Matters of Chance

by Jeannette Haien

Matters of Chance is a glorious, captivating novel about Morgan and Maude Shurtliff, who fall in love and marry in the years before World War II. Unable to have children of their own, Morgan and Maude adopt twin girls. The four go home to their beautiful house in the country outside of New York City and begin to settle into what they hope will be a long and happy life. When the twins are still young, Morgan is called to serve in World War II, leaving Maude to raise her daughters alone. Jeannette Haien has rendered Morgan's war experiences with astonishing detail, just as she has captured the American post-war era with a precision that is unrivaled in recent fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, World War II

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

After more than thirty-five years as a professional concert pianist and music teacher, Jeannette Haien, in her 60s, began her second career as a novelist. Her first novel, The All of It, published in 1986, garnered the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the Academy of Arts and Letters.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, to a Dutch immigrant-industrialist father and a violinist mother, she received a bachelor's degree in English and a masters degree in music from the University of Michigan.

Jeannette performed extensively as a pianist throughout the Midwest before and immediately after her 1948 marriage to Ernest Ballard. In 1950, the Ballards moved to New York City, from then on their permanent home. Pursuing her professional career under her maiden name, Jeannette Haien taught piano privately and, subsequently, as a member of the piano faculty of Mannes College of Music (1969-1991). She toured biennially with the cultural outreach programs of the United States Information Agency in Europe, Asia and Central America throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Reviews

[Carol Hartman Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, firstly I am amazed by the wildly differing reviews. Yes, this is about people who happen to be well endowed financially, but not at all about the making of money. Mainly it is about strong interesting characters who make moral decisions and experience the gamut of life stories - fear, loneliness, bad choices, good choices, loss, and grateful bliss.
I did skip along when it got too technical about his lawyerly career, but went right along with main character Morgan as he lived his life found love and did the right thing along the way. No politics, no crashes, disasters, etc. Just the course of a life that includes luck for sure, privilege but not squander, sacrifice, kindness, triumph. Fantastic characters that linger. description of WW2 terror are the most real and personal that I have encountered from a seaman's point of view.
And despite being a novel of the fifties there is little that chafes and much that is admirable in that no one is murdered, raped, attacked. These characters are morally sturdy in a civilization they can count on and who spend time in sensitive friendship with each other to create a warm community of support in each others lives.

[Diane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Expectations are dangerous when it comes to books. I loved "The All of It" by Haien and was looking forward to reading this one. It is awful and the awfulness is made worse because I expected it to be good.

The book is so incredibly trite that I can hardly believe I read it all the way through. I hate rich people, but rich people who buy their moral obligations and exhibit no sign of growth and live up to every stereotype possible and are still "nice" are particularly hateful.

Worst of all, this made me question her other delightful little book. That one is set in Ireland and now I wonder if it is just as full of trite stereotypes but I just didn't get them. Perhaps an Irish reader would hate the stereotype of the rural worker and the Catholic priest and the fishing scenes. At least the priest exhibits some personal enlightenment and growth.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a soap-fest! The only part I enjoyed was the ruminative telling of the men surviving the torpedo sinking of their ship. After reading the rest of this schlocky tale of implausible ease of life, I wished the author had just written a novella from an expansion of the WWII Naval experiences.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I lost interest in the characters and the story, but I was determined to give it a chance and finish it! Definitely not a re-read for me.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the long, languid story of a man, Morgan, and his family in the mid-1900s. It is slow-moving but rich in detail and character development. The story winds through the meeting of Morgan and his wife, Maud, and then into and beyond Morgan's service in WWII and into the 1960s. There were some exciting wartime events in Morgan's otherwise generally fortunate and happy life. After WWII, not much happens in the story of this man's rather ordinary life.

Interestingly, this is yet another book I've read involving twins. In this case, the twins are identical girls adopted by Morgan and his wife. Twins appear to be a trope much enjoyed by a number of writers. I admit that I certainly enjoy my own twins and don't really mind reading about the twins of others.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Language-wise, I really savored this book and took my time. The characters are gentle, and gentle with each other, and I enjoyed spending time with them. This isn't a hugely plot-driven novel, but rather the story of a man - husband, father, Naval office (briefly - WWII), attorney - and his family. The drama is kept to a minimum, with the focus being on the language and the characters. Not a suggested book to those who need things to Move Along Already, which, admittedly is more my usual speed, but with this carefully written (and wordy) novel, it was pleasant to slow down a bit and just enjoy it.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read and loved Haien's novella so gave this book a try. Ugh. There's zero conflict and zero growth in the book, just a meandering recounting of a wealthy man's life. He starts the book as a decent guy and ends the book the exact same person. It's pretty telling that I couldn't picture any of the characters in the book because they're all so bland and such "types" that nothing really sticks. What a disappointment.

[Linda Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different read

This is indeed a "stately read". Enormously descriptive, lots of fine!y developed characters, and an engrossing story of a time and people very different from today's modern fiction. I have never looked up so many words in a single read. My only dislike was the extravagant usage of adjectives and adverbs combined with the scarcity of periods! The story made it worthwhile for me. Q

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this long ago, but it stayed with me as a well-written book about lives well-lived. It follows a couple before and after WW II, and the way everyone at the time accepted and dealt with the sacrifices required -- all without excess drama or crises. A good lesson and model that should not be forgotten\.

[Chris W · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful book, a long leisurely stroll through a time marked by opulence, opportunity, chance. It’s an apple orchard of a book - sweet, contained, restrained, beautifully crafted, gentle. Character driven with a tender, gentle tension that keeps the pages turning just like The All of It but much more subtly. Love this book. Don’t miss it.

[Xena! · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a long book spanning much of one man's lifetime. The man is wealthy, and while ethical and hard-working, also seems lucky at every turn. Thus, he does not seem the most compelling of characters for a novel. Nonetheless, the book held my interest throughout. It is well written and smart in many ways. It is certainly a period piece, but one that kept me fascinated.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I love this. I’m amazed at this author’s skill at writing characters that feel so incredibly human, so profoundly real. Worth reading over and over to marvel at her ability with language, nuance, and tenderness.

[Cynthia J · Rating 2 out of 5]

So exquisitely mannered. Such refined tastes and modesty. Such Jaguars and Mercedes and first class cabins on Cunard. Stands to reason they'd be so accomplished and admirable as human beings. And so kind to their help...they were almost like family. Blah.

[Jean Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Matters of Chance” is a beautifully written elegant novel. I love it. “Haien's clarity of vision, along with her humane and generous view of character, illuminates this beautiful story of marital love and moral behavior.”

[Senlin Ward]

Wonderful, wonderful saga -

[I Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can wholeheartedly recommend Matters of Chance to anyone who like historicalfiction and drama novels.

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

An OK story but she really could have used a good editor. Parts of the book went on and on with unnecessary, boring details.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning

[Lbball27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing. The story a bit drawn out, but worth the read.

[Dixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Slow moving, but well written with interesting characters.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is wonderfully ‘reticent’, as are the characters themselves, but the storyline is weak. Charmed and privileged are the lives peopled in this novel.

[Sherri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it well into 200 pages but the story just petered out. I could not get motivated to see what, if anything, was going to happen. Life is to short and my to read list is to long so I gave up.

[Saire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd have given it 5 stars if (hm, no spoilers) something hadn't made me upset, but that was on me; a really fabulous book, beautifully written, wonderfully drawn characters...really reflects how much of life is mainly made up of...matters of chance.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, timeless love story . Or really, a series of romances. I was really surprised to discover that this came out in 1997--it has the feel of a much older story. Character development is superb.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished last night...it's a sophisticated, old world kind of book. Jeannette Haien is masterful - between The All of It and this book, one might think they are very different, and they are in many ways, but her character development is wonderful.

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long saga of an affluent family. Some moments were enjoyable including the WWII years. Some of it was tedious.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonder family saga that goes from 1940s to 1960s.

[Carole]

I am reading this book because of having read and enjoyed "The All of It" (A delightful Irish tale). So far this book is a good read about World War II and very likable, decent people.

[Ruthie · Rating 5 out of 5]

late and great personal friend; loved loved this book

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is nicely written, but a bit slow. I didn't find a lot to love about the characters either.