Herbert Rowbarge [Paperback]

Natalie Babbitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1984

Relates the history of a self-made man, his dreams, achievements, peculiarities, and his relationships with his twin daughters and others in the small circle of friends and relatives around him.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (J) (April 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374518521
• ISBN-13: 978-0374518523
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #537,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A gifted artist and writer, Natalie Babbitt's novels are inspired by a brilliance and imagination that is completely original. She began her career in 1966 with the publication of a picture book, The Forty-Ninth Magician, a collaboration with her husband, Samuel Fisher Babbitt. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, established her gift for writing magical tales with a more profound meaning embedded within them. Kneeknock Rise earned her a Newbery Honor Medal, but it is Tuck Everlasting which has insured Babbitt's place in the history of children's literature. This modern classic, which has also been made recently into a major motion picture starring Alexis Bledel, William Hurt, and Sissy Spacek, asks an enduring and powerful question: If we could live forever, would we want to? Babbitt has written six more novels including The Eyes of the Amaryllis and Goody Hall-each one presenting her unique vision of an enchanted world. Her latest novel, Jack Plank Tells Tales, was published in Spring 2007. Natalie Babbitt lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and is a grandmother of three. When asked what she wants readers to remember about her books, she replied, 'the questions without answers.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ironic twin story should be renewed in print, February 25, 2001

By 

dikybabe "admeyer" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Herbert Rowbarge (Hardcover)

While checking the shelving of our library's fiction pit, I came across this curious Babbitt title from 1982. Looking quite new and seldom read, I put it with the stack of other titles that I knew I must read. Thus I discovered the magically tragic little saga of orphaned twins, especially the one who would grow to self-made success despite the haunting background of leaving his other self behind. He, Herbert Rowbarge, is the unchosen twin for whom life seems quite bleak. And yet by ruthless self determination, he rises to power and wealth through a business world which, of all things, reaps riches from a fantasy world theme park. His is a determined and cold mien. He loses the love he really wants and takes a rich second best; he closes his heart to both his wife and twin daughters. He attempts to destroy those who reject him, as well as those who loyally serve him, as he controls the world that has offered him little warmth and comfort. He is respected and wealthy, and the recipient of his daughters' solicitude. No one seems to know his dark secrets. The twists that Babbitt employs in Herbert Rowbarge are certainly more adult than her children's titles, but typical of her style with its twist at the end. Reading Herbert Rowbarge is a curious trip with an unforgettable result. I'd like to see a renewed interest in this O.Henry like little tome. Good reading!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will stick in your mind..., February 13, 2008

By 

S. E. Torian "sarah_t" (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Herbert Rowbarge (Hardcover)

I am a 35-year old woman who read this book, I believe, when I was in the 6th grade. I have carried its powerful and moving story with me since then. The randomness of the choice which charts such divergent paths for the twin boys in this book and the impact of having a warm, nurturning and loving childhood have echoed in mind over the past 20 years. I honestly think that the underlying message in this book have played a significant role in who I am and what I do today. I can't offer a detailed review of this book right now because I have not read it since I was a child but, like Bridge to Teribithia, this is one book that I am extremely eager to digest again as an adult.