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Random Harvest (Tr, Reissue) Paperback – December, 1998

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James Hilton (Author)
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James Hilton (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 160 customer reviews
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The Underground Railroad
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers (December 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0786705930
  • ISBN-13: 978-0786705931
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (160 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,055,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsAn ending to take your breath away
By C. Hutton on August 20, 2004
Format: Paperback
This completes the trilogy of classic James Hilton novels (the other two being "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye Mr. Chips") which were all made into movies during Hollywood's Golden Era. It is the lesser known of the three novels, although Random Harvest is his most complete work.

The story is a romance, a mystery, a critque on England's class structure, and a parable. Hilton uses the lost years of Charles Rainier as a methaphor for the lost years of the 1920/1930's when England failed to prepare for the next war. Told in flashbacks and bookended by World War I and World War II, the resolution is only revealed in its final sentence that will shock you and change everything that you have just read & thought you understood. You will go back and re-read the book as your perception of all the characters are altered by the surprise ending.

Two cautions: First, see the 1942 Ronald Coleman/ Greer Garson movie AFTER reading the book to see how the ending is handled. Second, the opening few pages are set in an England and of a time that will be unfamiliar to most Americans, but if one continues on, the reader will be deeply rewarded. The ability to be surprised is a rare gift and Hilton delivers.
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5.0 out of 5 starsWonderful story of loss, longing and fulfillment
By Thomas R. Dean on February 8, 2003
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I had first seen the wonderfully sentimental movie, which is one of my favorites.
The book is not so sentimental. In reading the book, I was unprepared for how well-depicted would be the pain of the protagonist's psychological plight, how thought-provoking this book would be about society, and how much an individual could realistically be shown to be at a loss - no matter his external circumstances.
This is very much about someone who senses that once his life had meaning to him, and he had happily occupied a niche in the world - and can't rediscover it. The author is so wonderful in conveying this desperation.
Mr. Hilton also wonderfully conveys the highs and lows of both the well-born establishment, and the utterly displaced, of inter-war England.
And amazingly, he brilliantly evokes the wonderfully dreamy feeling of being in love. The scenes in which Smitty finds the small town, climbs up to the small lake in the hills, what he sees when he awakens, and the following several days, must be among the most moving in fiction.
I also love how the author shows the differences in personality between the earnest, sweet, easily alarmed, humble Smitty and the somewhat cynical, immensely able, practical-joking, self-deprecating Rainier - much of the difference seems engendered by the way they're treated and their places in life.
I love how subtly the author shows Mrs. Rainier's reaction to Rainier's discoveries - it's just brilliantly done. And the book's ending could not be more satisfying.
This is a more thought-provoking book than Goodbye Mr. Chips - and as much as I enjoyed that, this is a better one. I loved this as much as Hilton's So Well Remembered - which is high praise.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA classic romantic tear-jerker
By Joseph C. Jones on December 1, 1998
Format: Paperback
An exquisite wartime romance that bears a few resemblances to The English Patient, James Hilton's time-spinning tale is the type of book that grabs you in its first paragraph and leaves you breathless with its last sentence. Just make sure you don't see the wonderful, more straightforward Ronald Colman-Greer Garson film version first. The heartstopping plot twist at the end makes everything that goes before even more magical. Random Harvest is one of those books that you'll read and re-read for many years; I know I have, three times already.
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5.0 out of 5 starsi have to re-read this at least once a year
By A Customer on March 28, 2001
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
this book is simply a great example of solid story-telling. you fall in love with the main characters, but the secondary players are fascinating as well. (i especially love the way hilton presents charles's siblings and their interactions -- as will anyone else from a large family.) i saw the movie first, but the book is still great every time i read it. anyone who is a fan of WWI-WWII era england is in for a treat with this book. if you want something wonderful to curl up with, a book you hate to see come to an end, this is the one.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA BEAUTIFUL,LYRICAL,EMOTIONAL ROMANCE.
By A Customer on September 13, 1998
Format: Hardcover
'Random Harvest' I took to read only because its author was James Hilton, whose works like 'Goodbye..' and 'Lost..' I had enjoyed no end. But 'Random Harvest' is entirely different.A wonderfully written book which aptly fits the term 'poetry in prose',it is basically a romance of the 1st world war and yet remains aloof from the activities of the war.It touches it only to establish the romance plot.It is told in the form of a conversation and the finale is brilliantly told.'John Smith' and Paula just walk into your hearts and stay there for a long time after you have finished it.Yet there is a typical laid-back Hilton-ic strain right through the book.I recommend all to read the book, if not for the plot at least the beautiful country atmosphere of the England of the 1930s and 40s it creates.I loved the book.And know that all 'softer' hearted readers will enjoy it as well.
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5.0 out of 5 starsRandom Harvest
By A Customer on September 21, 1997
Format: Hardcover
I am an avid reader (and work as a librarian) yet I almost never keep a novel. "Random Harvest" is one of five books I own and will never give away. It shows the English spirit during the 1930's and 1940's in a brilliant, well done manner. The real reason that I have kept it though is it is one of the best love stories I have ever read! I highly recommend it to anyone who is in need of a little romance
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsI read this book quickly with little or no effort ...

I read this book quickly with little or no effort. The book moved along and even though it was written decades ago, it was as fresh as tomorrow. Read more

Published 6 days ago by JoeR
2.0 out of 5 starsso was a little disappointed.

I was hoping it would follow the old Greer Garson movie, so was a little disappointed.

Published 20 days ago by Mary E. Sklenar
2.0 out of 5 starsDisappointed

I got this book because I love the movie so much, however, this is one case where the movie is much better than the book. Read more

Published 21 days ago by Deloris
5.0 out of 5 starsA WW1 time zone

If you like the WW1 time period, this is a great time piece. The ending was totally unexpected. A very good suspenseful story.

Published 23 days ago by jenwinters
5.0 out of 5 starsSuperb.

Enticing and surprising, a tale that spans years, loss of memory, and a brilliant man in search of himself. Hard to put down and incredible in its originality.

Published 26 days ago by Leonard Cecil
5.0 out of 5 starsBetter than the movie

I rembered watching the old black and white film made with Greer Garson. She was nicknamed the Sob Queen because of all
The tearjerker films she starred in. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat mystery with romance tied in. The reader may get more British...

Interesting book, but probably not for everyone. The protagonist Rainier has a two and half year memory gap starting at the time of his injury in 1917 during World War I. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Kenneth D. Schultz
5.0 out of 5 starsA true classic

Classic James Hilton and a wonderful read. I have read this book many times in my life and never tire of it. It is one of those books you pick up again and again. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Nalini B. Zieman
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat plot. Make time to read without setting aside very often.

I love the plot. I did not like the beginning which glorified English high society culture. And not being in on the plot which is more important than the language and values of the... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 starsHorrible physical copy--cheap looking.

I'm not complaining about the text but rather the physical book itself--it is cheaply printed, odd-sized, and generally terrible. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Leslie Burns

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