In My Father's House [Paperback]

Ernest J. Gaines (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 1992

A story of a man brought to reckon with his buried past. Reverend Martin comes face to face with the sins of his youth in the person of Robert X, a young, unkempt stranger who arrives in town for a mysterious "meeting" with the Reverend.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

6 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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A story of a man brought to reckon with his buried past. Reverend Martin comes face to face with the sins of his youth in the person of Robert X, a young, unkempt stranger who arrives in town for a mysterious "meeting" with the Reverend.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (June 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679727914
• ISBN-13: 978-0679727910
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #688,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read, July 17, 2004

By 

John Senegal (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In My Father's House (Paperback)

I thought this book was written in typical Ernest Gaines style. His stories never end with everything tied up in a nice little package. Like in the other books, the main character leaves us with lots of questions that we get to think about and ponder. It is not preachy but shows us the complexity of having your sins to follow and haunt you. I loved it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars o.k., January 14, 2000

By 

Maurice Williams "mauricewms" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In My Father's House (Paperback)

A good read. Gaines has the ability to create very believable characters undergoing very real experiences. He is able to present the issues of his characters in prose that is clear and easily readable. So why didn't he get a higher rating from me . . . because I didn't feel changed in any way as a result of reading this novel. The story was actually quite predictable. He poses many questions in the novel but doesn't deliver on possible solutions to the challenges faced by the Reverend or his son. He leaves the reader with no better understanding of the complexities of the father/son bond than he may have had prior to reading the book. When I finished this book, I thought, "there must be more", but then I remembered reading A Lesson Before Dying and thinking the same of that book. I do believe that the novel can provide some validation to the experiences of many fathers and sons who share similar situations as the Reverend and Etienne. The book may also serve as a basis for discussion between fathers and sons in troubled relationships (depending on the nature of the "trouble"). For those two reasons alone I'd recommend this book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whew!! this book left me reeling, July 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In My Father's House (Paperback)

Ernest Gaines is excellent!!!! I first came to read his works because of his book "A Gathering of Old Men" which was a Sunday night movie of the week. Every since then I have been hooked he is magnificent. This book left me breathless. The part where the minister has an attack after coming face to face with his bastard son is some of the most realistic writing I have seen in years. Gaines has a knack for allowing his readers to understand that the past affects every aspect of the future. Nothing is done right or wrong without repercussions. He allows the reader to see that throughout the Reverends life he is always making up for his indiscretions of the past. Gaines allows his readers to understand that the Reverend did not abandon his son out of neglect, he abandoned him because he was young and did not know any better. That is very important to understand about many of our fathers today. Gaines deserves a pulitzer for this book, I didn't like it as good as I liked "A lesson before dying" but it is a very close second behind it. Top notch, realistic, hard-hitting, is the only way to describe this book.