Random Winds [Hardcover]

Belva Plain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1980

From a quiet turn-of-the-century village in  upstate New York to war-torn London, from the bedsides  of the rural poor to the life-and-death urgency of  a great New York City hospital, this is a powerful  epic of three generations of doctors in one  magnificent family. The Farrells-dedicated, brilliant..  and driven to the edge of destruction by a love no  human force could suppress.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Wonderful... a  convincing, sweeping novel... a real page-turner."  -- The Philadephia Enquirer.

"Bigger than evergreen." -- John  Barkham Reviews. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

From a quiet turn-of-the-century village in upstate New York to war-torn London, from the bedsides of the rural poor to the life-and-death urgency of a great New York City hospital, this is a powerful epic of three generations of doctors in one magnificent family. The Farrells-dedicated, brilliant.. and driven to the edge of destruction by a love no human force could suppress.

"Wonderful... a convincing, sweeping novel... a real page-turner." -- The Philadephia Enquirer.

"Bigger than evergreen." -- John Barkham Reviews. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press; 1st edition (1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440071240
• ISBN-13: 978-0440071242
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,500,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars my review, April 17, 2000

By 

Ana Maria Barrenechea - See all my reviews

This review is from: Random Winds (Paperback)

Wonderful book. Once again Belva Plain brings forth, with beautiful detail, the complexities of life.

This book tells not only the story of three generations of doctors, but it is mainly the story of human souls. Whether you are a doctor or a painter, a decorator, or simply a housewife, you suffer and you rejoice with everything that life brings to you.

Belva Plain makes us understand, through her characters, that nothing in life is simple and straight. Or, black and white. But rather a web of events that moves us back and forth.

Great book and good read.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another grand, romantic epic, December 1, 1998

By 

Joseph C. Jones (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Random Winds (Paperback)

Random Winds tells the story of one man's life, a doctor whose passionate love for another man's wife threatens the very foundations of his existance. This is one of those impossibly romantic novels one curls up with on a rainy day. Also, as a gay man who read this as a teenager, it was so important to me that Ms. Plain included a positive homosexual character; I've always been appreciative of that.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Family conflict, April 19, 2006

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Random Winds (Paperback)

Dr.Martin Farrell watched his father, also a doctor, work himself to an early death from the constant demands of his country practice, and so is determined to make his own medical career more lucrative. He becomes interested in brain surgery but to be able to afford to train as such, agrees to marry Jessie, the crippled sister of Fern, the woman he has always loved. The girls' wealthy father realizes that this is the only way that Jessie will be married and safe after his death and convinces Martin that this is the only path to his dream of becoming a top brain surgeon. They have a daughter, Claire, a pretty and clever girl who is set to follow in her father's footsteps. Martin and Jessie divorce after bitter fighting and Martin marries Hazel, a homely but good woman who gives him three more children. Martin's professional career grows and develops but he can't forget his love for Fern and this love, though never mentioned, eventually sours his marriage. Claire does become a doctor but prefers a practice more like that of her grandfather with closer contact with her patients. There are many dramas interwoven through this story of three generations of doctors with their personal loves and tragedies, and I found this to be one of those big, cosy reads which are just right when one is in the mood for it.