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Wheel of Fortune Susan Howatch 9780449206249 Books

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Wheel of Fortune Susan Howatch 9780449206249 Books

I admit I approached this book with some trepidition, based on the reviews I read. I was fearful it would be ponderous. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a remarkable read and the story kept me intrigued from the first few pages. Yes, it's long, but in my opinion it was worth the effort. It covers a lot of years and a lot of people, but if you like sagas about highly dysfunctional families, stick with it. Some of it was overdone and English expressions ("poor old sod," "old chap," etc) get a little worn out. Some of the English gentlemen, with their commitment to "doing the done thing," even when they don't, are a little hard to believe, but at the same time they seem realistic. The women, some of them very heroic, are not as well drawn as the men, but they play a major role in the family's dysfunction. Certainly an aggressive editor could have eliminated a couple of hundred pages, but the breadth and depth of the story would have suffered. If you like long but absorbing reads, this will be chicken soup for a reader's soul.


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Wheel of Fortune Susan Howatch 9780449206249 Books Reviews

I would have given the first half of this loooong book a 4 or 5 star review. But when I got to the second half and saw how the author treated the most despicable character in the whole book, I had to give up. Spoiler alert ahead In the middle of the book the author took Bobby's (head of the family) mistress who stole the family blind, ruined the estate, and showed up to be a major pervert and allowed the son to invite her to come back to Oxmoon and live. Too unbelievable and disgusting. I want my hours back from reading half of this 992 page book.
Wow is this boring. I was really interested in this, as it's supposed to be loosely based on the Plantagenents, and I even paid full price! Boring, whiny characters that go on and on, so far the story is told in 1st person, there are no sympathetic characters and although I'm not far into it, I've spent days reading and doubt that I'll finish.
This novel is available as one book, but is also available in two volumes. This item is only volume 2 of 2. Assuming you get your hands on both volumes, my review is below

Ah, how to rate a 1000+ page family saga that attempts to retell 14th century Plantagenet drama as a 20th century story . . . . All this royal eccentric behavior sure seems outrageous compared to Victorian and Edwardian standards!

The story is split into sections told by different members of the Godwin family to move it through the generations. We begin with Robert Godwin (one of many), who is our Edwardian Black Prince to Ginette, his Fair Maid of Kent. I especially enjoyed how Howatch creatively gave these characters personalities that suited the historical person they represented but fit into the more modern times and gave a modern twist to historical events. Instead of the kingdom of England, the Godwin's are masters of the estate of Oxmoon.

Once the story moved to Ginevra's point of view, I realized that Howatch also has a skill for creating a real person, who is one person inside and another to each person they encounter. As Ginette herself says, there's so much we don't know about those who are closest to us. Though the characters talk A LOT about sex, we also see that a marriage can be based on so many other things.

John, Robert's brother - yes there are also brothers Lionel, Edmund, and Thomas - is our next narrator. He struggles to be upstanding, to "do the done thing", and makes himself miserable in the process. The past creeps up to mess with poor John en force. Lion and Edmund fight in WWI, side by side with their French allies rather than against them like their historical counterparts.

You are seeing the pattern now.... Kester is the 20th century, ill-fated and eccentric Richard II. This character is cleverly written to sometimes gain the reader's sympathy and at other times make one want to kill him as much as half his family wanted to. Somehow both bold but never the perfect Godwin that he wishes to be, Kester is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, even years after his death.

When Harry takes over, the narration and Oxmoon, he and Kester have a battle royal. Through it all, each generation struggles with their desires versus what is expected, scandalous family history, and that sneaky insanity that tries to creep up on each of them.

Hal's story is the only part I could have done without. In his attempt to solve his family's mysteries, Hal becomes repetitive and a little bit of a bore. (Or maybe it was the more modern setting, 1966 and beyond, that I just wasn't as interested in.) I did enjoy the final twists and turns, but could have done without several recaps of what I had just read.

Overall, a unique take on my dear Plantagenets that had me captivated, made me laugh, and made me look at people a little bit differently. Themes of the Oxmoon estate, "The Blue Danube", and doing the done thing carry this story forth and unite the characters through beautiful prose and realistic characters. "You can't divide these unfortunate people neatly into heroes and villains - it's simply not that kind of story!" Don't be afraid of the number of pages. This novel is worth it.
First, as someone who truly appreciates Howatch as an author, you don't need to be an expert on British history to love these. I didn't even realize they were based on true stories until I checked the reviews. What stands out most about Howatch is her amazing ability to tell the same story from different viewpoints, without plot disruptions or loss of character development.

I gave this 4 stars because the ending became too tedious for me. This book is almost 1200 pages and I was enthralled by the first 1050 or so. I tried plowing through that last great conflict, because I assumed there was a nugget in there that pulled it all together. But I just didn't make it.
The Wheel of Fortune could have been an excellent book if a good editor had gotten hold of it and cut the length by half. It is narrated in multiple first persons and the author does a good job with the first three or so, but by the time we get to Kester, the artifice is beginning to show and after a while, the reader feels like one of the characters whose strings are being pulled to react on cue by the author. "The done thing" and "drawing the line" are repeated by most of the characters ad naseum and the last 300 pages or so feel more like a student trying to prove their points in a term paper. Characterization goes out the window and with it, most of the pleasure in reading the book. But if you've stuck around this long, you feel somehow obligated to stay to the bitter end. I really like the first two thirds but it needs to be much shorter and the last three characters need to be more character and less exposition.
I admit I approached this book with some trepidition, based on the reviews I read. I was fearful it would be ponderous. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a remarkable read and the story kept me intrigued from the first few pages. Yes, it's long, but in my opinion it was worth the effort. It covers a lot of years and a lot of people, but if you like sagas about highly dysfunctional families, stick with it. Some of it was overdone and English expressions ("poor old sod," "old chap," etc) get a little worn out. Some of the English gentlemen, with their commitment to "doing the done thing," even when they don't, are a little hard to believe, but at the same time they seem realistic. The women, some of them very heroic, are not as well drawn as the men, but they play a major role in the family's dysfunction. Certainly an aggressive editor could have eliminated a couple of hundred pages, but the breadth and depth of the story would have suffered. If you like long but absorbing reads, this will be chicken soup for a reader's soul.