Customer Reviews

The Long, Happy Life of Robin Stackpole: A Novel of the Twentieth Century

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

 

 

In this day of dismal novels, it is a real pleasure to read a "feel good" story. The Long Happy Life of Robin Stackpole, by Maynard Fox, is such a one. Anyone who lived in the twenties and thirties of this century will appreciate the fascinating characters and landscapes described in this book. But anyone who likes a good story will like it, as well.

The stark realities of rural life in Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas are portrayed in a gripping manner. And the people seem alive and real, not cardboard figures against a faded background. One really cares about what happens to them!

This could be called a "regional" novel, and it is; but it speaks to the whole country - it compares very favorably with the works of Paul Hogan - which is indeed high praise. Get this book and enjoy it!

Richard Gobble, Retired Librarian

Maynard Fox takes his readers to the New Mexico and Kansas farms of his childhood. He tells of family life with his brothers and parents, his school days in a one room school, his chores on the farm, and the crops they raised.

This brief description belies the depth and charm of Mr. Fox's first novel. It isn't so much the descriptions of the pristine and sparsely settled west, but rather the innocence of the characters and the integrity with which their interactions are governed.

When you read the long happy life of Robin Stackpole you will see for yourself how engaging this book really is.

Martha Bard Sun City Library - Sun City, Arizon

As one of Maynard Fox's literature students at South Dakota State College (now SDSU) in 1964, I found The Long Happy Life of Robin Stackpole to be thought provoking, historically educational, and a very good read. A novel can be a very complete way of writing one's memoirs. I suspect there were gaps in Mr. Fox's memory and that is why he chose to make it a historical novel. Of great interest to me was the insight provided about the Brethren. There appears to be very little difference between the Brethren or Dunkards described in the book and the Mennonites. There seem to be degrees in accepted dress for men and women. Since Mr. Fox made no reference to dress, I suspect the churches in which he grew up were more moderate than many that are still in existence, such as the Brethren in Perkins county, Nebraska. There are Lutheran Brethren as well, but they most likely believe in infant baptism and have chosen to go their separate way after a number of mergers in the Lutheran Church. Other than the methodology of performing the Sacrament of Baptism, their pietistic life style would be very similar to what Mr. Fox describes of the Dunkards. We learn much from the novel about technological and social changes that have occurred in the twentieth century. Our grand children should learn to appreciate these changes. Anyone whose father was a World War I veteran will really enjoy the book's opening scenes. The images of the era helped me recall many of my own father's long forgotten stories. I recommend The Long Happy Life of Robin Stackpole for its historical value in connection with rural farm life in the first half of the twentieth century, for the insight it provides on the Brethren, or simply for a compelling story of a young boy struggling toward maturity.

Clair D. Husby