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Ten North Frederick
Three generations of the Chapin family, prominent citizens of Gibbsville, Pennsylvania, struggle with the prides and passions in this epic saga of the American experience
408 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
143 people are currently reading
1752 people want to read
About the author
John O'Hara
226 books297 followersAmerican writer John Henry O'Hara contributed short stories to the New Yorker and wrote novels, such as
BUtterfield 8
(1935) and
Ten North Frederick
(1955).
Best-selling works of John Henry O'Hara include Appointment in Samarra . People particularly knew him for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue. O'Hara, a keen observer of social status and class differences, wrote frequently about the socially ambitious.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O&#...
Best-selling works of John Henry O'Hara include Appointment in Samarra . People particularly knew him for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue. O'Hara, a keen observer of social status and class differences, wrote frequently about the socially ambitious.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O&#...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
April 14, 2022
Ten North Frederick is an obituary of a novel… About the dead, either well or nothing… John O’Hara tells all…
A pillar of society is dead… The tale starts with the funeral…
There is a respectable and rich family: an honorable husband, his trustworthy wife, their daughter and son…
There is not much love lost between the mother and her children…
Joe – the dead hero – was his mummy’s baffled boy and he grew up a very ambitious man… Now he decides to grow truly big… And he goes into politics… They smile in your face and stab you in the back…
However the bigger he grows the emptier he becomes… He turns into a throwback… He destroys his children’s destinies turning them into losers… His entire life is wasted…
He wasn’t a villain… He was a nonentity…
All the social relationships are built on hypocrisy.
A pillar of society is dead… The tale starts with the funeral…
The daughter looked more like the mother. If it had been possible to re-create a younger and prettier version of the mother, and place her at graveside, she would have been the daughter. The daughter’s looks were a refinement of the mother’s, a refinement and a softening, so that the mouth, in the daughter, became inviting, the eyes were lively, the teeth were for whitening the smile. The daughter was smaller than the mother and, beside her, dainty. It was a commonplace comment in Gibbsville: “How can Ann look so much like her mother and still be pretty?” Ann was remarkable, too, for something else: she was the only person at the funeral who was weeping.
There is a respectable and rich family: an honorable husband, his trustworthy wife, their daughter and son…
There is not much love lost between the mother and her children…
“She has herself, and she’s been having herself for years and years. The one person she cared about. Made plans for. Regulated our lives for. You think of her as the dutiful, retiring wife of J. B. Chapin Senior? Some day I’ll tell you a thing or two about that. Do you know why the biggest day in Joseph B. Chapin’s life was his funeral? With all those big shots and so forth? Because she, his dutiful, retiring wife, kept him from being anything but what he ended up as. You don’t like her because she interfered with your life, and you saw her interfering with mine.”
Joe – the dead hero – was his mummy’s baffled boy and he grew up a very ambitious man… Now he decides to grow truly big… And he goes into politics… They smile in your face and stab you in the back…
“And you know he’s so gosh-darn respectable. And I like Joe.”
“Well, why shouldn’t you? I do too. He’s never done anything, good or bad, that I can see. Everything he is or has, he inherited. His good looks, his money, his name. The one thing he didn’t inherit I consider a handicap, but maybe that’s because I can hardly look at her, she’s that ugly.”
However the bigger he grows the emptier he becomes… He turns into a throwback… He destroys his children’s destinies turning them into losers… His entire life is wasted…
He wasn’t a villain… He was a nonentity…
“That’s the trouble with your notions. You deceive yourself.”
“Sometimes it’s better to deceive yourself.”
All the social relationships are built on hypocrisy.
April 26, 2019
Ten North Frederick by John O’Hara
There is here, in the biography of Joe Chapin, nothing that could not have been seen or heard by the people whose lives were touched by Joe Chapin’s life. Whatever he thought, whatever he felt has always been expressed to or through someone else, and the reader can judge for himself the truth of what the man told or did not tell.
Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction in 1956. Wow what a spectacular novel, another one for my six-star bookshelf. O’Hara is known as the truth-teller of the mid 20th century life of the upper middle class. His writing is sandwiched somewhere — both in the age he lived and the subject matter — between say Edith Wharton and John Updike. His characters are always drawn with clarity. They avoid speaking about the things most important and precious to them. I think this is the key to O’Hara’s realistic dialogue, its often what is not said.
The novel begins at the funeral in 1945 for the main character, Joe Chapin, a prominent lawyer in Gibbsville PA. We don’t know how Joe died but it appears to be heart related. Joe has a wife Edith, son Joe and daughter Anne. The rest of the book goes back in time and proceeds from Joe’s childhood, to his courtship with Edith, and then on through their lives. The novel eventually ends at Joe’s funeral and comes full circle. Joe does not fulfill many of his dreams but rather than being depressing it reads as being very real. There are no devilish plot twists in this book and most of the plot is telegraphed in advance. So in summary it’s a story about well drawn characters and of course the house at Ten North Frederick that anchored several generations of Chapins.
Illicit affairs figure prominently in this book which is typical of the O’Hara novels that I’ve read. While none of the characters, including Joe, are heroes by anyone’s measure they are not despicable either. I could not help but feel for each of the characters who were having the affairs — all people who would probably be well heeled guests at your dinner party.
Five stars. I also loved O’Hara’s first novel, Appointment in Samarra.
There is here, in the biography of Joe Chapin, nothing that could not have been seen or heard by the people whose lives were touched by Joe Chapin’s life. Whatever he thought, whatever he felt has always been expressed to or through someone else, and the reader can judge for himself the truth of what the man told or did not tell.
Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction in 1956. Wow what a spectacular novel, another one for my six-star bookshelf. O’Hara is known as the truth-teller of the mid 20th century life of the upper middle class. His writing is sandwiched somewhere — both in the age he lived and the subject matter — between say Edith Wharton and John Updike. His characters are always drawn with clarity. They avoid speaking about the things most important and precious to them. I think this is the key to O’Hara’s realistic dialogue, its often what is not said.
The novel begins at the funeral in 1945 for the main character, Joe Chapin, a prominent lawyer in Gibbsville PA. We don’t know how Joe died but it appears to be heart related. Joe has a wife Edith, son Joe and daughter Anne. The rest of the book goes back in time and proceeds from Joe’s childhood, to his courtship with Edith, and then on through their lives. The novel eventually ends at Joe’s funeral and comes full circle. Joe does not fulfill many of his dreams but rather than being depressing it reads as being very real. There are no devilish plot twists in this book and most of the plot is telegraphed in advance. So in summary it’s a story about well drawn characters and of course the house at Ten North Frederick that anchored several generations of Chapins.
Illicit affairs figure prominently in this book which is typical of the O’Hara novels that I’ve read. While none of the characters, including Joe, are heroes by anyone’s measure they are not despicable either. I could not help but feel for each of the characters who were having the affairs — all people who would probably be well heeled guests at your dinner party.
Five stars. I also loved O’Hara’s first novel, Appointment in Samarra.
January 8, 2013
I came to this novel having seen the 1957 film version and being intrigued with the film and wondering how faithful it was to the novel. I was surprised to find that the core of the film was not the main body of the novel, but only covered the final thirty pages or so. Yet this was no disappointment. I'd not read O'Hara before, but I will read more. This is a rather wonderful novel encompassing decades in the life of the central figure, Joe Chapin, a well-to-do Pennsylvania lawyer. The novel, told in one 390-page chapter and one 18-page one, skips around chronologically, but always fluidly, organically, as if the characters and time periods were taking turns with the story. It is filled with rich characters, some spectacular writing, and sometimes that writing reaches the level of magnificence. It is filled with insights into the wealthy of a middling-sized city in the first half of the twentieth century, and some of O'Hara's descriptions of political thought could have been written today. In the end, it made me care deeply about the sort of man one might not particularly care for. It is a real work of art, expressed with a wry poetry and an unblinking eye.
October 29, 2015
I finished 10 North Frederick (1956) this morning on the train to work, and I have mixed emotions about this novel. On the one hand, it is very much a John O'Hara plot with his penchant for sparkling colloquial dialog among its many characters. It is a novel set in his fictional Gibbsville, Pennsylvania, modeled after his own hometown of Pottsville. On the other hand, for a novel that was awarded the National Book Award in 1956 (my birth year), I felt that the primary protagonist, Joe Chapin, was really pretty one-dimensional; particularly for a fundamentally flawed individual who develops a desire to run for the presidency of the United States. In retrospect, it may well have been O'Hara's intent to portray Joe Chapin in this light, but I found myself throughout the novel to be much more interested in Joe's wife, Edith, and daughter, Ann, as well as several other characters.
Simply put, Joseph Benjamin Chapin was safe, maybe too safe. Very much a methodical and entirely predictable 'Felix Unger' type of character, who worked diligently his entire life to provide for his family and to keep his real feelings and emotions in check. The more I think about it this may be exactly the message that O'Hara is trying to convey through the novel that this behavior was dangerous and even unhealthy. He contrasts this with Joe's wife, Edith, who starts out as much like her husband and who is seemingly only interested in social climbing in the small Gibbsville society. Edith does begin to learn, over time, that life does need to be more fully experienced. But it is through Joe and Edith's daughter, Ann, that we see a fully fleshed out character that has a genuine and honest lust for Life. Ann, it seems to me, is the one that ends up teaching both of her parents the most about what life can be or should be about.
Frankly, after writing this review I am perhaps coming to realize that there might just be more to this novel than I initially thought, and that maybe I need to give it some more thought and another read sometime soon and see if there is more to the story and moral of Joe Chapin's life in John O'Hara's 10 North Frederick. For the time being, however, this novel gets 3.5 stars of 5.
Finally, it is becoming more interesting to me how novels are selected for various literary awards. For example, when looking at John O'Hara's prodigious output of fiction, I am mystified that novels like Appointment in Samarra, BUtterfield 8, A Rage to Live, From the Terrace, or even Elizabeth Appleton didn't receive any awards. In my humble opinion, each of these novels is arguably better than 10 North Frederick, but what do I know?
Simply put, Joseph Benjamin Chapin was safe, maybe too safe. Very much a methodical and entirely predictable 'Felix Unger' type of character, who worked diligently his entire life to provide for his family and to keep his real feelings and emotions in check. The more I think about it this may be exactly the message that O'Hara is trying to convey through the novel that this behavior was dangerous and even unhealthy. He contrasts this with Joe's wife, Edith, who starts out as much like her husband and who is seemingly only interested in social climbing in the small Gibbsville society. Edith does begin to learn, over time, that life does need to be more fully experienced. But it is through Joe and Edith's daughter, Ann, that we see a fully fleshed out character that has a genuine and honest lust for Life. Ann, it seems to me, is the one that ends up teaching both of her parents the most about what life can be or should be about.
Frankly, after writing this review I am perhaps coming to realize that there might just be more to this novel than I initially thought, and that maybe I need to give it some more thought and another read sometime soon and see if there is more to the story and moral of Joe Chapin's life in John O'Hara's 10 North Frederick. For the time being, however, this novel gets 3.5 stars of 5.
Finally, it is becoming more interesting to me how novels are selected for various literary awards. For example, when looking at John O'Hara's prodigious output of fiction, I am mystified that novels like Appointment in Samarra, BUtterfield 8, A Rage to Live, From the Terrace, or even Elizabeth Appleton didn't receive any awards. In my humble opinion, each of these novels is arguably better than 10 North Frederick, but what do I know?
April 11, 2025
Dopo la scoperta di Henry Roth, un grande autore del 900 americano, è stata la volta di un’altra scoperta: quella di John O’Hara. In realtà, O’Hara è poco conosciuto solo in Europa: negli Stati Uniti è considerato da tempo un grande autore classico, paragonato spesso a Fitzgerald e Yates.
“Un pugno di polvere” è la biografia di Joe Chapin, un avvocato di successo in una cittadina della Pennsylvania. Il romanzo si apre con il funerale di Joe, nel 1945, e ricostruisce, attraverso continui salti temporali e cambi di punti di vista, la vita di Joe a partire dalla sua infanzia.
Inutile dire che il romanzo è una denuncia della società alto borghese repubblicana della prima metà 900 degli Stati Uniti, una società conformista, anti-intellettuale e ipocrita.
Ma è anche, e forse soprattutto, un romanzo molto intimista che indaga l’interiorità dei personaggi e le loro dinamiche relazionali. Joe è un uomo molto complesso: è debole - è manipolato prima dalla madre e poi dalla moglie - ma al tempo stesso energico e ambizioso - aspira addirittura a diventare presidente degli Stati Uniti -, è affettuoso e protettivo verso i figli ma incapace di comprenderli veramente, è rigidamente conformista ma al tempo stesso desideroso di non esserlo, è carnefice volontario e involontario ma anche vittima del suo stesso conformismo. Ancora più complessa è sua moglie, Edith: Edith è una donna egoista, ambiziosa e manipolatrice, che non prova amore per il marito, ma desiderio di possesso ma finisce per essere lei stessa vittima di sé stessa - perché alla fine resta completamente sola, addirittura chiamata con distacco “Signora” dai figli.
Sono evidenti le somiglianze, per temi e scopi, con “Revolutionary Road” - anche se quest’ultimo è ambientato negli anni ’50 e ha dei protagonisti di livello sociale leggermente inferiore.
Ma la grande differenza con il romanzo di Yates sta nello stile: satirico, ma mai cinico o tragico. Si capisce, leggendo il romanzo, che il desiderio dell’autore di comprendere l’animo umano ha la priorità sulla denuncia e questo porta il lettore stesso a provare una certa compassione per i personaggi, persino per quelli più negativi come Edith.
Per me questo è un romanzo di altissimo livello, persino superiore a “Revolutionary Road” - ragion per cui non vedo l’ora di leggere l’altro romanzo di O’Hara pubblicato in Italia, “Elizabeth Appleton”.
“Un pugno di polvere” è la biografia di Joe Chapin, un avvocato di successo in una cittadina della Pennsylvania. Il romanzo si apre con il funerale di Joe, nel 1945, e ricostruisce, attraverso continui salti temporali e cambi di punti di vista, la vita di Joe a partire dalla sua infanzia.
Inutile dire che il romanzo è una denuncia della società alto borghese repubblicana della prima metà 900 degli Stati Uniti, una società conformista, anti-intellettuale e ipocrita.
Ma è anche, e forse soprattutto, un romanzo molto intimista che indaga l’interiorità dei personaggi e le loro dinamiche relazionali. Joe è un uomo molto complesso: è debole - è manipolato prima dalla madre e poi dalla moglie - ma al tempo stesso energico e ambizioso - aspira addirittura a diventare presidente degli Stati Uniti -, è affettuoso e protettivo verso i figli ma incapace di comprenderli veramente, è rigidamente conformista ma al tempo stesso desideroso di non esserlo, è carnefice volontario e involontario ma anche vittima del suo stesso conformismo. Ancora più complessa è sua moglie, Edith: Edith è una donna egoista, ambiziosa e manipolatrice, che non prova amore per il marito, ma desiderio di possesso ma finisce per essere lei stessa vittima di sé stessa - perché alla fine resta completamente sola, addirittura chiamata con distacco “Signora” dai figli.
Sono evidenti le somiglianze, per temi e scopi, con “Revolutionary Road” - anche se quest’ultimo è ambientato negli anni ’50 e ha dei protagonisti di livello sociale leggermente inferiore.
Ma la grande differenza con il romanzo di Yates sta nello stile: satirico, ma mai cinico o tragico. Si capisce, leggendo il romanzo, che il desiderio dell’autore di comprendere l’animo umano ha la priorità sulla denuncia e questo porta il lettore stesso a provare una certa compassione per i personaggi, persino per quelli più negativi come Edith.
Per me questo è un romanzo di altissimo livello, persino superiore a “Revolutionary Road” - ragion per cui non vedo l’ora di leggere l’altro romanzo di O’Hara pubblicato in Italia, “Elizabeth Appleton”.
May 12, 2023
Everyman di Philip Roth 51 anni prima
January 18, 2010
John O'Hara is a literary descendant of Sinclair Lewis. If you like that brand of naturalism, then I highly recommend Ten North Frederick. O'Hara considered part of a novelist's job to be a social historian, so the novel is filled with significant and, perhaps, not-so-significant minutiae of life in Gibbsville, PA (based on O'Hara's hometown, Pottsville) from the 1880s to the 1940s, reading which approaches tedium. I say "approaches," because a very engaging ironic humor is always just below the surface. One also gradually realizes the presence of an affecting concern for decency and the value of genuine love and friendship.
The heart of the story is the life of Benjamin Chapin, who aspires to be President of the United States, a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth who learns too late that he has sidestepped the real sources of happiness.
The book is worth reading because we're all confronted with the same danger, and O'Hara brings the harsh and poignant reality of this situation home with his convincing, hard-edged realism.
The heart of the story is the life of Benjamin Chapin, who aspires to be President of the United States, a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth who learns too late that he has sidestepped the real sources of happiness.
The book is worth reading because we're all confronted with the same danger, and O'Hara brings the harsh and poignant reality of this situation home with his convincing, hard-edged realism.
October 6, 2018
An absorbing, compulsively readable novel which, at slightly over 400 pages, moves more or less like lightning. It won the National Book Award in 1956 - and remains relevant in the way it explores the human (and the American) condition.
Thanks to Dan Leo, O'Hara has recently become a favorite of mine. I can't offhand think of that many writers who have quite the ear for spoken language that O'Hara has. He not only unerringly captures the way people really talk but he imbues that ability with the necessary component of pinpointing essential character definition. (It is also often startling what O'Hara understands about the recesses of people's minds.)
As well - at least in this novel - O'Hara reveals a microscopic understanding of the class of people he displays. In minute detail, he knows how they think and how they operate. 'Ten North Frederick' may be a novel about a bygone era but it is not particularly dated. Yes, we have moved on from certain ideas about propriety but, to a large extent, people today still behave as they do within the pages of this book.
~especially when it comes to such issues as social advancement and loyalty (the latter seeming to be the novel's overriding theme). The novel's protagonist - the rich and respected lawyer Joe Chapin - believes that the road to his dream of becoming a US President will not be all that rocky if he remains true to what he knows about people. But he's in for a rude awakening: life (particularly in the world of politics) unravels pinball games that Chapin has not had the opportunity to learn.
'TNF' is populated with a large number of personalities. Though the emphasis is on the moneyed, O'Hara is adept at delineating various class divides, class styles and class maneuverings.
I have rarely come across a writer whose short stories have quite the power of O'Hara's. But even top-notch short story writers can have difficulty elevating literary accomplishments from small ones to large ones. 'TNF' is, in a way, a novel comprised of a large number of inter-linked short stories - episodic snapshots that nevertheless solidify as one solid piece.
Thanks to Dan Leo, O'Hara has recently become a favorite of mine. I can't offhand think of that many writers who have quite the ear for spoken language that O'Hara has. He not only unerringly captures the way people really talk but he imbues that ability with the necessary component of pinpointing essential character definition. (It is also often startling what O'Hara understands about the recesses of people's minds.)
As well - at least in this novel - O'Hara reveals a microscopic understanding of the class of people he displays. In minute detail, he knows how they think and how they operate. 'Ten North Frederick' may be a novel about a bygone era but it is not particularly dated. Yes, we have moved on from certain ideas about propriety but, to a large extent, people today still behave as they do within the pages of this book.
~especially when it comes to such issues as social advancement and loyalty (the latter seeming to be the novel's overriding theme). The novel's protagonist - the rich and respected lawyer Joe Chapin - believes that the road to his dream of becoming a US President will not be all that rocky if he remains true to what he knows about people. But he's in for a rude awakening: life (particularly in the world of politics) unravels pinball games that Chapin has not had the opportunity to learn.
'TNF' is populated with a large number of personalities. Though the emphasis is on the moneyed, O'Hara is adept at delineating various class divides, class styles and class maneuverings.
I have rarely come across a writer whose short stories have quite the power of O'Hara's. But even top-notch short story writers can have difficulty elevating literary accomplishments from small ones to large ones. 'TNF' is, in a way, a novel comprised of a large number of inter-linked short stories - episodic snapshots that nevertheless solidify as one solid piece.
April 22, 2020
John O'Hara's, "Ten North Frederick," started off by reminding me of a nighttime soap opera, like "Dallas" or "Knotts' Landing," and quickly unraveled into a fascinating psychological/sociological novel about a small town, Gibbsville, in the state of Pennsylvania during the 1920's,30's and 40's. A town run by the Republican Party, where old money was really old money dating back to before the Civil War, and the Jazz Age that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about in New York never materialized in this small town.
This was the first novel I have ever read by Mr. O'Hara, but it won't be the last. Truly, an amazing piece of writing.
This was the first novel I have ever read by Mr. O'Hara, but it won't be the last. Truly, an amazing piece of writing.
October 5, 2024
Upper middle class America life can be great literature sometimes. A masterpiece from John O’Hara.
August 2, 2014
Oh, what a delicious book! This classic novel, written in 1955 but taking place over a 60-year span that is primarily in the early 1900s, focuses on the three generations of the Chapin family who reside in the fictional town of Gibbsville, Pennsylvania. The book has very little plot, but the characters are so deeply developed that you feel as if you know them--from their likes and dislikes, personality quirks and even sexual proclivities. You'll want to keep reading not to find out what happens, but to find out what the characters do next. Joe has ambitions to be president of the United States, his hoity-toity wife Edith has two sex secrets she's keeping from her husband (and finally confesses one of them late in life), daughter Ann is hustled off to boarding school after a threesome sex incident in a delivery truck, which is only the first of her sexcapades that embarrass her family, and son Joby is a rebellious mess--at least in the eyes of his parents. Oh yes, and perfect gentleman and upstanding citizen Joe has a mistress--and the one-night affair is both heartwarming and shocking. As I said, delicious! It's a great, fun read.
November 8, 2018
This is a quiet novel of a social class, a family and a man on the decline. The Chapin family has held a position of prominence, occupying the large house on prime realist ate, served by a loyal team of servants, holding places of great significance in the political, economic and social arenas of their communities. As the novel opens in 1945, Joe Chapin is being buried with the pomp that a man of his standing deserves. But as O’Hara retraces the family history and Joe’s life in particular, the facade is dismantled brick by brick to reveal the rot, the decline that makes it clear that not only has Joe passed away, but so has this social order and this once great family. This novel deserves its literary recognition. The characters are carefully crafted, the turn of the century town is well portrayed, the brokenness is shown with nuance. But this is a very slow novel focused on character development, including the character of the town of Gibbsville, more than on plot. And the pace is slowed further by O’Hara’s tendency to be a bit wordy. In the end, the book dragged for me to the point that I lost interest. That may say more about my mind-set than about the book. Although it was a 3.5 star read for me, it deserves to be rounded up to 4 stars.
October 3, 2024
An epic chronicle of the lives of an upper middle class suburban American family in the first half of the 20th century centered on the family patriarch Joe Chapin. It is a tale of the privileges and entitlement of a certain class in America. Mr. O'Hara is a master at writing dialog and much of the plot here advances through the characters conversing with each other. The author pulls no punches and there are numerous frank and provocative discussions throughout. This was a fascinating and absorbing read even though just about all the characters are flawed and not the most likable. Cheers!
March 31, 2015
Who thinks they can, and should, be president? Joe Chapin does. Why? He's born rich, went to an Ivy League College, now is a successful lawyer in high society and free from scandal. He hates FDR, refers to him as "our friend", and wants to run on a conservative platform to bring America back to its former glory.
O'Hara tells the story of 3 generations of a wealthy small-town family. He explores wealth and social status----is that all it takes to be president?---and gives a panorama of small town early 20th century life. He has a reporter style, but it's his characters who share their observations and the meticulous details of their lives: two characters reflect that not too many homes have speaking tubes anymore, a doctor describes the physical changes of cirrhosis, back room politics is not implied---it's shown. O'Hara doesn't say a character is fat, he tells you the character's weight and height, he doesn't use euphemisms or hyperbole to describe a character's drinking habits, he tells you that a character had two martini's at lunch, three before dinner, and then 3 after dinner....and after a few years they became double martinis.
O'Hara's stories come off as history, and this gives the observations, on aging, society, relationships, the weight of a truth.
Annie Dilliard said "how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." O'Hara would expand that thought to include the small details: offhand conversations, the hardly noticed trinkets that have been in our kitchen for the past 20 years, and ultimately these details not only make up our lives but our communities, neighborhoods, towns, and country. The title refers to the main character's address, a part of town once fashionable but now becoming defunct.....a full cycle that concluded almost 100 years ago. We are not outside observers in these stories, we recognize we are part of similar cycle and these stories help us recognize our place.
Sometimes O'Hara as narrator comes off as someone who enjoys being too revealing, or revels in a reputation to shock. But overall an enjoyable read.
"I've come to the conclusion that the safest way to live is first, inherit money. Second, marry a woman that will cooperate in your sexual peculiarities. Third, have a legitimate job that keeps you busy. Fourth, be born without the taste for liquor. Fifth, join some big church. Sixth, don't live to long.....Seventh, figuratively speaking, carry a rabbit's foot."
O'Hara tells the story of 3 generations of a wealthy small-town family. He explores wealth and social status----is that all it takes to be president?---and gives a panorama of small town early 20th century life. He has a reporter style, but it's his characters who share their observations and the meticulous details of their lives: two characters reflect that not too many homes have speaking tubes anymore, a doctor describes the physical changes of cirrhosis, back room politics is not implied---it's shown. O'Hara doesn't say a character is fat, he tells you the character's weight and height, he doesn't use euphemisms or hyperbole to describe a character's drinking habits, he tells you that a character had two martini's at lunch, three before dinner, and then 3 after dinner....and after a few years they became double martinis.
O'Hara's stories come off as history, and this gives the observations, on aging, society, relationships, the weight of a truth.
Annie Dilliard said "how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." O'Hara would expand that thought to include the small details: offhand conversations, the hardly noticed trinkets that have been in our kitchen for the past 20 years, and ultimately these details not only make up our lives but our communities, neighborhoods, towns, and country. The title refers to the main character's address, a part of town once fashionable but now becoming defunct.....a full cycle that concluded almost 100 years ago. We are not outside observers in these stories, we recognize we are part of similar cycle and these stories help us recognize our place.
Sometimes O'Hara as narrator comes off as someone who enjoys being too revealing, or revels in a reputation to shock. But overall an enjoyable read.
"I've come to the conclusion that the safest way to live is first, inherit money. Second, marry a woman that will cooperate in your sexual peculiarities. Third, have a legitimate job that keeps you busy. Fourth, be born without the taste for liquor. Fifth, join some big church. Sixth, don't live to long.....Seventh, figuratively speaking, carry a rabbit's foot."
November 9, 2018
A very well written character driven read. In the first half of the novel nothing much happens, however a number of characters are introduced and very well developed. The reader gains knowledge of a particular character from other characters as well as the narrator. All the characters have flaws. The dialogue between characters is very well done.
The story is essentially about Joseph B. Chapin, a distinguished lawyer and member of high society during the 1920's and 1930's in the small city of Gibbsville, Pennsylvania. Ten North Frederick street is a large house that the Chapin family have lived in for about 100 years. We learn about Joe's parents in the first half of the novel and their sad unloving relationship. Joe is their only child. His mother Charlotte had two stillbirth's after Joe and thereafter refused to have sex with her husband, reasoning that a further pregnancy would probably mean her death.
Joe marries Edith, a Gibbsville woman form a well to do family. Joe doesn't need to work and in his mid forties decides that maybe he should become a politician. He meets Mike Slattery, a senator who is very politically savy. To the Gibbsville community, Joe is seen as very community minded. He gives a lot of donations and belongs to a number of charitable institutions. Joe and Edith have two children, Ann and Joby. Joe's legal firm with friend and partner McHenry continues to be a successful practice throughout Joe's life.
By the end of the novel the reader has gained a very good idea of who Joe Chapin is. Other novels that gave me a similar rewarding reading experience include, Babbit by Sinclair Lewis, Another Country by James Baldwin and Rabbit at Rest by John Updike.
Highly recommended.
The story is essentially about Joseph B. Chapin, a distinguished lawyer and member of high society during the 1920's and 1930's in the small city of Gibbsville, Pennsylvania. Ten North Frederick street is a large house that the Chapin family have lived in for about 100 years. We learn about Joe's parents in the first half of the novel and their sad unloving relationship. Joe is their only child. His mother Charlotte had two stillbirth's after Joe and thereafter refused to have sex with her husband, reasoning that a further pregnancy would probably mean her death.
Joe marries Edith, a Gibbsville woman form a well to do family. Joe doesn't need to work and in his mid forties decides that maybe he should become a politician. He meets Mike Slattery, a senator who is very politically savy. To the Gibbsville community, Joe is seen as very community minded. He gives a lot of donations and belongs to a number of charitable institutions. Joe and Edith have two children, Ann and Joby. Joe's legal firm with friend and partner McHenry continues to be a successful practice throughout Joe's life.
By the end of the novel the reader has gained a very good idea of who Joe Chapin is. Other novels that gave me a similar rewarding reading experience include, Babbit by Sinclair Lewis, Another Country by James Baldwin and Rabbit at Rest by John Updike.
Highly recommended.
January 14, 2022
Era il libro che cercavo, ma con qualcosa in più.
John O'Hara, fino a qualche mese fa, nemmeno lo conoscevo e probabilmente sarebbe ancora così se non fossi stata banalmente attirata dalla spider d'epoca in copertina. Poche cose possono abbindolarmi come una spider.
John O'Hara, dal canto suo, non è esattamente un grande affabulatore, con la sua penna non fa magie e nemmeno gli interessa farle; vuole solo raccontare una storia, quella di Joe Chapin, e farsi un po' beffe di tutti.
Joe Chapin è l'emblema dell'americano piccolo borghese della prima metà del secolo scorso, con la sua vita provincialotta e le sue aspirazioni megalomani. La vita di Joe Chapin è apparentemente perfetta: vive a Gibsville, ha una bella famiglia, una moglie prodiga e perfida, guadagna bene, è membro di questo e quel club e vuole diventare presidente degli Stati Uniti.
Joe, però, è un uomo integro, velatamente ottuso, vittima delle smanie della moglie, pedina nel giogo astuto e ipocrita di amici e politici millantatori. È forse per questo che, compreso il suo ruolo di bamboccio dentro e fuori le mura di casa, è colpito da un'evidente crisi di mezza età, in cui niente sembra più avere una logica né un fine. Insomma, tutto si riduce a un pugno di polvere.
La storia di Joe Chapin è amara e il tono in cui O'Hara la racconta è sferzante, pungente, sottile. Non ci sono lunghi periodi, frasi confezionate per affabulare, tutto è ridotto all'essenziale, quel che conta sono i dialoghi, tanti, lunghi, caustici.
Per chi ama il genere, Un Pugno di Polvere è assolutamente un romanzo da recuperare.
John O'Hara, fino a qualche mese fa, nemmeno lo conoscevo e probabilmente sarebbe ancora così se non fossi stata banalmente attirata dalla spider d'epoca in copertina. Poche cose possono abbindolarmi come una spider.
John O'Hara, dal canto suo, non è esattamente un grande affabulatore, con la sua penna non fa magie e nemmeno gli interessa farle; vuole solo raccontare una storia, quella di Joe Chapin, e farsi un po' beffe di tutti.
Joe Chapin è l'emblema dell'americano piccolo borghese della prima metà del secolo scorso, con la sua vita provincialotta e le sue aspirazioni megalomani. La vita di Joe Chapin è apparentemente perfetta: vive a Gibsville, ha una bella famiglia, una moglie prodiga e perfida, guadagna bene, è membro di questo e quel club e vuole diventare presidente degli Stati Uniti.
Joe, però, è un uomo integro, velatamente ottuso, vittima delle smanie della moglie, pedina nel giogo astuto e ipocrita di amici e politici millantatori. È forse per questo che, compreso il suo ruolo di bamboccio dentro e fuori le mura di casa, è colpito da un'evidente crisi di mezza età, in cui niente sembra più avere una logica né un fine. Insomma, tutto si riduce a un pugno di polvere.
La storia di Joe Chapin è amara e il tono in cui O'Hara la racconta è sferzante, pungente, sottile. Non ci sono lunghi periodi, frasi confezionate per affabulare, tutto è ridotto all'essenziale, quel che conta sono i dialoghi, tanti, lunghi, caustici.
Per chi ama il genere, Un Pugno di Polvere è assolutamente un romanzo da recuperare.
November 19, 2012
Ten North Frederick won the national book award in 1956. I touched on it in my blog. http://www.dianastevan.com/2012/writi... It's a book I've always wanted to read, but it wasn't easy. John O'Hara wrote it with no chapters, and long paragraphs.
What was fascinating about this story, was how well he depicted the characters in this small town and their political manoeuvrings. As the American election of 2012 just took place, I found what went on back in the 1930s mirrored what went on today. Politics is a dirty business, and John O'Hara showed some of its complexity.
As well, he is frank on sexual matters and my understanding is that he was taken to task for the way he did this back in the 50s, which were considerably more repressed than the age we're living in now.
What was fascinating about this story, was how well he depicted the characters in this small town and their political manoeuvrings. As the American election of 2012 just took place, I found what went on back in the 1930s mirrored what went on today. Politics is a dirty business, and John O'Hara showed some of its complexity.
As well, he is frank on sexual matters and my understanding is that he was taken to task for the way he did this back in the 50s, which were considerably more repressed than the age we're living in now.
December 10, 2016
A forgotten American classic by a forgotten American author. O'Hara's ending neatly predicts that he and his protagonist will be lost to memory, as will we all.
April 1, 2024
Il libro racconta avvenimenti che vanno circa dal 1881, anno del matrimonio dei genitori di Joe Chapin, fino al 1945, anno della sua morte e si svolge per lo più in una piccola cittadina della Pennsylvania. La storia inizia con il funerale di Joe, dove conosciamo la famiglia del defunto e veniamo a sapere informazioni sulla sua vita dalle chiacchiere dei presenti.
Poi il libro riprende la vita di Joe Chapin dall'inizio, e tutto è diverso da come era sembrato... Sono tornata di nuovo alle prime pagine dopo avere finito il libro per constatare che sì, la visione data inizialmente di Joe Chapin e della sua famiglia è ben diversa da quella che si viene ad avere 500 pagine dopo.
Era già tornata una volta a riguardare le prime pagine: nelle prime 80 pagine vengono nominate tantissime persone, tutte quelle che partecipano al funerale, e qualcosa delle loro vite. Arrivata circa a metà libro non capivo più chi era chi e sono tornata alle prime pagine per farmi uno schema dei personaggi.
Il libro inizialmente non scorre bene, ho fatto un po' di fatica a entrare nella storia poi però mi ha preso e mi sono affezionata al personaggio di Joe Chapin.
È il terzo libro di John O'Hara che leggo e anche i primi due mi erano piaciuti molto. Ne ho altri due che mi aspettano nello scaffale dei libri da leggere e ne sono molto contenta!
Poi il libro riprende la vita di Joe Chapin dall'inizio, e tutto è diverso da come era sembrato... Sono tornata di nuovo alle prime pagine dopo avere finito il libro per constatare che sì, la visione data inizialmente di Joe Chapin e della sua famiglia è ben diversa da quella che si viene ad avere 500 pagine dopo.
Era già tornata una volta a riguardare le prime pagine: nelle prime 80 pagine vengono nominate tantissime persone, tutte quelle che partecipano al funerale, e qualcosa delle loro vite. Arrivata circa a metà libro non capivo più chi era chi e sono tornata alle prime pagine per farmi uno schema dei personaggi.
Il libro inizialmente non scorre bene, ho fatto un po' di fatica a entrare nella storia poi però mi ha preso e mi sono affezionata al personaggio di Joe Chapin.
È il terzo libro di John O'Hara che leggo e anche i primi due mi erano piaciuti molto. Ne ho altri due che mi aspettano nello scaffale dei libri da leggere e ne sono molto contenta!
August 8, 2020
Working my way through all the National Book Award Fiction winners and so I had to tackle this one, my first John O'Hara novel.
This reminds me of Sinclair Lewis's best work in that it critiques the social foundations of middle America, in this case from a respectful place, one in which clearly the author finds himself within. The novel has many unexpected turns and I appreciated the candid discussion of sexuality which must have been shocking back in 1956. The novel can't help but spur reflection on permanence, honesty, friendships, reputation, politics, and what it means to leave a legacy. I'm glad I read this book in my 50s as I feel like I could appreciate the weight of it!
I enjoyed the book and now I'm going to watch the movie with Gary Cooper playing the lead.
This reminds me of Sinclair Lewis's best work in that it critiques the social foundations of middle America, in this case from a respectful place, one in which clearly the author finds himself within. The novel has many unexpected turns and I appreciated the candid discussion of sexuality which must have been shocking back in 1956. The novel can't help but spur reflection on permanence, honesty, friendships, reputation, politics, and what it means to leave a legacy. I'm glad I read this book in my 50s as I feel like I could appreciate the weight of it!
I enjoyed the book and now I'm going to watch the movie with Gary Cooper playing the lead.
September 13, 2019
Another novel that is a strong mix of what I liked and didn't like. Thus. we end in the middle with three stars. The writing style felt old, out-dated. It reminded me a bit of Booth Tarkington's work, especially The Magnificent Ambersons. It is hard to believe that John O'Hara was a contemporary of Hemingway, Faulkner and Steinbeck. And then there is the subject matter. A white man from a wealthy family who had all of the advantages struggles to achieve his life's dreams. Not very inspiring or appealing.
And yet. Published in 1955, this novel addresses honestly and transparently many of the cultural blemishes and warts of the time: pre-marital sex, the resulting pregnancies and abortions, extramarital affairs by men and women, female as compared to male satisfaction from sex, class relations, alcoholism, the advantages of being born into the right family, etc. Politics and business relationships are integral to the story and described intelligently and in detail. It is all here. The writing is quite good, and the dialogue is excellent.
A good read and a great commentary on a part of American society, but stylistically tired and tedious.
And yet. Published in 1955, this novel addresses honestly and transparently many of the cultural blemishes and warts of the time: pre-marital sex, the resulting pregnancies and abortions, extramarital affairs by men and women, female as compared to male satisfaction from sex, class relations, alcoholism, the advantages of being born into the right family, etc. Politics and business relationships are integral to the story and described intelligently and in detail. It is all here. The writing is quite good, and the dialogue is excellent.
A good read and a great commentary on a part of American society, but stylistically tired and tedious.
June 21, 2020
One of the great writers of his time period. Gives you an excellent perspective life in 40's when civilization did not extend past Philadelphia (in the minds of the wealthy).
October 18, 2017
Spans several generations of quiet desperation. How does one measure a life?
October 13, 2014
I first read this many decades ago when O’Hara was better known and, along with his compatriots such as Faulkner and Hemingway, etc. more popular than now. Only Fitzgerald and Steinbeck seem to have remained so with each having books on examination syllabuses. But, of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re popular!
However, since the publisher has seen fit to re-issue this in Penguin Classics, perhaps O’Hara will begin to enjoy something of a return to popularity. The novel was certainly popular when first published in the middle fifties and won a prestigious literary award. It tells the story of Joseph B. Chapin a big fish in a small pond, living all of his life in the mythical Gibbsville, Pennsylvania, described as being ‘too large to be a town but too small to be a city’. His story opens shortly after his life ends when the great and the good of Gibbsville are gathered to pay their respects to one of their own at his funeral and O’Hara omits no detail in telling us who these people are, their relationship to the deceased and their relative importance to the life of their town. In this respect the book is something of a tour-de-force of sustained writing employing, as it does, flashbacks and flash-forwards to interweave the complex web of inter-relationships among this seeming multitude of characters many of whom play no further part if the Joe’s story. And I have to say that at times learning the intimate details of these people’s lives became somewhat tiresome.
Having said that, persistence does pay off as the various threads eventually connect to form a picture of a man whose reach very definitely exceeds his grasp and for which he eventually pays a heavy price. I was prompted to revisit the novel in the wake of having completed another long overlooked apparent would-be ‘classic’, ‘Stoner’ dubbed by the Guardian as the ‘must read book of 2013’ and written by a writer much less well known than O’Hara. In certain respects the two books bear comparison since, although their protagonists are not exact contempories, they describe the lives of two American men from birth to death, during the early to middle years of the Twentieth Century. As such I can recommend them as appropriate companion pieces. They are both extremely well-written in their own ways but, although I am glad I’ve read them, I don’t think I shall return to either of them.
However, since the publisher has seen fit to re-issue this in Penguin Classics, perhaps O’Hara will begin to enjoy something of a return to popularity. The novel was certainly popular when first published in the middle fifties and won a prestigious literary award. It tells the story of Joseph B. Chapin a big fish in a small pond, living all of his life in the mythical Gibbsville, Pennsylvania, described as being ‘too large to be a town but too small to be a city’. His story opens shortly after his life ends when the great and the good of Gibbsville are gathered to pay their respects to one of their own at his funeral and O’Hara omits no detail in telling us who these people are, their relationship to the deceased and their relative importance to the life of their town. In this respect the book is something of a tour-de-force of sustained writing employing, as it does, flashbacks and flash-forwards to interweave the complex web of inter-relationships among this seeming multitude of characters many of whom play no further part if the Joe’s story. And I have to say that at times learning the intimate details of these people’s lives became somewhat tiresome.
Having said that, persistence does pay off as the various threads eventually connect to form a picture of a man whose reach very definitely exceeds his grasp and for which he eventually pays a heavy price. I was prompted to revisit the novel in the wake of having completed another long overlooked apparent would-be ‘classic’, ‘Stoner’ dubbed by the Guardian as the ‘must read book of 2013’ and written by a writer much less well known than O’Hara. In certain respects the two books bear comparison since, although their protagonists are not exact contempories, they describe the lives of two American men from birth to death, during the early to middle years of the Twentieth Century. As such I can recommend them as appropriate companion pieces. They are both extremely well-written in their own ways but, although I am glad I’ve read them, I don’t think I shall return to either of them.
October 31, 2022
Quanto si può discostare la realtà della vita di una persona da quanto appare ad un occhio esterno? Se lo si chiede a Joe Chapin, decisamente molto, moltissimo.
O’Hara tratteggia il ritratto di un uomo integerrimo, felice, ricco, rispettato e amato da tutti, marito e padre orgoglioso. Poi prende questo ritratto e lo fa a pezzi lentamente, brandello dopo brandello. Joe si è sempre comportato come ci si aspettava da lui, da gentiluomo, seguendo dei principi morali rigidissimi inculcatigli dalla società, dalla sua mamma maniaca del controllo e da una moglie che, più che amarlo, lo voleva possedere come una proprietà tangibile e di prestigio. Peccato che questo non gli abbia portato una grande felicità o soddisfazione. Deluso nelle sue ambizioni politiche, ostacolato da persone che gli dovrebbero essere amiche, disprezzato dalla sua stessa moglie per essere stato troppo malleabile e diposto a diventare ed essere come lei lo voleva, arriverà a conoscere l’amore vero in tarda età, non potendo viverlo appieno e ricevendo un gelido bagno di realtà che gli aprirà gli occhi sul tempo perduto e ne accelererà l’inevitabile fine.
Un romanzo meraviglioso sull’ipocrisia dell’America degli anni Cinquanta e sull’inevitabile sconfitta di chi osa andare controcorrente, giocando secondo le regole.
4✨
O’Hara tratteggia il ritratto di un uomo integerrimo, felice, ricco, rispettato e amato da tutti, marito e padre orgoglioso. Poi prende questo ritratto e lo fa a pezzi lentamente, brandello dopo brandello. Joe si è sempre comportato come ci si aspettava da lui, da gentiluomo, seguendo dei principi morali rigidissimi inculcatigli dalla società, dalla sua mamma maniaca del controllo e da una moglie che, più che amarlo, lo voleva possedere come una proprietà tangibile e di prestigio. Peccato che questo non gli abbia portato una grande felicità o soddisfazione. Deluso nelle sue ambizioni politiche, ostacolato da persone che gli dovrebbero essere amiche, disprezzato dalla sua stessa moglie per essere stato troppo malleabile e diposto a diventare ed essere come lei lo voleva, arriverà a conoscere l’amore vero in tarda età, non potendo viverlo appieno e ricevendo un gelido bagno di realtà che gli aprirà gli occhi sul tempo perduto e ne accelererà l’inevitabile fine.
Un romanzo meraviglioso sull’ipocrisia dell’America degli anni Cinquanta e sull’inevitabile sconfitta di chi osa andare controcorrente, giocando secondo le regole.
4✨
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December 19, 2016I recently finished John O'Hara's Ten North Frederick, an illuminating and entertaining portrait of small-town mid-twentieth-century America. The protagonist, Joe Chapin, is a man who seems like he has it all: wealth; good looks; a devoted wife; and the respect of Gibbsville, Pennsylvania. But below the surface there is trouble. Joe has political ambitions but not the political skill to realize them. Joe and his wife secretly detest each other. Gibbsville is starting to think less of Joe as he lapses into alcoholism. O'Hara weaves all these strands into a gripping story, a classic in the same vein as Revolutionary Road, Mad Men, and other works that highlight the seamy underbelly of a supposedly sedate era. —Nicholas Stephanopoulos
December 6, 2012
Since it came out in 1955, and recounts family history as much as 100 years before, looking at it from more than 50 years later is instructive. We see members of a wealthy family going through changes in society, often in but not really of their time. At half way through this (too) long book, I have yet to get to the steamy parts that the cover promises -- there is much more to it than the blurb indicates. The writing is somewhat awkward, the jumps from one time to another awkward, but the characters become real enough to keep me reading -- even if I don't really care for them. ...Susan
March 29, 2016
Modern day Domenick Dunne perhaps? The world and our habits remain the same through the years. We all think the generation following us is worse than ours but history repeats itself. Sex, money, pride, politics, old money, new money, etc. Not what I expected but very good. Love books from this era
August 1, 2013
I thought this book was great when I read it while in my 20s. Re-reading it now in middle age, I find even more richness.
October 28, 2021
l'America degli anni 30 e 40 in un formidabile affresco che illustra l'ipocrisia dell'alta borghesia americana. Scritto magistralmente divenne un film con Gregory Peck nel 1958.
Bellissimo.
Bellissimo.
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