The Fathers [Paperback]

Allen Tate (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 323 pages
• Publisher: Swallow Press; 2 edition (March 5, 1959)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804001081
• ISBN-13: 978-0804001083
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #704,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the finest novels I've read, June 16, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fathers (Voices of the South) (Paperback)

This is a tremendous work; I cannot fathom why it is not well known outside literary circles unless it is because it was the only novel of its poet/critic author. The style in which it is written is beautiful. The first person narrator gracefully tells a profound story which (to me) leaves lingering mysteries and does so without "trying too hard" or pretention. The story and the style in which it is written fuse into a haunting masterpiece. I have never sought a literary profession; however, I think that anyone who does so would learn a great deal from this book.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great work, January 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fathers (Paperback)

This novel is one of the best written in the United States. While it will delight conservatives for its tender and moving picture of a culture whose traditions and habits are being destroyed, readers of all political stripes will enjoy reading the Greek like tragic victory/fall of the utilitarian 'hero' of the novel. His story is that of modernity, and thus of us all.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good use of Civil War-era Northern Virginia setting, March 18, 2006

By 

Joseph J. Maniscalco (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Fathers (Paperback)

I was alerted to this book through a Washington Post "rediscovery" book review of neglected, but worthwhile books of the past. As a long time resident of Alexandria, Virginia, I was intrigued by its promise of a local setting. The author makes excellent use of Old Town Alexandria, and local Northern Virginia settings. (Alexandria, Virginia was a Union held city in a state which became the Confederate capital, and was the scene of the first Union fatality of the war.
The author's use of actual surviving communities and even street names from Alexandria and nearby Fairfax County was quite interesting to this reader, though the actual story itself is a bit obtuse, and occasionally more literary than enjoyable.
A quoted reviewer's comparison to "Gone With the Wind"is not totally accurate. The setting is indeed the Civil War and a protagonist does bear some characteristics with Rhett Butler. But "Fathers" is certainly not the rousing adventure-love story of GWTW and may disappoint those who expect it to be.