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The Promise of Rest Hardcover – May 15, 1995

by
Reynolds Price (Author)
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Reynolds Price (Author)
4 out of 5 stars 12 customer reviews
Book 3 of 3 in the Mayfield Trilogy Series
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Scribner (May 15, 1995)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0684801493
  • ISBN-13: 978-0684801490
  • Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 6.5 x 9.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,909,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsAn Old South sensibility confronts the modern Plague
By Doug Vaughn HALL OF FAME on December 9, 1999
Format: Paperback
It was a great pleasure to (re)discover Reynolds Price in this book. I had put him aside many, many years ago when I read A Long and Happy Life and couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. My loss, it seems. I must now revisit the many books he has published over the last few decades because having read The Promise of Rest, I am sure I have missed a lot that is worthwhile.
This book, about an aging southern poet/professor who brings his only son, suffering from AIDS, back from New York to die at home, is a beautifully written and touching portrait of the characters involved. But more, it is in many ways the typical 'Southern' novel, where the tragic outcome and any hope of redemption are all bound up with family history, race, sex, friendship, the 'wages of sin' and the weight of history. There is a sensibility at work here, as in Peter Taylor's work, that seems, in its particular experession, uniquely southern but manages to be, in its effect upon the reader, universal.
This is a very moving book. The only problem I experienced in reading it was a slight twitch whenever the main character would speak of his own early same sex experiences. In these scenes, the language Price put into the protagonist's mouth seemed artifical and strained, and the euphemisms chosen to refer to body parts and sexual activity were so strange that even a Victorian would have laughed at them. Nevertheless, the story engaged the reader from the beginning and despite the inevitability of the outcome, maintained a strong emotional hold. I was deeply moved by this book, which, like the best of southern writing, left me questioning much in my own life and times.
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5.0 out of 5 starsChillingly real and poetic! Hard to put down.
By A Customer on August 14, 1998
Format: Audio Cassette
I am reading the Great Circle novels backwards -- which may be an advantage! I found reading Price's language like eating rich food. There is no speed-reading this author! You want to savour every sentence, every beautifully wrought phrase and expression. He reminds me painfully of my own southern roots, and makes me mourn for the loss in my transplanted soul of what seems to be a particularly southern appreciation for the beauty and majesty of our American language.
And it is simply a good read! I found it difficult to put down. And there were times when I had to put it down, overwhelmed as I often was by a scene, or a speech, or a description. Reynolds Price is a treasure!
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5.0 out of 5 starsI recommend this Book to everyone
By Terri Lawless-Munro on December 21, 2000
Format: Paperback
I simply can say enough how much I loved this book. I am an avid reader, reading approximately 2 books a month and this was my all time favorite. It was incrediably touching to witness the relationship between father and son. I cried at the end because I was so sad the book ended. Because this is the holiday season and people are always swaping ideas for presents, this is the first suggestion I make.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Moving and Beautiful Book
By Domus on February 25, 2006
Format: Audio Cassette
Ignore the one-star types. This is a moving and oftentimes painful book. Just be open to what you read and do not come equipt with preconceptions about how to write. Price writes an often elegant prose with subtlety and depth. Too bad for those unable to appreciate this work.
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4.0 out of 5 starsExcellent Read and Packs a Powerful Punch
By A Customer on July 17, 1998
Format: Paperback
I will admit that when I read the first two books in the triology telling the lives of the Mayfield and Kendal families, I found myself a little bored. However, upon picking up the final volume of the bunch, I was enthralled from the beginging. I can't put it down. I recommend this book to everyone.
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5.0 out of 5 starsOne of Reynolds Price's best novels
By Bomojaz on May 14, 2006
Format: Paperback
This is the third volume of a trilogy that includes THE SOURCE OF LIGHT and THE SURFACE OF EARTH. The time is now 30+ years after the ending of the second volume. Hutch, a college professor of English and a man somewhat stingy with his emotions, must confront the death of his son, Wade, from AIDS. Wyatt, his son's black lover, visits Hutch, a man he despises, and Hutch begins to understand the power of Wade's love and emotional giving. The novel ends with a not-so-successful visit by Hutch to the northern slum in NYC where Wyatt's family resides. Price's writing power is in full flow, especially his uniquely brilliant use of figures of speech. It's a sad and poignant novel (though one that contains hope and promise, too), all about forgiveness and understanding and redemption, and it's one of Price's very best books.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsyet present the story with such humanity and intelligence that the...

The subject matter of this book is extremely difficult. Reynolds Price has such a clear, honest voice. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Elaine A. Foster
5.0 out of 5 starsStirring, thoughtful read, rich with life's mysteries and grief

Almost did not read this one as I found the first chapter a bit annoying. But after the university bit, it opened me right up. Read more

Published on December 28, 2013 by D. Rogers
4.0 out of 5 starsA more fundamental challenge to the pseudo-literati

The cliche of every creative writing class is "show, don't tell." The problem with that philosophy is that true literature can be defined as breaking free of cliches. Read more

Published on October 15, 2002 by Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 starsI'd give it a 0-star rating if I could.

Frankly, Reynolds Price's The Promise of Rest is one of the worst books I've ever had the misfortune to read. Read more

Published on March 14, 2001
1.0 out of 5 starsUnbelievable book...in a bad way

As an English major, I thought that I would try out some contemporary Southern fiction for a change. Unfortunately, I tried "A Promise of Rest" by Reynolds Price. Read more

Published on August 8, 2000 by Jason
4.0 out of 5 starsa parallel to all of our lives

This story of Wade Mayfield's fight against AIDS and his fathers (Hutchins Mayfield) fight to keep his son his and only his. Read more

Published on January 19, 1998

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