une adorable grand-mère, bien décidée à réconcilier les siens... A travers cette histoire simple et touchante, Belva Plain nous offre une merveilleuse leçon d'amour et d'espoir. Un beau jour de décembre, Annette Byrne, quatre-vingt-cinq ans, prend sa plume et rédige cinq lettres à l'intention de ses proches. Si tout se passe selon ses plans, les membres de sa famille, qu'une succession de querelles et de drames a contribué à désunir, se retrouveront dans sa propriété, à la campagne, pour la première fois depuis de longues années : ses deux fils, autrefois associés, puis brouillés à la suite d'une sombre affaire. Ses petits-enfants : un jeune couple au bord du divorce et un autre, soudé contre des parents qui leur gâchent la vie... Ces retrouvailles forcées ne sont, hélas, pas du goût des intéressés. A peine commencé, le week-end menace de tourner au fiasco. Face à l'orgueil des uns et à la rancune des autres, la bonne volonté d'Annette paraît impuissante... jusqu'au moment où un événement inattendu vient opportunément servir les desseins de la vieille dame.

a vida de Robb MacDaniel cambia abruptamente cuando sus padres mueren en un accidente automovilístico. Estaba a punto de casarse con su novia de la secundaria y comenzar una carrera como maestro en un pequeño pueblo. Pero ahora tiene el dinero del seguro y puede cumplir su sueño de toda la vida de convertirse en abogado. Entonces se va a la "ciudad capital" y promete casarse con su novia cuando termine la escuela dentro de tres años.

Una cosa lleva a la otra, y Robb termina abandonando a su prometida en favor de una nueva mujer. Se casan, son felices por un tiempo y luego Robb comienza su descenso gradual hacia la codicia y la traición. Hay un poco más en la trama, pero no mucho. De vez en cuando, la trama se centra en la niña que Robb dejó atrás, que permanece amargada a lo largo de los años. Seguía pensando que algún tipo de punto se haría mostrando a esta otra mujer, pero sus apariciones ocasionales no tienen ningún propósito aparente.½

De 1900 à nos jours, la saga de la famille Farrel, c'est un siècle de souvenirs et de passions. Enoch Farrel, tout d'abord. Médecin de campagne du début du siècle, il se donne corps et âme à son métier, sacerdoce dont la providence ne lui sait pas gré : ses enfants périssent au cours d'une terrible inondation. Il lui reste un fils, Martin Farrel. Après un difficile combat contre son destin, Martin se hissera au tout premier rang de la neurochirurgie mondiale. Mais la vie de Martin Farrel ne se résume pas à sa carrière, aussi brillante soit-elle : deux femmes, deux sœurs, Mary et Jessie, y jouent un rôle déterminant. Claire Farrel, enfin, la fille de Martin et de Jessie.

En dépit de son admiration pour son père, elle finira par choisir une tout autre vie que lui, tant sur le plan de la carrière médicale que du cœur. Une belle histoire de famille, riche en émotions.

3.5 stars. This is not my usual genre, but somewhere I acquired a copy of this so I brought it on a trip. The first several chapters did not make the book sound promising, but it got better as it went on. A pretty enjoyable, light read.

Tapestry is the third book in the Werner Family Saga. It gives a vivid picture of the turbulent life in New York City during prohibition, the Great Depression, and World War II. Paul Werner is still the rock of the family—the one everyone turns to for council and comfort—yet trapped in a loveless marriage without children—he can't help but feel love has passed him by. Finding comfort in several affairs, Paul watches his and Anna's daughter grow up from a distance. Without going into detail about the atrocities of the war, the author relates a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Hitler's violent rise to power when Paul visits his cousin, Joachim, in Germany. Following the lives of these fascinating characters—Hennie and Dan Roth, Alfie, and Emily De Rivera—we watch their children, Freddy, Meg, and Leah, grow up and have their own children. Finally, separated from family by conflict overseas and at home, Paul finds a friend in Ilse who survives the war. Tapestry is a heartwarming tale of losing everything and finding love again.

In The Golden Cup, the second in the Werner Family Saga, Belva Plain takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster as we learn how Paul Werner grew up and met Anna Friedman—the woman featured in Evergreen, the first book. It also features Henrietta De Rivera, called Hennie, Paul's aunt, who, although from an affluent family, is a proud champion of the poor immigrants flooding into New York. She marries Daniel Roth, a teacher, and activist for the common laborer and social justice. Together they live a simple life while raising their son, Freddy, until the world erupts into war. Then, Paul, Hennie, and Dan's lives are torn apart by uncertainty and infidelity. I found the characters interestingly complex and the plot authentic to the era.

For the most part, I consider myself a fan of Belva Plain. I was excited to come across a novel of hers that I had not previously read. Ms. Plain has written some amazing fictional novels. However, in my opinion, this wasn't one of them. "Promises" was a very predictable read. One of the main characters, Adam Crane, is engaged to his childhood friend. During his final year in college, he falls in love with and has an affair with the distance cousin of a friend. He does not have the courage to breakup with his fiancee, so his mistress decides to leave him for another man. Adam ends up marrying his fiancee. Three children and years later, his mistress reenters his life. The affair resumes and the predictable plot continues.

I've been a Belva Plain fan as far back as I can remember. I somehow missed, "Homecoming". It was a pretty easy read. I read the entire novel in two days. The plot involves Annette Byrne and her family. Ms. Byrne is in her 80s and knows that her time is limited. The family has suffered both "ups" and "downs". Unfortunately, there currently seem to be more "downs". She has decided to gather her family together at her/their ancestral home to work out the differences among the various family members. Each family is not aware that the other has also been invited. This will be the first time in years that all of the family members will be gathered at the same place at the same time. The homecoming is certainly not what Annette had hoped for. At the end of their weekend, will indiscretions, loss and disloyalty be forgiven?
As always, Ms. Plain is a master storyteller. She has developed a heart-warming plot, various interesting characters, in an interesting setting.
Enjoyable read, would recommend.

Traição por Amor é um romance épico, que empolga o leitor com a dramática saga de Anna Friedman - a bela e encantadora Anna, que chega a Nova York no início do século, vinda de uma pequena aldeia da Polônia. Sonhando atingir uma vida melhor, ela deixa as miseráveis oficinas de trabalho para empregar-se como criada doméstica na casa dos elegantes Werner. Anna vê-se dividida entre o amor de dois homens - o viril e aristocrático Paul Werner, descendente de uma família de banqueiros judeus-alemães, e de Joseph Friedman, que a adora, mas é um imigrante tão pobre quanto a própria Anna.

"Whispers" is a novel involving spousal abuse in the upper middle class family of the Fergusons. Lynn and Robert first met in their 20's. The relationship goes well until their honeymoon. For the next 20 years, we follow the Fergusons through the ups and downs of their marriage, children, and his career. Close friends and family try to persuade Lynn to leave this abusive relationship. However, she always makes excuses for Robert, feels that "it will never happen again", and that she would be disloyal to Robert if she discussed the abuse with others. At times, Lynn's character is maddening! However, her character is fairly true to life.
Ms. Plain does a terrific job of developing her characters, plot, and setting in this often tough to discuss topic.

8440657021

8422621002

No memory of reading this. This is what you wrote in 1982: "Good story of two brothers, one black and one white, whose lives intertwine without them knowing their relationship."

Evergreen—the first in the Werner Family Saga—is Anna's moving story, a poor Polish girl, who at fifteen, leaves her small village and immigrates to America in hopes of a better life. After falling in love with the wealthy, unattainable American, Paul Werner, she marries Joseph Friedman, a Jewish man who worships her. As their family grows, Anna maintains a secret relationship with Paul but always puts her husband and family's love before her heart. Anna and Joseph's lives bear witness to the immigrants' realization of the American dream, as Joseph builds his real estate empire while surviving two world wars and the great depression. Through acquaintances and Anna's extended family, their story also documents the Jewish people's persecution throughout Europe and the prejudices that follow them to America. I loved the characters in this book. They are complex and authentic—flawed and vulnerable. The author describes their struggles with identity, self-worth, love, and sacrifices with graceful insights into the heart of what we all face in our lives.

AG-5

Bien décidé à être l'acteur de son destin, Adam Harnring quitte son père et ses frères pour tenter l'aventure vers l'ouest. Il réalise le rêve américain par sa réussite professionnelle et en épousant, Emma, riche héritière d'un grand magasin.
Histoire sans grand intérêt.

There are authors who can take a segment of time as little as a year, a month, or a day in one character’s life and write an award-winning novel. And then there are authors who have a story to tell. Some may not produce the polished prose of a Pulitzer Prize winner, but tremendous beauty is captured in their mesmerizing saga. That is the category in which Belva Plain’s "Evergreen" falls.

"Evergreen" was first published in 1978. Though it did not win any literary awards, the book did top the New York Times best seller list for a record 41 weeks. It is a novel of epic proportions - the story of a young orphaned Jewish girl from Poland who migrates to America to live in New York City with distant relatives. Taking the reader from 1906 when Anna is a naive, wide eyed, enthusiastic child of 12 years old, to 1972 at age 78, she has become a very wise sophisticated, loving grandmother.

"Evergreen" touches on many life altering world events and cultural issues of the passing decades: World War I, the Depression, World War II and the economic boom that followed, and the Vietnam War. Encompassing love, marriage, children and grand-children, a life of sacrifice and luxury, misfortune and tragedy through which Anna finds great joy and tremendous sorrow. The most prominent cultural issues emphasized are anti-Semitism, interfaith marriage, infidelity, and alcoholism. It is a story of family and tradition, and watching everything change as time passes: customs, manners, fashion, family values, and life styles.

It is not a perfect novel. Belva Plain falls short in detailing historical data. Often skipping over entire eras with broad strokes, she sometimes creates a choppy disconnect in the reading. The protagonist, Anna, being of Jewish descent, does suffer the loss of relatives in the Holocaust. But being safely tucked away in America the reader gets very little feeling of the kind of emotional upheaval experienced in Europe. Maybe that’s the way it really was during World War II. American families were primarily concerned with their own loved ones going off to fight. And of making ends meet with all the young able-bodied men gone, food and gas being rationed, and shortages of nearly everything.

Some reviewers found "Evergreen" to be outdated, stating they enjoyed it more years ago as a contemporary novel. My reading experience was quite the opposite. Rereading "Evergreen" as an older mature woman, I could readily relate to Anna. I now have more compassion for her situation- now thoroughly appreciate her life journey. And reading "Evergreen" forty years after publication as historical fiction emphasizes the eternal cycle of human life, from cradle to grave, generation after generation.

"Evergreen" stands alone as a complete story but if you really enjoy it, Belva Plain also wrote several other books about the Werner family; "The Golden Cup", "Tapestry", and "Harvest".½

Just as good as I remember it. The first time I read this book I was 20 years old. Now at 36, I'm seeing it through more mature eyes, and I'm learning new things. Belva Plain is a master of the family saga, and this book is everything I want from this genre. I can't wait to continue reading the Werner Family Saga books.

Another solid novel by Belva Plain. While the twist wasn't altogether shocking, I still didn't see it coming. I really enjoyed this book.

What a beautiful swan song for Belva Plain. I loved this finale to the Werner Family Saga. Plain will remain one of my all-time favorite writers. This novel is beautiful and touching. I'm going to miss this family.

Another book I read so long ago that all I remember is that I enjoyed it very, very much.

Historical fiction/romance set in New Orleans, Louisiana and a plantation near New Orleans prior to and during the American Civil War.
Miriam's mother had been brutally attacked in a pogrom against Jewish villagers in a small German town, and tragically died moments after Miriam's birth. Her father left shortly afterward to make his fortune in American, leaving Miriam and her brother David with their grandfather and spinster aunt. Years later, he returned and took the children to his grand home in New Orleans. At the age of 16, as was the custom at that time, Miriam was given in marriage to Eugene, a man at least ten years older. Miriam and Eugene doted on their twins, a son and a daughter, but there was no love, no joy between them. They lived separate lives in the same house, even in the same bedroom.
These were perilous times; abolitionist feelings against the "peculiar institution" of slavery were mounting, and soon the storm of Civil War broke loose. There was a storm in Miriam's heart as well, as she dealt with guilt, loss, tragedy, and heartbreak.