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One Time, I Saw Morning Come Home
Book by Clair huffaker
295 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
61 people want to read
About the author
Clair Huffaker
29 books21 followersClair Huffaker was a U.S. author of westerns and other fiction, many of which were turned into films. His screenplays included such films as "Flaming Star" (1960), "The Commancheros" (1961), "Rio Conchos" (1964), and "The War Wagon" (1967). His TV scripts showed up on "The Virginian", "Lawman" and "Bonanza". Clair wrote screenplays for 3 Euro-westerns, "100 Rifles" (1969), "The Deserter" (1971), "Chino" (1973) and was thanked along with Sergio Corbucci in the 1995 film "Jonathan of the Bears" (1995).
He was married to Norma Lee Fink, a legendary attorney. Their daughter is Samantha C. Kirkeby, a prominent script supervisor who has worked on scores of big pictures including the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy and “3000 miles to Graceland”.
He was married to Norma Lee Fink, a legendary attorney. Their daughter is Samantha C. Kirkeby, a prominent script supervisor who has worked on scores of big pictures including the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy and “3000 miles to Graceland”.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 15, 2019
10 stars, if I possibly could.
Orlean and Clair are 16 years old when they meet for the first time in their small Mormon town in Utah a couple of years before 1929. Clair has just come back after many, many years, and Orlean hasn't really been in public since her parents died a year ago, one after the other. Orlean is quiet and shy and devout; Clair is brash and outgoing and doesn't really believe in religion, but there is something about the other person that draws them in.
They marry when they are seventeen, and have many good years, and some not so good years, but through it all, they love each other and their family.
Let me preface my review by saying that I will never be able to be unbiased about this book.
This is one that I think EVERYONE should read. The writing is simple, direct, and every word written is needed to tell the story. This is and is not a romance. Romances tend to end at the HEA, and this doesn't. It follows Orlean and Clair and their story to the end of their lives. (All right, so it might be a love story rather than a romance, but there is definitely a LOT of romance in the story.) And the best thing about it? It's a true story. Orlean and Clair were real people, and the story is written by their son.
When I'm reading a fictional story, the highest praise that I can give about the characters and the writing of them is that they seem real. With non-fiction, I think it's the opposite. If I can forget, while I'm reading, that this is a real story based on real people and real events and just...fall into the story and the characters, that makes the experience for me. I've read "One Time I Saw Morning Come Home" 4 or 5 times now, and every time, once I'm done reading, I'm surprised to see the name of one of the main characters, Clair Huffaker (he was named after his father), on the front cover.
There is just something about the writing and the story telling ability of the author that draws me in. (And it's not just this book. Clair Huffaker also wrote westerns, and they are definitely several cuts above the usual westerns in characterization and the moral issues that the characters face.) There is almost a magic in the writing, and the fact that for awhile, I can dance with Clair and Orlean to their song: You'll Take Me Home AgainKathleen Orlean.
Orlean and Clair are 16 years old when they meet for the first time in their small Mormon town in Utah a couple of years before 1929. Clair has just come back after many, many years, and Orlean hasn't really been in public since her parents died a year ago, one after the other. Orlean is quiet and shy and devout; Clair is brash and outgoing and doesn't really believe in religion, but there is something about the other person that draws them in.
They marry when they are seventeen, and have many good years, and some not so good years, but through it all, they love each other and their family.
Let me preface my review by saying that I will never be able to be unbiased about this book.
This is one that I think EVERYONE should read. The writing is simple, direct, and every word written is needed to tell the story. This is and is not a romance. Romances tend to end at the HEA, and this doesn't. It follows Orlean and Clair and their story to the end of their lives. (All right, so it might be a love story rather than a romance, but there is definitely a LOT of romance in the story.) And the best thing about it? It's a true story. Orlean and Clair were real people, and the story is written by their son.
When I'm reading a fictional story, the highest praise that I can give about the characters and the writing of them is that they seem real. With non-fiction, I think it's the opposite. If I can forget, while I'm reading, that this is a real story based on real people and real events and just...fall into the story and the characters, that makes the experience for me. I've read "One Time I Saw Morning Come Home" 4 or 5 times now, and every time, once I'm done reading, I'm surprised to see the name of one of the main characters, Clair Huffaker (he was named after his father), on the front cover.
There is just something about the writing and the story telling ability of the author that draws me in. (And it's not just this book. Clair Huffaker also wrote westerns, and they are definitely several cuts above the usual westerns in characterization and the moral issues that the characters face.) There is almost a magic in the writing, and the fact that for awhile, I can dance with Clair and Orlean to their song: You'll Take Me Home Again
September 28, 2023
I had to give this one 4 stars because it was set in my home town of Magna, Utah! :) And I actually read it with my eyes (although it took me forever)!
A super nostalgic look back at life in the small mining town of Magna, Utah beginning in the early 1900's. I kept looking for the names and locations of my relatives and even though I didn't find them it gave me a sense of what they must have lived through during the same time period. Loved Clair and Olean Huffaker and determination and grit to make a life for themselves and their children.
A super nostalgic look back at life in the small mining town of Magna, Utah beginning in the early 1900's. I kept looking for the names and locations of my relatives and even though I didn't find them it gave me a sense of what they must have lived through during the same time period. Loved Clair and Olean Huffaker and determination and grit to make a life for themselves and their children.
August 18, 2020
This book took place before my time but my husband grew up in the town of Magna, Utah. He remembers many things that are written about. I went to Jr. and Sr. High School in Magna and also have memories of some things. It was interesting to see it from the author’s perspective and the main character is based on his father, even though this is not an autobiography.
January 8, 2019
A lovely memoir of the early years of a marriage.
May 24, 2020
Huffaker is a master story-teller and this is one of his best!
The story takes place in Magna, Utah and is set in the 20's. This is a tender and wonderful story.
The story takes place in Magna, Utah and is set in the 20's. This is a tender and wonderful story.
May 16, 2013
Interestingly enough, I almost didn't finish this book, and I'm so glad I did. When I began reading it, I feared it would be a "Grease" kind of thing--good girl meets bad boy, lowers her perspective to match his, etc. This is vastly different from that, and the ending is beautifully written, and not at all Grease-like.
The author has created a somewhat fictionalized account of his parents' lives in a Utah mining town prior to, during, and after the Great Depression. You see up close the clash between the Mormon culture and the mining culture of the community. This book will appeal to the romantic, the historian, and the social scientist all at once, and you'll marvel at this family's resilience and the reality that a true, lasting love is not extinguished by circumstances and tragedies. These characters will stay with you long after you've closed the back cover. If there's anything wrong with this book, it is that the dialogue feels a bit forced and wobbly in a spot or two, but it may indeed accurately reflect how the author's parents spoke.
Essentially, it's the story of a young, devout Mormon girl who falls hard for the nonmormon kid who delivers groceries to her family. They ultimately marry, and she learns from him about the wilder side of Salt Lake City during prohibition; he learns from her the ability to love more deeply and feel things on a more spiritual level.
There's some profanity here, but not enough to be jarring or distracting. This is essentially a family history that has been slightly stylized and is written in a compelling writing style. Even the title left me intrigued and interested in the rest of the book.
The author has created a somewhat fictionalized account of his parents' lives in a Utah mining town prior to, during, and after the Great Depression. You see up close the clash between the Mormon culture and the mining culture of the community. This book will appeal to the romantic, the historian, and the social scientist all at once, and you'll marvel at this family's resilience and the reality that a true, lasting love is not extinguished by circumstances and tragedies. These characters will stay with you long after you've closed the back cover. If there's anything wrong with this book, it is that the dialogue feels a bit forced and wobbly in a spot or two, but it may indeed accurately reflect how the author's parents spoke.
Essentially, it's the story of a young, devout Mormon girl who falls hard for the nonmormon kid who delivers groceries to her family. They ultimately marry, and she learns from him about the wilder side of Salt Lake City during prohibition; he learns from her the ability to love more deeply and feel things on a more spiritual level.
There's some profanity here, but not enough to be jarring or distracting. This is essentially a family history that has been slightly stylized and is written in a compelling writing style. Even the title left me intrigued and interested in the rest of the book.
August 14, 2014
The book traces the relationship of the author's parents from the time they first meet until they pass away.
This is a simple story filled with love and tenderness, but also humor and a bit of heartbreak. the writing is just beautiful and, by books' end, I came to care deeply about the warm and wonderful people who populate its pages. It is sentimental without ever becoming sappy which is one of the reasons it works so well.
some knowledge of the Mormon faith might be helpful since Huffaker uses some terms and speaks of a few things most of us would not know. even if you don't have any background at all with Mormonism though, this book is a great read and will renew your faith in humanity.
This is a simple story filled with love and tenderness, but also humor and a bit of heartbreak. the writing is just beautiful and, by books' end, I came to care deeply about the warm and wonderful people who populate its pages. It is sentimental without ever becoming sappy which is one of the reasons it works so well.
some knowledge of the Mormon faith might be helpful since Huffaker uses some terms and speaks of a few things most of us would not know. even if you don't have any background at all with Mormonism though, this book is a great read and will renew your faith in humanity.
February 4, 2010
This is the fictionalized story of the author's parents. They meet as teenagers - Orlean's parents have died and she's living with her two sisters and her older sister's husband. Clair set out on his own after his mother rejected him as a child and his father stood silently by. The book tells of Orlean and Clair's courtship and throughout their marriage how they manage the tragedies and joys of life with grace and humor. If there was anything I didn't like about the book, it was that each character is either wonderful or horrible, there's no in between.
April 10, 2010
Biography of the authors parents. A love story where the main characters are noble and good--maybe a little too good to be believed. But they did live though some amazing ordeals and times, not always good, but they always came out on the other side stronger for it. It is a wish of mine that everyone could have a love like Clair and Orlean!
June 23, 2025
Knocking a star off my original rating. Read as an adult, it just didn't hold up perfectly. Their relationship was just a little too romanticized/ they were made to seem a little too perfect... It just needed to be a tiny bit more realistically written. Still sweet, though.
September 11, 2011
I picked this book up at a book sale the library was having it was in a pile of westerns. I was maybe 17. It took me a few years to read but the story has stayed with me for almost 20 years now. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
November 5, 2011
well the cowboy and the cossack by huffaker is still one of my very favourite books of all time. this one still had good characters but the story line itself doesn't compete with the cowboy and the cossack.
June 25, 2013
I read this book when it first came out in the late 70's. I am putting it in my favorites list because I loved it so much at the time. If I read it today I most likely would not love it as much as my teenage self, but it meant so much it should be in this list.
July 31, 2014
I read this book in college and LOVED it. I found a copy so I could re-read it. Big mistake. The same magic of Clair and Orleans true love wasn't there for me as it was years ago. Some things are best remembered in the past.
December 11, 2012
Takes place in Magna Utah.
August 14, 2010
A moving family saga of a Mormon family -portrays the Mormons in a positive light. It's a beautiful book.
May 26, 2017
I liked this story! It's out of print and hard to find, but if you can find it I recommend it.
November 18, 2013
Second time I read this book; forgot how good it was. Takes you back to another place and time.
June 13, 2015
My friend reviewed this book at our May club meeting. I enjoyed it so much that I had to read it, too. I highly recommend it - thanks, M!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews