Father Melancholy's Daughter [Paperback]

Gail Godwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

The novels of Gail Godwin are contemporary classics--evocative, powerfully affecting, beautifully crafted fiction alive with endearing, unforgettable characters. Her critically acclaimed work has placed her among the ranks of Eudora Welty, Pat Conroy, and Carson McCullers, firmly establishing Godwin as a Southern literary novelist for the ages.

Father Melancholy's Daughter, is widely recognized as one of the author's most poignant and accomplished novels -- a bittersweet and ultimately transcendent story of a young girl's devotion to her father, the rector of a small Virginia church, and of the hope, dreams, and love that sustain them both in the wake of the betrayal and tragedy that diminished their family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Godwin brings empathy, understanding and a 19th-century sensibility to this novel of a young woman deeply attached to her father, a moody Episcopalian minister whose wife has abandoned him. This BOMC main selection received a PW boxed review.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Ambitious, wise...unforgettable...an engrossingly good read...a novel that explores timeless concerns of faith, love, and morality." -- -- Atlanta Journal and Constitution

"Brilliant...an elegant, intelligent, and necessary novel--the best book yet from Gail Godwin." -- -- Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Haunting...superb...the novel dazzles." -- -- Philadelphia Inquirer

"Remarkable...I don't know more than a few contemporary novels as full of grace as Gail Godwin's Father Melancholy's Daughter." -- -- USA Today

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380729865
• ISBN-13: 978-0380729869
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gail Godwin is a three-time National Book Award finalist and the bestselling author of twelve critically acclaimed novels, including Unfinished Desires, A Mother and Two Daughters, Violet Clay, Father Melancholy's Daughter, Evensong, The Good Husband, and Evenings at Five. She is also the author of The Making of a Writer: Journals, 1961--1963, the first of two volumes, edited by Rob Neufeld. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts grants for both fiction and libretto writing, and the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She has written libretti for ten musical works with the composer Robert Starer. She lives in Woodstock, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book that only gets better with age., October 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Father Melancholy's Daughter (Paperback)

I first read FMD ten years ago when I was a young mother. I found it hard to read then, with the abandonment of a child so intimately described, but was glad I pressed through to the wonderful end. Last month, I read Evensong and went back to read FMD and found it even more wonderful, the second time around. It is so seldom these days that such a kindly book comes along that handles tough themes with tenderness and grace. I especially liked the way G Godwin allowed Madelyn to return and reveal Margaret's mother to her. On my second reading, I was much less judgemental myself, much more understanding of Ruth. It made me examine my own relationship with my own daughters, and how long has it been since a novel has made me do that? Too long, I think.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Is a Wonderful Book, December 3, 1999

By 

"mnyblom" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Father Melancholy's Daughter (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book very much. It reads more like poetry than narrative, and the emotions as well as the world around the main character's life are beautifully penned. As a result, it was a bit slow in parts, but that was appealing because of the beautiful way she writes. Sometimes this book is much more about the thoughts, feelings, and observations during a 16 year period of a strikingly mature young woman than it is a story in which a lot of events actually happen. Also, you will get a lot more out of the book if you are familiar with literature and Christian religious history/terminology. A lot of that went over my head, but I caught some of it, and what I didn't catch I could still see meaning in. By the same token, pastors and others who love religious philosophy will probably immensely enjoy this book. I already bought the sequel, Morningsong, and am looking forward to having time to read it. (I already read the first few pages right after finishing this one, just to see if she married between the 1st and the 2nd, and if so, to who!)

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful and thought-provoking narrative, December 21, 2000

By 

Jennifer Shoup "jennifer" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Father Melancholy's Daughter (Paperback)

A wonderful narrative story, told from the point of view of Margaret, who is the precocious and intellectual daughter of an Episcopalian minister. The story is intertwined with issues of a deeper spiritual nature, but there's nothing "preachy" about it -- just the true soul-searching of a young woman sifting through the stories of her past and the beliefs she was raised with to find her own place in the world.

This story hinges on the scene where young Margaret childishly tries to "punish" her mother for having to share her mother's affections with her mother's eccentric artist friend who blows into town and changes all their lives. Tragically, it is the last time Margaret sees her mother. It may sound melancholy at first, but there is much more to this story than the tragedy of a girl who loses her mother in childhood.

As all good stories often do, it ends with some surprises, and leaves just the right amount of burning questions unanswered. Look for the sequel, and find Margaret grown up and still struggling with the echoes of her past in "Evensong."