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In My Father's House
A compelling novel of a man brought to reckon with his buried past...
In St. Adrienne, a small black community in Louisiana, Reverend Phillip Martin—a respected minister and civil rights leader—comes face to face with the sins of his youth in the person of Robert X, a young, unkempt stranger who arrives in town for a mysterious "meeting" with the Reverend.
In the confrontation between the two, the young man's secret burden explodes into the open, and Phillip Martin begins a long-neglected journey into his youth to discover how destructive his former life was, for himself and for those around him.
“…on every page there's an authentic moment, or a dead-right knot of conversation, or a truer-than-true turn of phrase…”— Kirkus Reviews
In St. Adrienne, a small black community in Louisiana, Reverend Phillip Martin—a respected minister and civil rights leader—comes face to face with the sins of his youth in the person of Robert X, a young, unkempt stranger who arrives in town for a mysterious "meeting" with the Reverend.
In the confrontation between the two, the young man's secret burden explodes into the open, and Phillip Martin begins a long-neglected journey into his youth to discover how destructive his former life was, for himself and for those around him.
“…on every page there's an authentic moment, or a dead-right knot of conversation, or a truer-than-true turn of phrase…”— Kirkus Reviews
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
42 people are currently reading
1138 people want to read
About the author
Ernest J. Gaines
57 books1,182 followersErnest James Gaines was an American author whose works have been taught in college classrooms and translated into many languages, including French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. Four of his works were made into television movies.
His 1993 novel, A Lesson Before Dying, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Gaines was a MacArthur Foundation fellow, was awarded the National Humanities Medal, and was inducted into the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) as a Chevalier.
His 1993 novel, A Lesson Before Dying, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Gaines was a MacArthur Foundation fellow, was awarded the National Humanities Medal, and was inducted into the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) as a Chevalier.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
August 9, 2022
I got grief in me, and I got fury in me.
Here we go again. Ernest Gaines, a writer who has almost disappeared into the shadows of obscurity, pulled me into yet another story of his with his laid back, “Sunday-go-to-meeting” style, then he sucker punched me, just as I started to relax my abdominal muscles, then he set my hair on fire.
The man is a devil of a writer.
So much so, I had to grab my weighted blanket and drape it over my legs before starting this review. His writing makes me really hyper and I need to prevent myself from taking flight before I get the job done.
Where do I start, where do I start, where do I start?!
Okay—let's start with him being the most fabulous writer of fiction set in Louisiana. The man makes me want to live right off a bayou with a driveway filled with crushed shells. Just check this out:
On his left was the St. Charles River, high, muddy, and gray, the waves flowing far upon the bank, splashing against the trunks of the cypress and willow trees before receding back into the river again. The small, black poules d’eau floating lightly, effortlessly, on the high waves. . . On the other side of the road were the gray unpainted farmhouses and an occasional antebellum Creole house sitting on blocks seven or eight feet above the ground. Pecan, live-oak, and cypress trees grew in many of the yards, as well as alongside the road, and sometimes the Spanish moss hung so low overhead you could almost reach out and touch it.
I love stories that are able to conjure a unique setting without overdoing it. Yes, you feel as though you're in Louisiana, but, no, the setting does not overwhelm the central focus of the story: the characters.
And what a cast of characters he presents.
The story revolves around Reverend Phillip Martin, a 60-year-old preacher and civil rights leader who once marched with Dr. King himself.
He is a source of inspiration to the men of his town of St. Adrienne, and Black and white civil rights activists gather at his house to plan boycotts and marches, while his much younger and domestic wife caters to the frequently gathered crowds, serving food and beverage to all, while feeling invisible.
And the women are invisible in this story. They are in the background, which is ironic, since the main conflict in this story is based around the topic of rape. Several women have been raped in the community (there are no actual rape scenes in this book), and their men feel "castrated" and "paralyzed" by their inability to exact justice for what has happened to them.
There ain't no law when you rape a black girl.
You see. . . it's complicated. The Black men feel hopeless to defend their women, but the majority of the men in this novel aren't honorable in how they treat those same women.
This was not his only child out of wedlock. He had children that he knew of by three or four other women. And he had been as proud of it as any other man.
So, as a reader, especially a female one, I felt incredibly conflicted. I had compassion for these men, who have been treated no better than animals by laws that were written by white men for white men, and they want to fight for their women, but then they misuse the women they want to protect from other men.
It is a fascinating book that would be a particularly good selection for book club discussions, and it was written by a master writer whose work will haunt your ass for weeks after you're done.
Here we go again. Ernest Gaines, a writer who has almost disappeared into the shadows of obscurity, pulled me into yet another story of his with his laid back, “Sunday-go-to-meeting” style, then he sucker punched me, just as I started to relax my abdominal muscles, then he set my hair on fire.
The man is a devil of a writer.
So much so, I had to grab my weighted blanket and drape it over my legs before starting this review. His writing makes me really hyper and I need to prevent myself from taking flight before I get the job done.
Where do I start, where do I start, where do I start?!
Okay—let's start with him being the most fabulous writer of fiction set in Louisiana. The man makes me want to live right off a bayou with a driveway filled with crushed shells. Just check this out:
On his left was the St. Charles River, high, muddy, and gray, the waves flowing far upon the bank, splashing against the trunks of the cypress and willow trees before receding back into the river again. The small, black poules d’eau floating lightly, effortlessly, on the high waves. . . On the other side of the road were the gray unpainted farmhouses and an occasional antebellum Creole house sitting on blocks seven or eight feet above the ground. Pecan, live-oak, and cypress trees grew in many of the yards, as well as alongside the road, and sometimes the Spanish moss hung so low overhead you could almost reach out and touch it.
I love stories that are able to conjure a unique setting without overdoing it. Yes, you feel as though you're in Louisiana, but, no, the setting does not overwhelm the central focus of the story: the characters.
And what a cast of characters he presents.
The story revolves around Reverend Phillip Martin, a 60-year-old preacher and civil rights leader who once marched with Dr. King himself.
He is a source of inspiration to the men of his town of St. Adrienne, and Black and white civil rights activists gather at his house to plan boycotts and marches, while his much younger and domestic wife caters to the frequently gathered crowds, serving food and beverage to all, while feeling invisible.
And the women are invisible in this story. They are in the background, which is ironic, since the main conflict in this story is based around the topic of rape. Several women have been raped in the community (there are no actual rape scenes in this book), and their men feel "castrated" and "paralyzed" by their inability to exact justice for what has happened to them.
There ain't no law when you rape a black girl.
You see. . . it's complicated. The Black men feel hopeless to defend their women, but the majority of the men in this novel aren't honorable in how they treat those same women.
This was not his only child out of wedlock. He had children that he knew of by three or four other women. And he had been as proud of it as any other man.
So, as a reader, especially a female one, I felt incredibly conflicted. I had compassion for these men, who have been treated no better than animals by laws that were written by white men for white men, and they want to fight for their women, but then they misuse the women they want to protect from other men.
It is a fascinating book that would be a particularly good selection for book club discussions, and it was written by a master writer whose work will haunt your ass for weeks after you're done.
January 15, 2015
In My Father's House: Ernest Gaines' Novel of Living with One's Past
In My Father's House by Ernest J. Gaines, published in 1978, was chosen by members of On the Southern Literary Trail as a Group Read for January, 2015. Special thanks to Trail Member Jane of the UK, who nominated Professor Gaines' riveting novel of the inability to escape the consequences of one's past.
Ernest Gaines Walks Near his Birthplace
"In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?"--John 14:2, NRSV
First Edition, Alfred Knopf, New York, 1978. I had the great pleasure of meeting Professor Gaines at the Louisiana Festival of the Book in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in November, 2014. Professor Gaines kindly signed first editions of several of my copies of his works, including this one.
Where Ernest J. Gainesportrayed the long struggle for freedom in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman displaying the strength and courage of African-Americans in Louisiana, concluding with the active emergence of the Civil Rights Movement, Gaines turns to the personal tragedy of one man, Reverend Phillip Martin, the revered advocate for civil rights in the small town of St. Adrienne, following the death of Martin Luther King. Phillip continues to carry the flame.
With King's death, many blacks and whites have come to feel that the movement is over. However, Reverend Martin refuses to accept that as long as any injustice remains in his town. That injustice is in the person of Albert Chenal, a Cajun store owner who refuses to pay his black workers a fair wage.
Chenal Friday is approaching. Reverend Martin, the President of the St. Adrienne Civil Rights Committee will lead his people in a demonstration to either make Chenal treat his workers fairly or shut him down. Among the leadership of the committee is Mills, a deacon of the church, who once worked for Chenal's father. Mills knew that the older Chenal raped any black woman he found presentable. However, he never spoke out, out of what he shamefully admits was his own cowardice. Each of the committee identify with his cowardice with the exception of Reverend Martin and his young assistant Jonathan, the associate pastor, who has only been a member of the movement for eight years. As Martin is, he is fearless. But he lacks the wisdom of knowing what he is up against.
But Chenal Friday will not occur. For Reverend Martin is a man who has led two separate lives. For the past fifteen years, he has been a leader among his people. He has brought about positive change in racial relations in St. Adrienne. He is married, with two children. He is a paragon of strength, character, and courage.
However, Martin is haunted by a past in which he has made mistakes. Before he found God and his voice as an advocate for his people, Martin had fathered three children by a woman, Johanna, on the old Reno Plantation. Denying responsibility for his family because of his immaturity and his perceived lack of opportunity, Martin sent his children and their mother away. The last time he saw them was when his running buddy Chippo Simon took them away from the plantation in a wagon. Although he well remembers Johanna's name, he cannot even remember the names of his children. And he has eased his conscience over the mistakes of his past by the sacrifices he has made for his community.
Gaines, in a deeply introspective novel, examines the effects of the past on present. He asks whether there is ever a point when one's public actions counterbalance one's private sins.
The pivotal event occurs in the first chapter when a thin young black man shows up on the steps of a boarding house claiming to be Robert X, "one of them," a Black Muslim. The landlady, Virginia, is suspicious of the young man. Yet her conscience will not allow her to turn him away. Where will he go, if she does, she asks herself. Virginia recognizes that something is wrong with the young man, but he is resolute in maintaining silence in response to her questions.
Over the coming days, Robert X is frequently seen walking the streets of St. Adrienne. At times he is sitting on the back of Reverend Martin's church. At others he is seen standing across the street, watching the Reverend's house. When asked why he is St. Adrienne, his only answer is that he is there for a conference, that he is to meet a man.
Robert X attends a party a Phillip Martin's home with two young teachers who have been recruited in the upcoming demonstration against Chenal. Martin catches the young man staring at him and intuitively knows he is his son. As he crosses the room to acknowledge him, he falls. Immediately surrounded by concerned members of the committee, he allows a pharmacist to explain that the Reverend has exhausted himself. Martin does not refute the reason for his collapse.
Over the next few days, Martin will fail to reveal the reason for his collapse, not knowing how to disclose his past. Essentially he denies his son three times as Peter denied Christ.
Only when he receives word that his son has been picked up by the Parrish Sheriff, Nolan, does he take action. Going to see the Sheriff, Martin offers to pay bail for the release of his son. Nolan is surprised that the good Reverend has had a family out of wedlock. Nolan knows of Friday's plan to demonstrate against Chenal. He refuses to take money for bail. He will release Martin's son only on the condition that Martin put a stop to the Chenal demonstration. In a moment of personal weakness, Martin makes the deal.
On obtaining his son's release, they can share no conversation. Ultimately Robert tells Martin that he has come there for revenge for what Martin had allowed to happen to his family by abandoning them.
By evening word has spread through members of the Civil Rights Committee that Martin has betrayed his people's cause for reasons of personal interest. A quorum of the Committee votes Martin out as President of the Committee.
Speaking with his wife, Alma, Martin says:
Martin sets out on a search for his old friend Chippo Simon. Only Chippo might have been in a position to have seen his family. Martin must know what happened to his family in order to repair some form of bond with his own son whose name he cannot even remember.
Martin finds Chippo who reluctantly tells Martin the story of what happened to his family after he had sent them away. It is Chippo who tells him the name of his children and that Robert is actually Etienne. The things endured by Johanna and her children are almost to painful to tell. And it is a story that brings Martin's past crashing around his years.
I have deliberately excluded the details of what happened to Martin's first family. I will only say that the consequences of his past actions are not yet complete, and that Martin must question his reputation, his present life, his current family through the eyes of a man fully cognizant of what he has done throughout his life. Gaines drives home the point that a man's integrity in the treatment of family, no matter when sired, is a factor figured in to the action of public leadership and one's own self esteem.
Ah, Phillip, if only you had told Etienne, when he needed to hear it, you had many rooms in your home--for him.
This is the fourth novel by Gaines I have read. With each work, I am drawn to his novels more strongly than before. As with each of his books I have read, I recommend In My Father's House without reservation.
Rating: A solid 5 Star read
EXTRAS!
An Interview with Ernest J. Gaines discussing how he writes, what influences him, and how he teaches writing.
A Video Conversation with Ernest J. Gaines If you've not heard him, you'll be enchanted by him as I was when I had the chance to speak with him.
SOUNDTRACK!
Ernest Gaines loves music. He has a collection of over five hundred albums, yes, albums, before vinyl became cool again. He enjoys classical, jazz, big band; but his music as he describes it is the Blues. Here's a selection from some of his favorite blues singers.
Bessie Smith, "Backwater Blues" about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.
Huddie William Ledbetter,Leadbelly "The Angola Blues
For more information on Ernest Gaines and music, see Mozart and Leadbelly by Ernest J. Gaines, Alfred A. Knopf, NY, NY, 2005.
Also recommended: This Louisiana Thing That Drives Me: The Legacy of Ernest J. Gaines by Reggie Scott Young and Wiley Cash. This is a collection of photographs and quotations of Ernest J. Gaines, capturing the essence of the man, his works, and his life. Highly recommended.
In My Father's House by Ernest J. Gaines, published in 1978, was chosen by members of On the Southern Literary Trail as a Group Read for January, 2015. Special thanks to Trail Member Jane of the UK, who nominated Professor Gaines' riveting novel of the inability to escape the consequences of one's past.
Ernest Gaines Walks Near his Birthplace
"In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?"--John 14:2, NRSV
"About a month ago I was talking with a newspaper man--a man who's covered executions all over the South. Not just here in Louisiana--Texas, Mississippi, Georgia--all over. He's seen fifty, sixty of them. Most of them, black men. Said he never heard one called daddy's name at that last hour. Hear mama called, heard gran'mon, nanane--Jesus, God. Not one time he heard daddy called." Reverend Phillip Martin
First Edition, Alfred Knopf, New York, 1978. I had the great pleasure of meeting Professor Gaines at the Louisiana Festival of the Book in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in November, 2014. Professor Gaines kindly signed first editions of several of my copies of his works, including this one.
Where Ernest J. Gainesportrayed the long struggle for freedom in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman displaying the strength and courage of African-Americans in Louisiana, concluding with the active emergence of the Civil Rights Movement, Gaines turns to the personal tragedy of one man, Reverend Phillip Martin, the revered advocate for civil rights in the small town of St. Adrienne, following the death of Martin Luther King. Phillip continues to carry the flame.
With King's death, many blacks and whites have come to feel that the movement is over. However, Reverend Martin refuses to accept that as long as any injustice remains in his town. That injustice is in the person of Albert Chenal, a Cajun store owner who refuses to pay his black workers a fair wage.
Chenal Friday is approaching. Reverend Martin, the President of the St. Adrienne Civil Rights Committee will lead his people in a demonstration to either make Chenal treat his workers fairly or shut him down. Among the leadership of the committee is Mills, a deacon of the church, who once worked for Chenal's father. Mills knew that the older Chenal raped any black woman he found presentable. However, he never spoke out, out of what he shamefully admits was his own cowardice. Each of the committee identify with his cowardice with the exception of Reverend Martin and his young assistant Jonathan, the associate pastor, who has only been a member of the movement for eight years. As Martin is, he is fearless. But he lacks the wisdom of knowing what he is up against.
But Chenal Friday will not occur. For Reverend Martin is a man who has led two separate lives. For the past fifteen years, he has been a leader among his people. He has brought about positive change in racial relations in St. Adrienne. He is married, with two children. He is a paragon of strength, character, and courage.
However, Martin is haunted by a past in which he has made mistakes. Before he found God and his voice as an advocate for his people, Martin had fathered three children by a woman, Johanna, on the old Reno Plantation. Denying responsibility for his family because of his immaturity and his perceived lack of opportunity, Martin sent his children and their mother away. The last time he saw them was when his running buddy Chippo Simon took them away from the plantation in a wagon. Although he well remembers Johanna's name, he cannot even remember the names of his children. And he has eased his conscience over the mistakes of his past by the sacrifices he has made for his community.
Gaines, in a deeply introspective novel, examines the effects of the past on present. He asks whether there is ever a point when one's public actions counterbalance one's private sins.
The pivotal event occurs in the first chapter when a thin young black man shows up on the steps of a boarding house claiming to be Robert X, "one of them," a Black Muslim. The landlady, Virginia, is suspicious of the young man. Yet her conscience will not allow her to turn him away. Where will he go, if she does, she asks herself. Virginia recognizes that something is wrong with the young man, but he is resolute in maintaining silence in response to her questions.
Over the coming days, Robert X is frequently seen walking the streets of St. Adrienne. At times he is sitting on the back of Reverend Martin's church. At others he is seen standing across the street, watching the Reverend's house. When asked why he is St. Adrienne, his only answer is that he is there for a conference, that he is to meet a man.
Robert X attends a party a Phillip Martin's home with two young teachers who have been recruited in the upcoming demonstration against Chenal. Martin catches the young man staring at him and intuitively knows he is his son. As he crosses the room to acknowledge him, he falls. Immediately surrounded by concerned members of the committee, he allows a pharmacist to explain that the Reverend has exhausted himself. Martin does not refute the reason for his collapse.
Over the next few days, Martin will fail to reveal the reason for his collapse, not knowing how to disclose his past. Essentially he denies his son three times as Peter denied Christ.
Only when he receives word that his son has been picked up by the Parrish Sheriff, Nolan, does he take action. Going to see the Sheriff, Martin offers to pay bail for the release of his son. Nolan is surprised that the good Reverend has had a family out of wedlock. Nolan knows of Friday's plan to demonstrate against Chenal. He refuses to take money for bail. He will release Martin's son only on the condition that Martin put a stop to the Chenal demonstration. In a moment of personal weakness, Martin makes the deal.
On obtaining his son's release, they can share no conversation. Ultimately Robert tells Martin that he has come there for revenge for what Martin had allowed to happen to his family by abandoning them.
"Revenge? Phillip asked him. "Revenge for what?"
"For destroying me. For making me the eunuch I am. For destroying my family: my mama, my brother, my sister."
"How did I destroy you, destroy the family?" Phillip grabbed his arm. The boy looked down at the hand a moment, then pried it loose and slammed it back.
"You my Son," Phillip said. "I have my rights. I can touch you if I want."
"I'm a moment of your lust," the boy said.
By evening word has spread through members of the Civil Rights Committee that Martin has betrayed his people's cause for reasons of personal interest. A quorum of the Committee votes Martin out as President of the Committee.
Speaking with his wife, Alma, Martin says:
"What brought my boy back here, or what sent him back here I'll find out in Baton Rouge. That's important to me. I want to reach my boy. What I did this morning it seems like it's wrong to a lot of people, but if he was in that jail right now, and that was all I had to offer, I'd do it all over again. I've paid some dues in this town, some heave dues. Your life's been threatened, my children's lives been threatened, mine been threatened. All because I kept pushing for the people out there. Crosses burnt on my lawn, my house been shot in, my church been shot up--all because I kept pushing for the people out there. Well, this morning I pushed a little bit for myself, and I don't care what the people think."
Martin sets out on a search for his old friend Chippo Simon. Only Chippo might have been in a position to have seen his family. Martin must know what happened to his family in order to repair some form of bond with his own son whose name he cannot even remember.
Martin finds Chippo who reluctantly tells Martin the story of what happened to his family after he had sent them away. It is Chippo who tells him the name of his children and that Robert is actually Etienne. The things endured by Johanna and her children are almost to painful to tell. And it is a story that brings Martin's past crashing around his years.
I have deliberately excluded the details of what happened to Martin's first family. I will only say that the consequences of his past actions are not yet complete, and that Martin must question his reputation, his present life, his current family through the eyes of a man fully cognizant of what he has done throughout his life. Gaines drives home the point that a man's integrity in the treatment of family, no matter when sired, is a factor figured in to the action of public leadership and one's own self esteem.
Ah, Phillip, if only you had told Etienne, when he needed to hear it, you had many rooms in your home--for him.
This is the fourth novel by Gaines I have read. With each work, I am drawn to his novels more strongly than before. As with each of his books I have read, I recommend In My Father's House without reservation.
Rating: A solid 5 Star read
EXTRAS!
An Interview with Ernest J. Gaines discussing how he writes, what influences him, and how he teaches writing.
A Video Conversation with Ernest J. Gaines If you've not heard him, you'll be enchanted by him as I was when I had the chance to speak with him.
SOUNDTRACK!
Ernest Gaines loves music. He has a collection of over five hundred albums, yes, albums, before vinyl became cool again. He enjoys classical, jazz, big band; but his music as he describes it is the Blues. Here's a selection from some of his favorite blues singers.
Bessie Smith, "Backwater Blues" about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.
Huddie William Ledbetter,Leadbelly "The Angola Blues
For more information on Ernest Gaines and music, see Mozart and Leadbelly by Ernest J. Gaines, Alfred A. Knopf, NY, NY, 2005.
Also recommended: This Louisiana Thing That Drives Me: The Legacy of Ernest J. Gaines by Reggie Scott Young and Wiley Cash. This is a collection of photographs and quotations of Ernest J. Gaines, capturing the essence of the man, his works, and his life. Highly recommended.
January 16, 2015
This is the first Ernest Gaines book I've read, and I concur with his fans that he is a powerful and important writer. His language is simple and spare, very descriptive and emotional. I loved this book and read it quickly. Even though it was a mere 215 pages, there was a lot of action, and a lot of inner turmoil in the characters. It took place in 1970, just 2 years after the death of Martin Luther King, and the main character was also a minister who had made a name for himself as a civil rights activist in his small town just outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Reverend Phillip Martin is a married man with 3 children, a fine home and car, expensive clothes and jewelry, and a lot of respect and support in his community. What we find out very quickly is that he is also a man with a past, other women, other children {none of whom he can remember the name of} and all were abandoned by him with no thought of guilt or responsibility. Then, of course, he found the Lord. The Lord showed him the way, allowed him to become a man of means, and gave him a younger wife, and 3 fine, smart children.
Apparently, the Lord didn't expect him to do anything about the other women and children he had abandoned. Until one day, his oldest son comes to find him. This sets off a series of events that enables Phillip Martin to atone for his actions.
Except, not really. All Phillip Martin really cares about is making himself feel better about things, but how his actions affect anyone else is not his problem. He treats his wife and children as objects around the house, coming to his wife for sex, but not much more. In fact, all women are treated with disdain by the Reverend, with the exception of his Godmother still living at the plantation where he was raised, but she thinks he can do no wrong. So, naturally.
As this story progressed, I found myself liking Phillip Martin less and less. The end of the story finds him lamenting why God has abandoned him, because he had done what he thought was right, how could God let these things happen to him, when he had tried so hard? I hear that from people all the time, Why Me? Why Me? To which my response is {not usually spoken}, Why Not You? Why everybody, else, and not you? What makes you so special? Sorry for letting my anger out here, but this type of hypocrite, the Phillip Martins of the world, who present a public persona one way, but inside are completely different, really make me mad. With the end of this book, even with all the things that had happened to him, and to others because of him, Reverend Martin was still thinking it was all about him.
Now that I have all that off my chest, let me explain some of the things I loved about this story. That two women, Beverly and his wife, Alma, give him some things to think about when he is at his lowest. Beverly is a schoolteacher who tells him why he needs to continue his work in civil rights with some very stirring words that made me sit up and take notice. And Alma gets the last words in the book, choosing to stand behind him and help him start again. I found it interesting that the women in this book were very strong characters, black and downtrodden, yes, but doing what they thought was right. There was also a chapter where Phillip gives a ride to a young, black Vietnam veteran, who wants literally to set fire to the world to set things right. His plan involved a million black men with nothing but a match, burn it all down and start fresh. He didn't want to wait for slow change in attitudes. The exchange between them in the car was mind altering.
The best literature makes us think and feel, and changes our minds in one way or another. This book did that for me, so yes, Mr. Gaines is a great writer, and I will surely read more of his work. I subtracted a star because I despised Phillip Martin so, but maybe I should give it back for making me so mad.
January 16 - REVISED MY STAR RATING TO 5. Ernest Gaines created a character that disturbed me and got under my skin. I've been furious at Phillip Martin for 2 days.
Reverend Phillip Martin is a married man with 3 children, a fine home and car, expensive clothes and jewelry, and a lot of respect and support in his community. What we find out very quickly is that he is also a man with a past, other women, other children {none of whom he can remember the name of} and all were abandoned by him with no thought of guilt or responsibility. Then, of course, he found the Lord. The Lord showed him the way, allowed him to become a man of means, and gave him a younger wife, and 3 fine, smart children.
Apparently, the Lord didn't expect him to do anything about the other women and children he had abandoned. Until one day, his oldest son comes to find him. This sets off a series of events that enables Phillip Martin to atone for his actions.
Except, not really. All Phillip Martin really cares about is making himself feel better about things, but how his actions affect anyone else is not his problem. He treats his wife and children as objects around the house, coming to his wife for sex, but not much more. In fact, all women are treated with disdain by the Reverend, with the exception of his Godmother still living at the plantation where he was raised, but she thinks he can do no wrong. So, naturally.
As this story progressed, I found myself liking Phillip Martin less and less. The end of the story finds him lamenting why God has abandoned him, because he had done what he thought was right, how could God let these things happen to him, when he had tried so hard? I hear that from people all the time, Why Me? Why Me? To which my response is {not usually spoken}, Why Not You? Why everybody, else, and not you? What makes you so special? Sorry for letting my anger out here, but this type of hypocrite, the Phillip Martins of the world, who present a public persona one way, but inside are completely different, really make me mad. With the end of this book, even with all the things that had happened to him, and to others because of him, Reverend Martin was still thinking it was all about him.
Now that I have all that off my chest, let me explain some of the things I loved about this story. That two women, Beverly and his wife, Alma, give him some things to think about when he is at his lowest. Beverly is a schoolteacher who tells him why he needs to continue his work in civil rights with some very stirring words that made me sit up and take notice. And Alma gets the last words in the book, choosing to stand behind him and help him start again. I found it interesting that the women in this book were very strong characters, black and downtrodden, yes, but doing what they thought was right. There was also a chapter where Phillip gives a ride to a young, black Vietnam veteran, who wants literally to set fire to the world to set things right. His plan involved a million black men with nothing but a match, burn it all down and start fresh. He didn't want to wait for slow change in attitudes. The exchange between them in the car was mind altering.
The best literature makes us think and feel, and changes our minds in one way or another. This book did that for me, so yes, Mr. Gaines is a great writer, and I will surely read more of his work. I subtracted a star because I despised Phillip Martin so, but maybe I should give it back for making me so mad.
January 16 - REVISED MY STAR RATING TO 5. Ernest Gaines created a character that disturbed me and got under my skin. I've been furious at Phillip Martin for 2 days.
March 6, 2015
Reverend Philip Martin is an upstanding black Civil Rights leader and minister living in a small Louisiana town in the 1970s. He grew up in poverty, but found God and his calling in working for the black community. Now he's a respected husband and father. A young man from his past comes into town carrying a gun, full of anger and seeking revenge against Philip Martin. Philip finds that all his current good works cannot make up for his past mistakes when he selfishly avoided his responsibility for other people.
The book also shows the frustration of many black males who found themselves unemployed, or in menial low-paying jobs, often after risking their lives for their country in the Vietnam War. Some employers were paying their black employees lower wages for doing the same job as a white person. One angry veteran was planning to burn down the country with a guerrilla group, and let civilization start all over again. Gaines shows the frustration and violence that comes from lack of power.
In My Father's House is beautifully written with outstanding dialogue. However, I wished that the book delved more into the reasons Philip abandoned the important people of his past. The story explores the important themes of manhood, responsibility, and the relationship between fathers and sons. The book asks which is more important--working for the good of the community or spending quality time with your family. There was some hope in the ending that Reverend Martin might find the balance with the aid of his wife.
The book also shows the frustration of many black males who found themselves unemployed, or in menial low-paying jobs, often after risking their lives for their country in the Vietnam War. Some employers were paying their black employees lower wages for doing the same job as a white person. One angry veteran was planning to burn down the country with a guerrilla group, and let civilization start all over again. Gaines shows the frustration and violence that comes from lack of power.
In My Father's House is beautifully written with outstanding dialogue. However, I wished that the book delved more into the reasons Philip abandoned the important people of his past. The story explores the important themes of manhood, responsibility, and the relationship between fathers and sons. The book asks which is more important--working for the good of the community or spending quality time with your family. There was some hope in the ending that Reverend Martin might find the balance with the aid of his wife.
July 1, 2019
This was our June discussion book for our Goodreads group.
Gaines is one of my favorite authors, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed this one again. Gaines has a way of giving his characters depth and interest in a very compact and precise way. I enjoy that he seems to give his readers just enough information to make inferences for motivation, consequences, and in some cases whether or not the truth has been told. Gains is not an author who over explains or gives too much detail. If you are looking to start reading Black literary fiction that's a little older (this was first published in 1978) I would recommend this one. It's a good example of Gaines' concise yet impactful writing style.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
Gaines is one of my favorite authors, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed this one again. Gaines has a way of giving his characters depth and interest in a very compact and precise way. I enjoy that he seems to give his readers just enough information to make inferences for motivation, consequences, and in some cases whether or not the truth has been told. Gains is not an author who over explains or gives too much detail. If you are looking to start reading Black literary fiction that's a little older (this was first published in 1978) I would recommend this one. It's a good example of Gaines' concise yet impactful writing style.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
May 15, 2016
Powerful! Gaines makes this book so enticing and easy to read that it was hard to put this book down. The characters will torture your soul. The dialogue between the characters feel as though I was actually in the room with them, experiencing every detail. This book was a group read for On the Southern Literary Trail. This was a phenomenal read. I recommend it, highly!!!!
September 20, 2017
Another Gaines book with a walloping punch. Written in his usual understated quiet style this book also goes straight to the heart. Reverend Phillip Martin has put his previous life behind him and become a highly respected man in St. Adrienne, Louisiana, not only as a minister, but as a strong civil rights leader, husband , and father. Things change quickly when a mysterious young stranger comes to town seeking him out, and he's abruptly brought face to face with his past. 5 stars - catching up on The Southern Literary Trail
March 4, 2023
This is a killer book. I read it like a wolf--tearing through it--and then sobbed through the entire last chapter. It's a psychological novel that explores the relationship of black men to their sons. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend that you do. It's so powerful. There are moments, especially in the first chapters, when the dialogue is a bit slow, or maybe off just a little. But by the end Mr. Gaines is killing it. Oh my god, this book will slay you.
June 2, 2025
3.4999999999? Sure.
I think this is best chalked up as Gaines’ noble failure. Hey, shit—all credit due for attempting, just this once, to go outside his fictional Bayonne to explore the superinsularity of his Rev. Martin. It all makes sense on the MFA workshop’s flowchart of ‘how’ Gaines should have best been able to write himself out of the plantation-quarters he’d spent a few decades reifying into near-total perfection. But, outside the workshop, it just largely doesn’t work. It can’t. Gaines NEEDS his world more than it needs him, or, more accurately, Gaines and his fictional Bayonne are indivisible because they are the same thing. This is a credit to his life’s work, and the bits that excel here feel most chipped from his Louisianan Canaan.
In short, it’s all about Chippo; this late, largely secondary character is the only person with blood in him (or, at least, the vital fluids of all other great Gainesvillians & heroes).
I want Chippo’s story. None of the others’ feel at all comfortable in Gaines’ hands—they’re too stilted, abstracted—but he KNOWS this man. The virtues and failures of Chippo’s humanity don’t seem academic because they aren’t—they’re the kit and/or caboodle that informed the sum epistemology Gaines absorbed as osmotic process coming up in Pointe Coupee, LA. And THAT is what I want from Gaines, the work that could have only come from this one man informed by the intersecting phenomena of his geographical dictates, time, color, and their inheritances in the Southern American tumult.
And: If I still drank: I’d totally get shitty with Chippo in a heartbeat. Chippo is my kind of soldier. A man that likes to drain a jug or five of wine or whisky passed like communion between the two of us, daytime-nighttime-dawn or dusk? That’s a man I’ve known and loved all my life, too. Many, actually. Team Chippo in all ways. ALL Chippos. “Always & Forever.”
I think this is best chalked up as Gaines’ noble failure. Hey, shit—all credit due for attempting, just this once, to go outside his fictional Bayonne to explore the superinsularity of his Rev. Martin. It all makes sense on the MFA workshop’s flowchart of ‘how’ Gaines should have best been able to write himself out of the plantation-quarters he’d spent a few decades reifying into near-total perfection. But, outside the workshop, it just largely doesn’t work. It can’t. Gaines NEEDS his world more than it needs him, or, more accurately, Gaines and his fictional Bayonne are indivisible because they are the same thing. This is a credit to his life’s work, and the bits that excel here feel most chipped from his Louisianan Canaan.
In short, it’s all about Chippo; this late, largely secondary character is the only person with blood in him (or, at least, the vital fluids of all other great Gainesvillians & heroes).
I want Chippo’s story. None of the others’ feel at all comfortable in Gaines’ hands—they’re too stilted, abstracted—but he KNOWS this man. The virtues and failures of Chippo’s humanity don’t seem academic because they aren’t—they’re the kit and/or caboodle that informed the sum epistemology Gaines absorbed as osmotic process coming up in Pointe Coupee, LA. And THAT is what I want from Gaines, the work that could have only come from this one man informed by the intersecting phenomena of his geographical dictates, time, color, and their inheritances in the Southern American tumult.
And: If I still drank: I’d totally get shitty with Chippo in a heartbeat. Chippo is my kind of soldier. A man that likes to drain a jug or five of wine or whisky passed like communion between the two of us, daytime-nighttime-dawn or dusk? That’s a man I’ve known and loved all my life, too. Many, actually. Team Chippo in all ways. ALL Chippos. “Always & Forever.”
December 6, 2019
Ernest Gaines passed away on November 5, 2019. I liked reading his works.
January 9, 2023
A Baptist preacher must face his past when a mysterious young man comes into town looking for revenge, with murder in his heart, against the man who abandoned his family twenty years before. The events cause the preacher to completely alter his life as a community leader and sends him into a quest to somehow rectify the harm he has caused. An excellent drama by Ernest J. Gaines.
June 26, 2010
Ernest J. Gaines's novel In My Father's House is set in Louisiana around 1970. The Rev. Philip Martin is a civil rights leader in the declining years of a movement whose strongest, most visible members have been killed. The gains the movement has made, however significant, mean little in the daily lives of black Americans in the deep South.
What, after all, is the point of being able to sit at lunch counters, share water fountains, ride on buses with white people if you can't confront the truth of your own past with integrity and courage? Facing the truth individually and collectively with grace as well as integrity is a truer measure of freedom than any statute.
So the Rev. Martin learns after Robert X. pays him a surprise visit and upsets the illusion he has created of himself as a symbol of rising prosperity, competent leadership, and hope in the black community he leads. As he faces his past, his world crumbles around him, and the cadre of black men who share leadership with him abandon him.
Significantly after the men scatter, Martin's wife Alma remains. She is the steady, reliable source of strength whose abidin presence leads Martin to the question: What has the Civil Rights Movement really accomplished if the gulf remains between fathers and sons? Whose house is my father's house, and where is it? In the post-Civil Rights Movement South, it is an empty place, but it is one that can be filled and will--with Alma's help.
What, after all, is the point of being able to sit at lunch counters, share water fountains, ride on buses with white people if you can't confront the truth of your own past with integrity and courage? Facing the truth individually and collectively with grace as well as integrity is a truer measure of freedom than any statute.
So the Rev. Martin learns after Robert X. pays him a surprise visit and upsets the illusion he has created of himself as a symbol of rising prosperity, competent leadership, and hope in the black community he leads. As he faces his past, his world crumbles around him, and the cadre of black men who share leadership with him abandon him.
Significantly after the men scatter, Martin's wife Alma remains. She is the steady, reliable source of strength whose abidin presence leads Martin to the question: What has the Civil Rights Movement really accomplished if the gulf remains between fathers and sons? Whose house is my father's house, and where is it? In the post-Civil Rights Movement South, it is an empty place, but it is one that can be filled and will--with Alma's help.
February 4, 2012
Despite the rave reviews from most people, the beginning of this book is so slow and dry that it was hard to make it very far. I wanted, really wanted, to get into this one. The writing is bland and the characters are flat and the plot just takes too long to progress.
July 7, 2013
It wasn't a bad read but I thought the author left something out at the end . In discussing that with a few of my book club members , a few felt that way too. The question is this his writing style? In a Lesson Before Dying ,it also felt unfinished.. It is a good choice for a book club read.
November 27, 2019
4 stars. Gaines was a gifted author. Quick read.
August 19, 2025
He is such a powerful writer and takes just a moment of a man’s life and illuminates a whole movement and a whole world, but yet still keeping it personal and real and devastating.
September 3, 2025
A good read
November 13, 2023
Humbling. Devaluing of Black men and women still exist today. And with Trump returning as our next president in 2024, we assuredly we be reliving all aspects of this painful book. 📚 😞
January 24, 2013
(FROM JACKET)IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE is the compelling novel of a man brought to reckon with his buried past. In St. Adrienne, a small rural black community in Louisiana, Reverend Phillip Martin-a respected minister and civil rights leader, devoted husband and father, a man of strength and rectitude-comes face to face with the sins of his youth in the person of Robert X, a young, unkempt, vaguely sinister stranger who arrives in town for a mysterious "meeting" with the Reverend. In the confrontation between the two, the young man's secret burden explodes into the open, and Phillip Martin begins a long-neglected journey into his youth to discover how destructive his former life was, for himself and for those around him.
September 12, 2018
This is one of Ernest J. Gaines earlier novels. It tells the story of a black minister who is also a Civil Rights leader in the small town of St. Adrienne, Louisiana. Before Phillip Martin became a minister, he led a fairly wild life and had several children with a woman who was not his wife. One of these children, now an adult, comes to St. Adrienne to find his father. This causes a crisis in both men's lives. The book is not as strong as his later books because it does not hold together as well as his later novels. However, there are some wonderful descriptions of some of Baton Rouge's seedier neighborhoods and you get a real feel for the place and the issues affecting the Civil Rights Movement after the assassination of Dr. King.
December 24, 2012
This could have been an all-night read, but I forced myself to pace myself and put it down. Gripping from the mysterious start following the tormented loner - the son - to his encounter with the upright community leader - the father - and then the aftermath as the father faces his own failings. Beautifully constructed narrative.
March 29, 2013
This was a good read. This story took you through times when people of color were still fighting for their rights. It also, told of a man who was wild as a young man that became a leader in his community. While he was living life his pass was looking for revenge, because of the troubles in there lives.
March 23, 2009
This is my most recent Ernest J. Gains book. Again, beautifully written, attention grabbing right from the beginning through to the end. The characters were well thought out and the story true to life. A fantastic read, highly recommended. :)
September 28, 2025
*We will discuss this book in an upcoming episode of our podcast — Stay tuned!
~COVE OPINION: B-, Good story
August 2025
297th Cove Pick: IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE by Ernest J. Gaines
Chosen By: Irene
Trivia Winner - Millenia
~COVE OPINION: B-, Good story
August 2025
297th Cove Pick: IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE by Ernest J. Gaines
Chosen By: Irene
Trivia Winner - Millenia
December 10, 2012
Classy author writing classic books!
January 13, 2015
Review to follow.
January 9, 2019
I listened to the audiobook of this one. It's a well written book about boring daddy issues shit that I don't find interesting.
November 19, 2022
This read very much like a play. Almost all dialogue and really only four settings: Virginia's boarding house (this was only for a short time), Phillip's home, Phillip's car, and Chippo's house at the end.
PROS: Dialogue was well written. Totally authentic, easy-to-understand. I also thought the ending was great. I read reviewers say it felt unfinished, but I thought it stayed true to the story and was good to not have it tied up in a neat little bow. Felt real.
CONS: I will mirror what I read many reviewers say - the biggest problem - REPETITIVE. First, it was repetitive in physical descriptions. Everyone was either dark brown, light brown. But what was worse was the repetition in the INTERNAL DIALOGUE (I think that's what it's called). Without giving anything away, one of the beginning scenes Phillip is asking himself the SAME questions OVER AND OVER AND OVER. I love reflection, but reflection that might be moving the story forward, or if not that, allowing me to learn about the character. On top of that, there was too much internal dialogue. Who is that man? I know that man. Who is that man? Why do I know that man? Why isn't this relationship working? Was it working? Is this relationship working? Why isn't this working? Oh. My. God. I was begging the author to get out of this mental vortex and get to the next scene.
The characters were flat. The only character who felt developed was Chippo - and he only entered the last few pages of the story! I never knew who was who. And females were nonexistent except his wife, and she was barely there. I thought at first, well, it's the 70's. Nah. That's not gonna work. In the 1930's Steinbeck created Kate Trask; in the 1940s James Cain gave us Mildred Pierce, etc. etc. Some important females may have helped this story.
Frankly, I felt a bit duped. I thought that there was going to be a big reveal toward the end as to what some terrible incident was. But as it turns out, the terrible incident was already hashed out in one of the many "internal dialogue" scenes. There was no additional "terrible". I'll still read another book by Gaines, but this one was a disappointment.
PROS: Dialogue was well written. Totally authentic, easy-to-understand. I also thought the ending was great. I read reviewers say it felt unfinished, but I thought it stayed true to the story and was good to not have it tied up in a neat little bow. Felt real.
CONS: I will mirror what I read many reviewers say - the biggest problem - REPETITIVE. First, it was repetitive in physical descriptions. Everyone was either dark brown, light brown. But what was worse was the repetition in the INTERNAL DIALOGUE (I think that's what it's called). Without giving anything away, one of the beginning scenes Phillip is asking himself the SAME questions OVER AND OVER AND OVER. I love reflection, but reflection that might be moving the story forward, or if not that, allowing me to learn about the character. On top of that, there was too much internal dialogue. Who is that man? I know that man. Who is that man? Why do I know that man? Why isn't this relationship working? Was it working? Is this relationship working? Why isn't this working? Oh. My. God. I was begging the author to get out of this mental vortex and get to the next scene.
The characters were flat. The only character who felt developed was Chippo - and he only entered the last few pages of the story! I never knew who was who. And females were nonexistent except his wife, and she was barely there. I thought at first, well, it's the 70's. Nah. That's not gonna work. In the 1930's Steinbeck created Kate Trask; in the 1940s James Cain gave us Mildred Pierce, etc. etc. Some important females may have helped this story.
Frankly, I felt a bit duped. I thought that there was going to be a big reveal toward the end as to what some terrible incident was. But as it turns out, the terrible incident was already hashed out in one of the many "internal dialogue" scenes. There was no additional "terrible". I'll still read another book by Gaines, but this one was a disappointment.
November 14, 2023
What Would You Do If Your Past Stared Back Into Your Face After Fifteen Years?
Phillip Martin is a well established Minister in St. Adrienne with a loving wife and family. In town, he is very well known as the great civil rights leader. But, it's not until he has to take a long Journey back in time to realize things are rarely what they seem to be…
I had no idea what I was literally walking into opening this novel. This is just my second novel by Ernest J. Gaines. After reading, The Tragedy of Brady Sims, it was extremely important for me to continue with this author's collection because of his manner of Storytelling. The depth of his meticulous writing would not allow me to read this one swiftly. In only 214 pages, readers can visualize every scene just as you are experiencing the complete atmosphere vividly. And, this is the type of novel that I Adore.
With each chapter, this novel keeps readers' curiosity highly stimulated! Completely enthralling until the very last page. Although this is a short read, it was difficult for me to rush through this one because each character has deeply rooted issues that they are carrying in their lives. I fought back so many tears during this entire book and felt the deep pain of all these characters. Before completing this one, I needed several reading breaks since it is so well written with saddening Truth… right down to Rev. Phillip Martin questioning God 😢.
Ernest J. Gaines has written a Masterpiece with this one. Originally published in 1978, this author has written this novel, "In My Father's House", which exposes another type of slavery in modern America: it is slavery in the form of material success. This is such a compelling story from the beginning. It's a story of True Irony and one that I will be sure to read once again very soon ✨.
Phillip Martin is a well established Minister in St. Adrienne with a loving wife and family. In town, he is very well known as the great civil rights leader. But, it's not until he has to take a long Journey back in time to realize things are rarely what they seem to be…
I had no idea what I was literally walking into opening this novel. This is just my second novel by Ernest J. Gaines. After reading, The Tragedy of Brady Sims, it was extremely important for me to continue with this author's collection because of his manner of Storytelling. The depth of his meticulous writing would not allow me to read this one swiftly. In only 214 pages, readers can visualize every scene just as you are experiencing the complete atmosphere vividly. And, this is the type of novel that I Adore.
With each chapter, this novel keeps readers' curiosity highly stimulated! Completely enthralling until the very last page. Although this is a short read, it was difficult for me to rush through this one because each character has deeply rooted issues that they are carrying in their lives. I fought back so many tears during this entire book and felt the deep pain of all these characters. Before completing this one, I needed several reading breaks since it is so well written with saddening Truth… right down to Rev. Phillip Martin questioning God 😢.
Ernest J. Gaines has written a Masterpiece with this one. Originally published in 1978, this author has written this novel, "In My Father's House", which exposes another type of slavery in modern America: it is slavery in the form of material success. This is such a compelling story from the beginning. It's a story of True Irony and one that I will be sure to read once again very soon ✨.
February 4, 2026
In my father’s house was a novel that captivated me from the first page, thanks in large part to its writing. Throughout the entirety vividness of the imagery & grounded dialogue helped to shape an excellent image of what southern life for Black Americans was like, a balanced portrayal of the grievances endured by & pleasures of the black experience at the time. I found the protagonist to be a moving one; Phillip Martin, a pastor with a troubled past whose old life comes to catch up with him. Despite my frustration with him throughout the course of the novel for what I perceived as his inability to accept the harm he caused to his first family, I still found myself rooting for him. I found many of the support cast to be endearing as well, from the kind hearted Elijah to the poised Alma. There was also the young scarred soldier character whom I found to be a noteworthy and moving figure in his own right. Of all characters, though, I found myself sympathizing with Robert X the most. A shell of a man abandoned by his father who was forced to grow up, unable to fulfill the role he had been prematurely pushed into as a young man, neglecting in defending his younger sister. When it came to the assault experienced by Phillip’s first daughter, the story handled and presented it with a respectable level of care. He also serves as a mirror to Phillip, to reflect upon his past transgressions and to ultimately grow. The story’s themes of the importance of fatherhood, accepting the past and the disconnect between the older and younger generations are perfectly interwoven into each and every page. Truly a delightful read.
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