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There are currently 26 member reviews
for Fatherland
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Beth B. (New Wilmington, PA)
He thought he had it all ...
A phenomenonal read. Rich in family interaction and whether or not to seize the moment. Martin is a shadow in his own home -- a true snake in the grass. His wife is the model of perseverance, overlooking his weaknesses while holding her family together. The reader is given a window to observe how each of the three children react and evolve. Lora is the constant, the Motherland.
The author sprinkles gems throughout -- places in Ohio, song lyrics, current events that enhance the novel's savory prose. The final pages are poignant to the extent that I had to breathe deeply and look at the sky to position myself in the moment. I urge you to delve into the richness of this book and highly recommend it for book club discussion. Lots of prizes are ahead for Victoria Shorr.
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M K. (Minneapolis, MN)
A Long Shadow
I finished Fatherland by Victoria Shorr. It's the story of womanizing Dr. Brier, his resilient wife Lora and daughter Josie who thrive in his absence. It was a painful read for me, bringing up how powerful men mistreat women, and how growing up in the 1950's in Midwestern America as a young girl is full of challenges. And even though the last quarter of the book was more painful for me, there was also the reconciliation for both Lora, the wife, and Josie, the daughter, with a man who cast a long shadow in their lives. Like the story, reading the book was a love/hate experience for me.
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Becky S. (Springfield, MO)
Reflections of a missing character
Loved this book that shows the after math of a father who leaves his family in the 1940s… we get to follow the characters through the 1990s and get an up close glimpse of what this void meant for Lora, the wife, and mostly, Josie, the eldest daughter. The writing style is slow and thoughtful , we really get to look at the emotions of Josie and how she ultimately relates to her father . I really enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more from the author.
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Joyce M. (Arlington, VA)
A Surprisingly Good and Easy to Read Book
This book snuck up on me to my surprise. Initially I did not understand what was happening and was considering not reading further. I'm so glad I did. Now having finished the book I realize that the author was merely setting the stage for what was to come. I reread the beginning and decided maybe I just wasn't paying attention. Pay attention throughout the book. The author takes us into the private thoughts of all the main and sometimes minor characters. Slowly but surely you are pulled into the emotional state of their lives. The end of the book takes the mother and daughter down memory lane. I found it was very relatable for anyone who lived somewhere for a very long time, moved away and then years later returned to see what had changed. The father in the book was despicable. However, the author told this story in such a way that at the end I felt sorry for him which definitely surprised me. Finally, I still don't know why it's entitled "Fatherland".
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Maren C. (HARVARD, MA)
Short and (bitter)sweet
Victoria Shorr's writing is a treat to read. She takes a simple story that will resonate with many readers, but still manages to make it fresh, unique, and heartbreaking. In some ways reflective of the writing of domestic dramas from the era where this story begins (Mildred Pierce comes to mind), the writing style is a welcome departure from what might be considered the norm. It may take some getting used to for some readers, but once drawn in, it's hard to look away.
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Beverly D. (Palm Harbor, FL)
Father ???
This is the American dream gone wrong and the ripple effects on a well to do family living in the rust belt of the 50's midwest. Having been in a "fatherless" family, so much of this story rang very true...the feeling of abandonment, the hope that "he'll be back", the useless efforts later on to re-establish any relationship with a father who just never understood what he was supposed to be. Ms. Shorr's writing is clear and precise. This will be a GREAT bookclub title!
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Jill S. (Durham, NC)
Defined not by a presence, but an absence
Fatherland is a book defined not by a presence, but an absence, and the absence is so achingly palpable for a young girl named Josie, her two brothers, and their mother Lora that it has its own vibration.
It begins at a picture-perfect wedding party, as Martin Brier, a handsome doctor with a beautiful young family is about to shatter their lives as he goes off to his new love obsession. His obscene selfishness – his unbridled narcissism – is astonishing, but this is the 1950s and it is the Midwest, and no one gets divorced. It's the time that some people still think of as an era when America was "great", when one steel worker could support a whole family, when a man from a poor background could make something of himself and get away with anything.
But for a woman? Lora has no skills and no options. And the Black housekeepers who work for her, thanks to her parents, are in tougher shape than she is. Her daughter Josie, the heart of the story, witnesses all this as she continues to look out the window yearning for her father or standing on the curb with her brother Will and waiting despondently for anyone driving by to see.
In spare and transcendent prose, Victoria Shorr gently carries us through the years as Josie's unwilling citizenship in Fatherland morphs from profound emptiness to curiosity to detachment and to pity at this amorphous character who calls himself "dad" – a man who has achieved professional success at the cost of one failure after another in his personal life. A lovely book!
