Fortune's Hand

by Belva Plain

In this remarkable new novel, Belva Plain creates a brilliant portrayal of a man's descent from idealistic beginnings into a world of dishonesty and greed --- and of the two women who love him. Robb MacDaniel, a schoolteacher with noble intentions, comes into a little money, enabling him to go to law school. Upon graduation, he goes to work for a fine, honorable firm, and marries the daughter of the senior partner, leaving behind the hometown girl he had planned to wed. From then on his career brings enormous successes but then takes a shocking turn that changes his life, the life of his family, and reverberates into the next generation.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Novels, Chick Lit, Ebooks, Contemporary Romance, Family

356 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Belva Plain was a best-selling American author of mainstream women's fiction. Her first novel, Evergreen (1978) topped the New York Times bestseller list for 41 weeks and was made into a TV miniseries. At her death, there were over 30 million copies of her twenty-plus novels in print in 22 languages.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robb McDaniel was living the very definition of an idyllic life: the type of privileged and charmed existence of which so many were truly envious. He was an idealistic young teacher, full of vibrant hopes and dreams and determined to shape the young minds of the future in the best way possible. He was blissfully happy to be engaged to his high school sweetheart, and together, this charmed couple were planning for the future. Yes, Robb McDaniel was truly blessed and thankful for everything he had in life: until he wanted something more.

Upon receiving a sudden windfall, money that is tragically earned, Robb is offered the chance to live a different sort of life. He is offered the opportunity of going to law school and of pursuing a brilliant career. Yet nothing in Robb McDaniel's life could possibly have prepared him for the price of a dream come true.

A job with a prestigious law firm. Marriage to the boss' daughter. A wonderful family. A splendid home. In fact, Robb had everything that he could possibly want, and more besides. All the offers and prominence he just couldn't refuse. Truly, Robb McDaniel was living a life of great success, greater hunger, greatest shame...

In her latest novel, best-selling author Belva Plain creates a riveting and compelling portrait of a man who had everything - and of the women who loved him. With a profound insight, she explores the power of temptation, betrayal, and greed - and the ultimately redeeming gift of love. This is a story of great complexity and heart-aching poignancy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. In my opinion, Belva Plain was a terrific author, and she really did a tremendous job of capturing the various nuances and complexities of her characters' relationships and weaving them all into an emotional and intriguing story. I've always enjoyed reading books about families and their sometimes troubled and dysfunctional relationships. I would give this book a definite A+!

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read Belva Plain for quite a while and was pleased to discover this book at the library. As I read I could easily see the problems the various characters were bringing upon themselves. "Oh what tangled webs we weave...." Money, greed, temptation and shame all play big parts in the lives of these people. I enjoyed the book & it was a fast read, even for me.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an excellent book showing how greed can ruin a person. This was about a good man who lets money rule his love life and his home life. Sad but true about many people. Very believable characters and story line. Good and well written!!

[Arwen56 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Beh, il protagonista avrà anche avuto un colpo di fortuna, ma il problema è che, nel 2003, io ho invece avuto il colpo di sfiga di acquistare il romanzo.

:-(

[Virginia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted a mindless book to read while on vacation and this fit the bill. I must say her writing left me with NO sympathy for main character.

[Meredith Michaels · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully written book of course, you do expect that from this author. She's definitely in a class by herself. Unlike some people I don't get hung up on whether or not characters are necessarily likable as long as they're real. These characters were real. I found that Ellen was kind of dull. I would have liked to have seen her character fleshed out a little bit more, but maybe she was dull. Lol. But the storytelling was wonderful and I like how the author referred to them having the disabled child in a realistic light. Not everyone can be a little Pollyanna of sweetness and Light when their child is born severely disabled and I think parents have too much pressure these days on that. Almost as if they have to act like it's a wonderful thing if their child will never think past the age of four. Of course the parent isn't happy that that happened to their child. Why would they be? It doesn't mean they love them any less, but in this book it was refreshing to see people acting the way they probably would act instead of acting politically correct. Very shocking ending to this that I didn't see coming. But in hindsight now I see it. Definitely a five-star read.

[Mad Leon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a shallow, monotonous book. The characters are not likable, selfish and completely dull. The book centers on Robb who dumps his first love and marries Ellen. The only thing that happens in the first 200 pages is that the couple has a special needs child. Their attitudes indicate they are ashamed of the boy, and they make only half-hearted efforts to get him any help. Reading between the lines, their son Penn, has ruined their lives and changed everything. The plot bogs down for years, ho hum. Robb is ambitious and wants to get ahead while Ellen wants to live in the past and never change at all. Eventually Robb's debts lead to diasaster, at least for him. There seems to be the message that ambition leads to corruption and then to unhappiness and defeat. Ellen conversely is painted as the long suffering wife who doesn't want a new car, country club memberships, a house, or jewelry... it is all just so 'beneath' her. Gack. A depressing book, don't bother with it.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belva Plain has a knack of pulling you in the then shock you repeatedly. In this particular book she brought back all of the emotions of Hunters diagnosis, life difficulties, and fears of how things will be for him. Makes you wonder where she pulls this knowledge from. Definately a must read in my opinion.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again Belva Plain weaves a story, which I couldn't put down .

[RainLady777 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very compelling book! It's about real people instead of cookie-cutter characters. Rob has plans to become a teacher, but those plans change and he goes off to law school, leaving his childhood sweetheart behind thinking that he will be back to marry her. Naturally… He meets someone else and for a few minutes there's a love triangle, but he does the right thing and goes back to his hometown and breaks it off with his childhood sweetheart, who does not take it well. But what I like about it is that this author doesn't make one person the bad guy and another person the good guy, she shows all sides of it. Because those things do happen, or someone falls out of love with someone but doesn't want to hurt that person, yet they want to go and have another life with the new person they found without feeling guilty. She did this in an excellent way! *******Semi-spoiler alert!!****And then Rob had a developmentally delayed child with his new wife and her father rejects the child! I wish that Ellen had done more to stand up to her father and defend Rob and the child (Her father blamed Rob for the child being born retarded.) ANYWAY, Rob gets sucked into a life of money and glitz, and this wears on his relationship with Ellen. However, both of them did EVERYTHING they could to help their special needs child. The ending is sad, but realistic, and I think that's what Belva Plain does best!

[Colleen Whale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this was a very good, well-written book. It's the first book I've read by Belva Plain, and I think I'll read more. I like her style a lot. I can't write too much without spoiling things, but I really enjoyed this. I love how each chapter was a new year, or a couple years later, and you just read how Robb changes every so slightly each year. It's interesting to think how different his life would be if his parents hadn't died in that accident. The tipping point for his whole life, really. Everything changed that day for him, choices were made, again and again, all throughout this book and his life. And that last chapter. Wow! I wasn't expecting that tidbit of truth at all. Crazy! The only thing I had a hard time swallowing was the constant use of the R-Word. I know this takes places in the 80s and 90s and back then, the R-Word didn't have the same connotations as it does now, but it was just hard to see all the time.

[Joelle White · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What fortune is behind it all? Where is the first fork in Every-man's road, the one where the choice leads on to the next choice, and so on until the inevitable end?” Belva Plain takes you through the life of Rob MacDaniel, as his life complicates through the forks in the road and the decisions he makes.
Like so many of us, Rob dares to explore the “what if”s. What if I hadn’t done this, what if that never happened. Take a look inside the human mind as it navigates regret, guilt, joy, and sorrow.
Fortune’s Hand is a beautifully raw and relatable story that will leave you reconsidering what is really important in life. To end with a quote from the final page - “How was one to make sense of it all? Except to say that in the end, after the mistakes, the turmoil, the triumphs, the joys, if you are left with love, you are left with everything”.

[Cindy Kirkland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected this to be better than it was. The characters are completely unlikable, the story is predictable and too long in that it took over 300 pages to get to the end when it did not need to happen that way. Robb wants a grand life, he overextends himself to the dismay of his wife Ellen and finds he cannot pay his bills, well who hasn't been there, right? He is selfish and totally engrossed in who is who and how can I be like them. He is a terrible person. Ellen is your perfect little wife. They have 2 kids, Julie is top, while Penn is a special needs child. They go out of their way to either make him seem "normal" or to hide him. Pathetic. Like I said, the end it predicatable. It was NOT a pleasure to read. Made me not want to read anymore Belva Plain.

[Chris Cary Harder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written…..very slow at times…..but an interesting story of a man living in a small farming community in the south whose life is changed when his parents die in an auto accident and the insurance adjuster recommends law school as part of the settlement.

What ensues is a young man whose life is changed from a small town teacher to a very successful lawyer and along the way he has to make a decision between his college girlfriend and his law school sweetheart. What follows is his life centered around his wife, their children, his law career , and eventually wealth…. and victims of wealth and greed.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling novel about a young man who was engaged to his high school sweetheart. Upon falling into an unexpected windfall he changes his course of education and pursues a career in law. Landing a job with a prominent law firm he meets the boss's daughter and becomes involved with her and consequently marriage follows. Great success, betrayal and greed follow and the result is devastating when personal choice and human weakness overrides all else in life.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compelling story… written well as one would expect of the great Belva Plain. The characters seemed like people we all know. I found that reading this story was like watching a slow-moving train wreck. The reader early on begins to believe things would not end well. But not so fast… there are twists and turns and the ending is quite satisfying and sort of sweet. Anyone who reads this book will be fortunate to have done so.

[Anna Maynard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The love of money

As with all the books by Belva Plain you become hooked on the first page. It begins as a love story ..... The couple are so much in love and planning their wedding. They are dirt poor but believe that their love for each other will see them through the hard times. Then money and greed enters their lives and the world changes.

[Linda Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Belva Plain’s books. The book pretty well covers the direction life goes with the decisions we make. I did not care for the ending since I liked the main character In spite of his flaws. The ending was plausible and interesting. I am sure there are more people like these characters than we realize.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating tale of a family full of secrets, lies, and misunderstandings. Then again, aren't these the things that make up a lot of drama in our lives? I felt empathy for the characters and wanted them to succeed. I read her books years ago and remember enjoying all of them. A fine way to spend a rainy afternoon without any internet.

[Rosemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragedy and love

I liked this one less than some by the author. It was a heartbreaking story of lost and found, with potential to unfold in the people we know. Plain is an amazing storyteller.

[Sandra Eyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would recommend this book

I found this story to be thought provoking and I found it very difficult to put down. I found it sad that lies we tell can effect others generations later in ways we could never guess. I would recommend this book.

[Renate Engelbrecht koning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by one of my favourite authors ... Belva Plain. Belva really knew how to write ... not one dull moment but packed full of a family and their dreams and fears. .... and failures .... The saying so true ,, in the Bible .. the love of money is the root of all evil...

[Ranette · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the death of his parents he goes to college forgetting all about the sweetfheart he left at home. The had a relationship for 8 years and he chooses someone else. While she is broken hearted, his life changes, not necessarily for the best.

[fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

a ver, la idea y el concepto están buenos, no es un mal libro. pero es bastante gede en muchas cosas, muy repetitivo en cosas q no son tan importantes para la trama y a veces por explicar mas todo eso se pierde mucho el eje central.
pero para haber empezado el año con este re bien

[Katy Henning · Rating 3 out of 5]

great start of the book then weak middle that lasted too long and the shortest ending ever... the ending felt awkward and rushed like the author was running out of time....

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

"How does one to make sense out of it all? Except to say that in the end, after the mistakes, the turmoil, the triuphs, and the joys, if you are left with love, you are left with everything."

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reading exploring how the pursuit of success may have some unplanned costs.

[Veronica Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good up-and-down story by Plain. (8.0)

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

this started out nice, but dragged on and later became meaningless.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my own reminder-- good read. Not the ending I expected.