Herbert Rowbarge

by Natalie Babbitt

Herbert Rowbarge, who does not realize he has a twin brother, becomes so obsessed with twins that he creates a merry-go-round with all of its animals in identical pairs

Genres: Fiction

216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Natalie Zane Babbitt was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Her 1975 novel, Tuck Everlasting, was adapted into two feature films and a Broadway musical. She received the Newbery Honor and Christopher Award, and was the U.S. nominee for the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1982.

Reviews

[Jeff LaFerney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a middle school English teacher and I've read four other Babbitt titles for middle grade kids and enjoyed them all. Then I ran across Herbert Rowbarge at a library book sale and picked it up thinking it was another kids' book. It wasn't. I read it and was enthralled. I am a big fan of John Irving and how he tells a story, weaving sub-plot after sub-plot, character after character, and sometimes years and years of time into a magical story that is as unforgettable as it is unpredictable. Let me just say that this story is just as good, maybe better. It's shorter and moves along faster, which might just be the reason I loved it more, but it is just as well-told, just as well-created, and just as fascinating as anything John Irving has ever done. I absolutely loved this book and when I noticed it again today on my bookshelf, I went to Amazon and Goodreads expecting to see hundreds of awesome reviews. Where are they? People, you need to read this book. It's a book for the ages--one that you'll never forget and never regret reading. Natalie Babbitt, you are a brilliant author, and I loved this book. I've heard it's your favorite, and it should be. It should be everyone else's too.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This strange book has stuck with me for about twenty years, thought I don't precisely "like" it. It's a character study of an unlikeable man, the titular Herbert Rowbarge, who grows up in an orphanage and determines to make something of himself. He's incapable of being happy, in part because of his ambition, and in part because he's been emotionally crippled at birth, and doesn't know it. He is an identical twin, but his brother was adopted at birth and grew up in a loving home. Herbert hates mirrors, and doesn't know why, and has a near-horror of his identical twin daughters, who are so close they are practically the same person. Apparently Babbitt has said this is her favorite book, and it's certainly well-written (I can remember whole scenes, dialogue, and descriptions even after all these years), but Herbert is certainly not lovable, and the story is about the characters, there is little action.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5* Strange. I didn't like even one of the characters, the story was almost dull, BUT! I absolutely had to read to the end. Because from the very first page one fact is clear, and that fact is so compelling because no one in the book knows it, even though it effects and drives all of their fates (to varying degrees). I simply had to read to the end to see if anyone would find out, and how it would explain things in their lives. I was not disappointed. What a strange book!

[Bobby Keniston · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Love in abundance was given him three times in his life: by his only friend, Dick Festeen; by his wife, Ruby; and by his twin daughters, Babe and Louisa. To none of these did he give his own love back. He couldn't."

So the Foreward of "Herbert Rowbarge" by Natalie Babbitt tells the reader about its title character.

I bought this book from a 10 cent library book sale--- it has the Middle School's name I attended stamped on the inside, hardly any wear. I recognized the name Natalie Babbitt from her excellent, classic tale, "Tuck Everlasting," so picked this up. Only 10 cents, right? It has sat on my bookshelf for longer than I know.

I only give this backstory to make it clear how little I knew of the book before I began to read it. There isn't even a synopsis on the back cover, only blurbs from people extolling the book's virtues, and hoping that adults find and read this book that has been marketed for children.

I have been impressed all throughout this short, but oh-so-rich novel. And I agree that this is not a novel that should be for children--- not that middle grade readers and high school students can't read and discuss it--- but this is a novel that is very suitable, and probably has lessons best received by adults.

As the aforementioned quote makes clear, there is no room for love in Herbert Rowbarge's heart for anyone. He often feels he has only half a heart, something probably which can be attributed to the fact that he IS missing something: when he was born, to a woman who was most likely a prostitute, he had a twin brother that he cleaved to for the early days and weeks and months of his life. In the Home where he was taken, his twin brother was "acquired" (there were no papers signed), and Herbert, not understanding why, has felt a lack ever since.

The story is told in alternating chapters, following Herbert's twin daughters Babe and Louisa in the "present" day of the story (1952), and then in chapters describing Herbert growing up, and all of the people who love him that he takes advantage of in his quest to set up an amusement park-- He was entranced by and Merry Go 'Round as a child, because of the pairs of animals that travel round and round. Together. Not alone.

Herbert is a terribly unlikable character, and I applaud Babbitt for making him unlikable, as parts of his history have a kind of inherent sympathy attached to him. Herbert has many flashes of awareness that there is something wrong with him (he has strange encounters with mirrors that almost give him a clue that he is missing something inside of himself), though this awareness does nothing to make him any more sympathetic. For reasons he doesn't fully understand, he deeply resents his twin daughters for the crime of being so close to one another.

Babbitt's prose is excellent, and I highlighted a number of juicy sentences. As Anne Tyler says in her blurb on the book, Babbitt writes this like a legend, like folklore, which helps to draw a reader in. Babbitt explores deep themes of love, loss, family relationships, and human frailties and insecurities, while also painting an indictment of the "self-made" man and the American Dream. Because regardless of the wealth he accrues, the things he builds, the people he steps over---

He is not happy.

"Tuck Everlasting" is rightfully a classic. This novel should be, too. More people should read "Herbert Rowbarge." And yes, I mean adults, too.

This short, wonderful novel deserves a glowing grade of A.

Thanks for checking out my thoughts on "Herbert Rowbarge" by Natalie Babbitt. Happy Reading!

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual and forgotten title by the author of Tuck Everlasting. The problem with this book is that it really doesn't have an audience: it's not exactly right for kids, not exactly right for adults. It's also not fast-paced, and it doesn't have a happy ending. Honestly, I can see why this book went nowhere. But Babbitt has said it's her favorite book, and I loved it. It's about two sets of twins. The title character, Herbert Rowbarge, is one of the first set; separated at birth from a twin whose existence he is unaware of, he lives his life feeling incomplete and miserable, never knowing why. The other set are his daughters, who are inseparable; they are perfect companions, but grow up in the shadow of a father who is incapable of loving them. A fascinating psychological study of identity.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such great writing - clear and elegant. There's not a word out of place to tell the story of Herbert Rowbarge and his fascination with things that come in two's. The fascination doesn't extend to his twin daughters. In fact, he's not sure why he feels such a tingle of recognition at times when he sees his reflection, but readers do.

What an incredible tale - I'm not certain as to whether I would love The Rowbarge Pleasure Dome or not. What do you think?

[Tyler McGaughey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up from the bargain shelves outside Selected Works, intrigued by the rapturous blurbs from Anne Tyler and others. It reads like something John Irving could have written if he had any sense of pace, economy, or elegance; its mildly ironic detachment comes off as politely arch melancholy, rather than the sledgehammer smugness that mars something like Garp.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does not get the appreciation it deserves.

[Suzanne Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tragic tale of mans life that cuts back and forth between his upbringing and the current year (1952). He has lost the most important thing in his life but never realizes it and it haunts him forever.

[Cheryl]

on pbs wishlist

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this on inter-library loan when I read in Natalie Babbitt's obituary that Herbert Rowbarge, "about twins separated at birth," was her favorite of her own work, especially as “a story for women over 40."

I thought I would love a story about twins separated at birth - which is always fascinating, but Babbitt only tells us about the one psychologically twisted boy who is completely unaware of his identical twin brother from the moment he is given a shiny toy to distract him after they are separated, until his death, about an hour after he accidentally kills his twin in an auto accident.

The thoroughly unappealing boy becomes a manipulative, self-centered, heartless and motivated man who raises a peculiar pair of identical twin girls to be equally tweaked because they lack any love, caring, or attention from him.

None of the side characters give a reader anything to respect or even care about - and their cluelessness acted to enable Herbert Rowbarge's unpleasantness.

YET the writing is well-crafted and some descriptions of ordinary things are marvelously ludicrous. For example, Louisa, one of the adult twin daughters, while wrapping a present, reaches for the scissors, and notes that the wrapping paper "...curls back up again slyly. She thinks of the carpeting -- waiting, she knows, to do the same -- and gives it a suspicious glance, but it keeps all innocent and blue to the floor, muffling its intent.

"This fear of being squeezed to death by carpeting is unique to her -- Babe isn't bothered by it -- and seems to stem from a series of childhood nightmares having to do somehow with being born; this she has gleaned from reading, surreptitiously, Freud's Interpretation of Dreams. Louisa rather likes having a mild neurosis - especially the fact that it's unique..."

Just like that well-written set of paragraphs peters out, so does the entire book, with every character, scene, and incident feeling kind of weather-beaten, worn smooth, and slightly dusty, like the carpet on the back dashboard in old cars left parked in the sun every day for decades.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1983. I doubt this would be published today, despite Ms. Babbitt's wonderful prose and storytelling. It had a very old-fashioned feel. Basically a story of three adults, although it shows snippets of Herbert's entire life, from birth onward.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. Reminded me of how much I like Natalie Babbitt. So much so that I went to the library and got out 3 others by her that I've never read. Her prose is sparse and perfect. How she managed such a character study in such a small book is amazing.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this little seldom read volume while reading the Fiction shelves at CCHS. Thought it quite exceptional. The twin tale and the ironies therein. I liked it a lot.

[Jannah mohamed]

I thought the book was interesting how Herbert always felt something was missing. Like always liking how he like the pair of animals as if they were twins and also how he was afraid to look in the mirror. It was also how he hated his twins right when he saw them. It interesting to read how the book had the same symptoms. How they could feel each others pain.