From the Terrace [Paperback]

John O'Hara (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 1999

An uncommonly good novel . . . a considerable achievement - Saturday Review With over three million copies sold, O'Hara's great novel of America in the first half of the century was made into an acclaimed film starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. It richly chronicles one man's rise to wealth, power, and prominence - and the haunting sense of failure at his heart. "More than any other American novelist, O'Hara has both reflected his times and captured the uniquely individual" - Los Angeles Times

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

O'Hara is one of those authors who unfortunately has been nearly forgotten, despite having been a highly popular writer in his day. This 1959 novel follows banking tycoon Alfred Eaton, whose external rise to power is matched by his internal disintegration. This edition includes an introduction by Budd Schulberg.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"An uncommonly good novel . . . a considerable achievement" -- Saturday Review

"More than any other American novelist, O'Hara has both reflected his times and captured the uniquely individual" -- Los Angeles Times

Product Details

• Paperback: 912 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 2 edition (November 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786706821
• ISBN-13: 978-0786706822
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Secrets of Suburbia with Style, July 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: From the Terrace (Paperback)

Long before there was a Jackie Collins, a Harold Robbins, or any of the others, John O'Hara was proving, again and again, that the sins and secrets of the so-called "beautiful people" could be presented with style and subtlety. He proved this in "Butterfield 8" and "Ten North Frederick," but never better than in "From the Terrace." Alfred Eaton, his driving, driven anti-hero, ranks with his earlier Joey Evans in terms of being a rogue with style. You like and envy him while despising everything he stands for. More than anything, though, you pity him. You realise, long before he himself does, that what's driving him is his desire to outshine his domineering father and over-achieving older brother, dead of meningitis at age eleven. Alfred Eaton is a rogue, but one with a conscience, something he doesn't realise ultil it's almost too late. A stunning character study and a stunning book, which, some 41 years after it was written, still packs a wallop.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to John O'Hara's work, March 20, 2000

By 

Henry W. Hocherman (Elizabeth, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From the Terrace (Paperback)

I was interested in reading this novel after seeing the Paul Newman-Joanne Woodward movie on American Movie Classics one evening. To my surprise and great pleasure, the book is far better than the movie -- although it doesn't hurt one's appreciation of the characters to imagine those two talented movie stars speaking their dialogue. At nearly 1000 pages in length, the book requires a major commitment on the part of the reader, but O'Hara never disappoints. His story moves along at just the right pace, and the growth -- or lack thereof -- of his characters is a revelation. I particularly recommend this work to anyone who seriously wants to write a historical novel, because its structure and style are very instructive of how to work in the genre to maximum effect. This book introduced me to a writer whose work is no longer very accessible, either in libraries or on web sites such as these -- and more's the pity for it. What appeared to be a dry, overwritten potboiler of no special distinction turned out to be an engrossing story of one man's desperate search for the love that had always eluded him. I recommend this novel enthusiastically to anyone who finds contemporary popular fiction dissatisfying. And for the average reader, the best part of finishing this book is the knowledge that there's more of John O'Hara's work yet to be discovered.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining & Cynical View of Successful American 1900-1950, March 1, 2001

By 

Thomas R. Dean (Morristown, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From the Terrace (Paperback)

This was my favorite book for about a decade, so it is difficult to write this review. I read it four times - all between the ages of 18 and 27. What did I love? It's tough, funny, and creates a vast and quite realistic panorama of northeast Pa. society in the early 1900s, Long Island society in the 1920s, NY investment banking, Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s, Washington during WWII. The writing is sharp, acerbic, extraordinary in its thorough descriptions of people's faces, haircuts, favorite drinks, cars, hats, umbrellas, cufflinks, watches, gloves, and what they signify socially. O'Hara is justly famous for the realism and biting wit of his dialogue, the great and easy flow of his narrative. One feels that there are ALWAYS many characters in his novels and short stories about whom others will say "oh, smart guy, eh?" and "take a poke at him", which is fun. It was all thrillingly adult when I was that age to read these - "ah, so that's the kind of sophistication I have to look forward to".

Elements I've since noticed: - O'Hara seems to feel that to tack on bleak endings for his most-liked characters is to be smart and naturalistic - yet in this case, the (quite vivid) Alfred Eaton character simply seems stronger than this. O'Hara also has a conventional sense of "normal sex", outside of which the reader is to know the character is truly evil (i.e., unable to love). O'Hara packs his novels with coincidence - as an adult, I have been truly disappointed that I DON'T run into acquaintances in restaurants, theaters, trains all the time! Finally, O'Hara's virtuous characters do not come across nearly as realistically.

In summary, O'Hara is limited - perhaps most by his times and his perception of the permanence of what are really quite transitory measures of quality in people. However, he's still very enjoyable to read. I think Updike wrote once that in the Orient, he'd be known as "Old Man Who Loves Writing" and that is perfectly true - the reader feels it. He's VERY readable, intelligent, but perhaps not truly wise in the more abiding of matters.