Great Son

WHY IS THIS OUT OF PRINT?! I read most of this on the train from Chicago to Grand Rapids-it made the trip seem much shorter than it actually was. I was completely absorbed from the first page: "There was too much of everything. But not for Vaughan Melendy. Himself of heroic stature, he fitted well into the gorgeous and spectacular setting that was the city of Seattle. Towering and snow-capped like the mountains that ringed the city, he seemed a part of it-as indeed he was. Born into this gargantuan northwest region of towering forests, limitless waters, vast mountains, fertile valleys, he himself blended into the lavish picture and was one with it. He loved it, he understood it. Breathing deep of its pine and salt air, a heady draught, he digested it like the benevolent giant he was." This book is about a family living in Seattle during WW2. Many of the characters are introduced right away but the author delves deeply into their individual pasts so that the reader truly gets to know them. It goes back in time to reveal Vaughan Melendy's time in Klondike, mining gold, meeting his true love. It goes back to the back to the beginning of the family's life in Seattle as it presents the migration of Madam Exact Melendy's parents. (Madam in Vaughan's mother and oldest person in Seattle. She is highly revered for her rite as one of the first pioneers). The Melendy family is wealthy. Madam lives in the biggest house on the highest hill. This book is a character study. You learn that Emmy takes advantage of her riches and looks down on most other people. She is thoroughly engaged in the keeping of the house (even though she doesn't lift a finger-her Japanese servants take care of everything). You learn that Pansy is a truly good person and more than Vaughan's mistress; she's the love of his life. You learn that Lina's passion is not her husband nor her son, but the stage. You learn a lot about these people. It's like watching a reality show but more...real. Okay, I've written a lot. Just wanted to say that this is a really good book by one of America's best (though somehow nearly forgotten) authors. Edna Ferber writes as if she's living in our generation and looking back on history. Hard to believe she so easily captured so much that we still realte to today and teach us a thing or two about the golden age and the war at the same time. I LOVE HER!!!!!!

From the very first chapter, I was hooked on the descriptions of Seattle (which I have never seen) and its surrounding countryside. And now I've got the itch to vacation there and see the "view" for myself. Ferber has a gift for writing prose that is gripping without tawdry thrills or made-for-movie themes. The present day is 1941 on the verge of Pearl Harbor-- Older Americans are still apathetic about the war in Europe and don't have the desire to become involved. Japan seems to weigh little on the consciousness of people even on the west coast. But despite the undertones of impending involvement, this actually is a novel that explores the personalities and mettle of the men and women of different generations. Of what it takes to be a pioneer and what effects wealth and circumstance have on future generations. The characters each had a distinctness about them, some likeable others irritating or just plain pitiable. Strenght of character sometimes skips a generation. I would recommend this book to Ferber and Cather and perhaps even Maugham fans. I plan on reading more of Ferber in the future.

Edna Ferber, a best selling author of her time, has written an ageless book depicting four generations of a Seattle frontier family. This is a novel that is rich with fascinating characters and vividly describes a slice of multi-generational American life in the northwest. The book begins when Seattle was first settled, and carries the reader through time to the Alaskan gold rush, ending at the time of World War II. She paints a well drawn picture of time and place, and follows the family as it grows wealthy yet ill at ease with itself. Ms. Ferber takes the reader on a journey to beautifully interesting times and places. Her characters are fully drawn and set against a vast landscape. The pages fly. If you enjoy reading Edna Ferber, you will enjoy Great Son.