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Read The Wheel Of Fortune (1985)

The Wheel of Fortune (1985)

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Rating
4.09 of 5 Votes: 4
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ISBN
0449206246 (ISBN13: 9780449206249)
Language
English
Publisher
fawcett

The Wheel Of Fortune (1985) - Plot & Excerpts

Murder, madness and mayhem - oh my. The Godwins have lived at Oxmoon for generations. The story begins in 1913, and is narrated by Robert the younger (all the first born sons of the first born sons are named Robert). Robert senior struggles to bring the estate back to financial health after it was run into the ground by his mother's notorious lover, Owain Bryn-Davies. Robert is raised with distant cousin Ginevra (Ginette) and the two maintain a strong bond of friendship that eventually blossoms into love - at least for Robert although he must wait until he's old enough to declare his feelings – but *something* happens that sends his plans spiraling and Ginette suddenly elopes with another man. The pair eventually meet again years later when Ginette is widowed, but can their love and friendship overcome the horrible secret that caused Ginette to flee Oxmoon in the first place? The story continues with that of Robert's younger brother John, the stalwart of the family who always does the "done" thing - that is until the just-barely-widowed John meets the very married and terribly unsuitable (common!) Bronwen and falls head over heels in love. Even when she is free Bronwen is not a suitable wife for John and he marries another heiress instead. Will he make a choice for true happiness or continue doing the "done thing”? The last third of the book carries to the next generation with the conflicts between cousins Christopher (Kester) and Harry. Kester is Robert's son and heir to Oxmoon, but John's son Harry thinks John should have been the heir and the battle between the two cousins eventually ignites with deadly consequences. The very last section is Hal's story (Harry's son) as he returns to Oxmoon to try to find out what really happened between the two at their final confrontation on The Worm's Head (do Google that and look at the photos - awesome).Of course there's a whole lot more to the story than that but I am not into book reports. I found this to be a grand ride taking me from the early 1900s on through the 1960s, and Howatch's method of using alternating narratives of the main characters is awesome (PG and Weir you should take lessons from her). I loved seeing the relationship between Robert and Ginette from both perspectives, and I adored John's story as he struggles to do the right thing even when his heart is pulled into another direction. As for the stormy love-hate relationship between Kester and Harry - wow, just wow. The very last with Hal I didn't care for as much and I almost wished Howatch had left off after Harry's story, but she ended up pulling a couple of excellent twists that I was not expecting. One final note and that is the twist on this book, is that the Godwin's story parallels that of England's Plantagenets - Edward III, Edward The Black Prince, Joan the Fair Maid of Kent, John of Gaunt (yes, there is a Katherine), Richard II, Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV) and Henry V. For readers who like bit fat meaty sagas with a healthy dose of soap opera angst and anguish this just might be the book for you. 5/5 stars and highly recommended along with her two books that precede this, Penmarric and Cashelmara.

This novel is a little over a 1000 pages but don’t let that put you off. If you love great English historical fiction this really is the best. I’ve read Cashelmara and Penmarric and loved them but this novel is my favorite. Loosely based on the last of the Plantatgenets,  it begins with a new cast where Cashelmara ends. The very detailed novel concentrates on the Godwin’s beloved family home of Oxmoon in Gower, South Wales and focuses on the class structure of England in the early 1900s. There are six narrations from the 1920s to the 1970s. Ms. Howatch uses this unique style to give the reader multiple views of each character. Just as you have one strong opinion about a character the story shifts and the reader has a deeper view of personalities and perspectives, making the storyline extremely interesting.I nearly abandoned this during the first section which is about the very unlikable Robert Godwin who is the character that the rest of the saga surrounds. Robert appeared to be a boring, full of himself, pathetic creature. Through the novel he still remains peculiar, however, as you get to know him and understand his personality he becomes fascinating, if not likable. Then, there is his cousin who is two years older than him. Robert’s obsession with the sensual Ginevra becomes his downfall as he throws himself into a disastrous marriage with her. The reader captures the real Ginevra, aside from Robert’s viewpoint, in the next narration. The thought provoking story evolves into a dark Gothic tale and takes off at very high speed. The turbulent theme is primarily based on competitive cousins, the burden of guilt, mayhem and madness. At this point my control was taken away from me as the pages seemed to turn themselves and the novel will stay with me for a very long time!  

What do You think about The Wheel Of Fortune (1985)?

Wheel of Fortune was a Kindle Daily Deal spuriously (and comically) categorized under “romance,” which meant I might have overlooked it altogether. However, its cover lacked bosom-busting blondes and ripped-shirt Fabios, and the title implied nothing about longing, betrayal, or other typical romance tropes, so I investigated further. Not being able to pass up a well-reviewed book of over a thousand pages, I decided to give it a go.It’s a cliché, but once I picked up the book, I couldn’t stop reading. It struck me as a strange, uncategorizable combination of melodrama, engaging narrative, and psychological insight. The characters are caricatures of themselves, the hyperbole strongly felt from the beginning. The single female first-person protagonist is, stereotypically, always in an emotional “muddle”; certainly, the stereotype for Victorian women is being poked fun at. I began to suspect a joke.Despite being wary the author was toying with her readers—albeit in a friendly way—I couldn’t abandon the story. The characters, drawn with a draftsman’s precision, are illustrated through their own perceptions and the perceptions of those around them, though the reader gets the benefit of only one at a time. The book, if it could be said to be about anything, discusses how much, and yet how little, we know about someone with whom we are supposed to be close. It also talks about family dynamics and the effects of decisions that reverberate through generations. These are all laudable, completely noble bases for a novel of such length. Yet . . . I can’t really settle on the opinion that this book is meant to be a serious piece of literature. The characters get more “crazy” as the book wears on, and I feel that Howatch primes the reader early with slightly sane characters that had horrible things happen to them at surprising (and sometimes hilarious) moments for her final tour de force, locking a third generation of characters in the battle waged less stunningly by their ancestors and laughing behind her hand as the readers, unaware of their prior conditioning, read on.The final clue that this book must be all in good fun is the unfavorable mention of Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga. However, if Wheel of Fortune is a joke, it is a joke of high sophistication. I give it high marks for keeping me interested, exercising my vocabulary, dealing out the already-mentioned psychological insight, and presenting the narrative with adept strokes. Could it have ended earlier? Yes. But it is pure entertainment, and I think Howatch’s last laugh (with us, not at us) is getting her readers to stick through the dysfunction, tragedy, family obsessions, and hereditary twitches until the end—all while enjoying themselves. As for the “retelling,” I think that’s another way Howatch pretends the work is supposed to be serious. I would say that, wherever she found her inspiration, she made this story fully her own. I would even venture to say that the idea of this book being a “retelling” is irrelevant except as an unnecessary device to legitimize itself because it’s utterly unbelievable.
—Kerry

Sodomy, adultery, murder, robbery, madness, lust. That's how one of the characters describes his family's antics, and he ain't wrong.Set in the first half of the 20th century, but beautifully paralleling the lives of Edward III, the Black Prince, John of Gaunt, Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V, this is the story of the Godwins, masters of Oxmoon. Each generation is haunted by the sins of the fathers, each of them clinging to the mantra of 'I draw the line' in a desperate attempt to ward off their heavy ghosts. The book is split into six sections each narrated by a different character battling their own set of inner demons, but at its cataclysmic heart are Kester and Harry. Their bitter lifelong rivalry turns to obsession, twisting ever more sinister until their chilling games of cat-and-mouse finally become a horrifying reality where even victory can't bring release.A dark, destructive, delicious tale; I loved it!Thanks Jemidar for another crazy doorstopper of a buddy read :-)
—Anna

More like 4.5 stars.Very clever and detailed 'modern' interpretation of the lives of the English historical figures Edward (AKA The Black Prince), Joan (AKA The Fair Maid of Kent), John of Gaunt, Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. The cast come alive in this multi-generational saga that encompasses everything from scandal, lust, murder, sodomy, drunkenness, abuse, illegitimacy, jealously, madness and extortion spanning the years 1913 to 1966. I seriously loved how the author wove the historical facts into a riveting story which gave a great psychological and sympathetic insight into the characters. There were no heros or villains just people doing the best they could as the actions of earlier generations echoed down the years. Wonderfully salacious, and satisfyingly dark & dysfunctional.Another great chunkster buddy read with my good friend Anna :-).
—Jemidar

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