Synopsis
The story revolves around wealthy Paul Werner and interweaves with a myriad of other characters as he quests for ultimate happiness and contentment. Belva Plain pulls together the many life-threads entwined with Paul Werner's to form a magnificent tapestry for listening enjoyment.
Belva Plain's warmth and sensitivity to her characters is evident in the depth of emotion displayed by them. From the heights of love to deep despair, she masterfully develops each one until they become a part of the listener's own life.
Publishers Weekly
Readers who have not previously met the Werners and Roths in The Golden Cup and Evergreen will sense something missing when they begin this continuing saga about these tightly knit, aristocratic German-Jewish families. This book contains multiple allusions to past events, yet the first-time reader can still become immediately involved in the narrative, thanks to Plain's adroit blending of complex personalities with a panoramic view of world events. The novel covers the early '20s until the end of World War II. Paterfamilias is Paul Werner, a high-minded banker, a dedicated philanthropist and a reluctant adulterer. His genteel wife Marion, unable to bear children, coolly retreats to her private circle of charitable events and card parties. Although Paul still broods over his first love, Anna, he turns to his exuberant cousin Leah, a flourishing business woman, for a brief, happy affair. It is at a large family gathering that long pent-up emotions explode, and past tragedies, infidelities and hostilities emerge with destructive force. Although there is a historical inevitability to the events viewed here (the 1920 ``Red scare''; Prohibition; the stock market crash; the rise of Hitler) the characters are never predictable. They act with passion and conviction, and their many vicissitudes will not disappoint Plain's fans. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections. (May)