Customer Reviews

A Far Country

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A slow yet absorbing journey through the life of Hugh Paret yields reflections on life, society, business, and religion that are not only in revolution in the early 20th Century, but linger to the present day. A well written book with a solid story that provokes thought.

I purchased this book at a garage sale for 25 cents, seeing the author's name and assuming it was the "other" Churchill, who was also a novelist.

The book starts out slowly, and as a NY TIMES review of 1915 notes, the character of Hugh Paret is not fully realized in the opening chapters. And idealist with a bent toward literature, Hugh decides to go into corporate law, after being shamed by his then-girlfriend at a party for "going into business". Hugh studies secretly for the entrance exams to Harvard and to his Father's surprise, is admitted.

This is where the book becomes interesting for today's reader. Hugh not only becomes a successful corporate lawyer, but also goes to work for some of the most odious city bosses, trusts, and robber barons of turn-of-the-century America. Churchill describes in detail how projects are pushed through the legislature by "fixers" and how the public is deceived by the politicians, who use divisive issues to distract the general public from what is really going on.

100 years later, not much has changed, it seems. What makes the narrative compelling is that we see these things from Hugh's perspective - and the self-justifications he uses to rationalize his actions, which benefit only the wealthy and well-off at the expense of the ordinary citizen.

His nemesis, Krebs,the poor son of a German immigrant, is a labor organizer, assemblyman, and public interest lawyer, acts as a neat foil to Hugh's ambitions. The novel pits the emerging capitalist class of the late 1800s against the nascent worker's movements of the times.

The title is from the biblical parable of the prodigal son, who "took his journey into a far country".

Will Hugh Parent find his way back from the "far country" and realize his true calling in life? Is there more to life than being successful - at all costs?

It is an interesting tale that is still relevant today. The writing style may seem a bit ornate by today' standards, and the first few chapters (and the illustrations) may lead one to believe this is yet another Victorian-era drawing-room drama. But make no mistake, it is a novel with political implications, probably somewhat radical for its era.