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cathyleigh1's review against another edition
4.0
Actually would give this a 4.5 star rating. I think it's my favorite book so far this year. A deeply moving story.
85tarheel's review against another edition
4.0
āAmerica was a country that believed that crime was who a person was, not just what they did.ā Guilt, blame, love, and regret all flow through this surprisingly complex book. I had read a newer novel by Mr. Hawley and enjoyed it but I was did not expect this book to be so complicated and work over so many issues and ideas. The basic story, and this is not really spoiling anything, is that a father is trying to deal with the news that his son may have assassinated a Presidential Candidate. The book alternates chapters from the first person viewpoint of the father and a third person look at the son. Mr. Hawley does a very good job of both viewpoints but I will admit that the chapters focused on the son suffer because he is one of those textbook āthe world has treated me bad so I need to do something badā psychopaths that I am just too tired of to give enough empathy. But the overall impact of the book is very strong and I think he did an incredible job of being in the fatherās head as he works through his emotions and the facts that he uncovers. As he realizes, āThere are things in this world that no human being should be able to endure. We should die of heartbreak, but we do not. Instead, we are forced to survive, to bear witness.ā All in all a very interesting and thought provoking book.
readhikerepeat's review against another edition
4.0
The Good Father by Noah Hawley is the haunting tale of Dr. Paul Allen, a remarried father of young twins, who is struggling to come to grips with a single horrific act perpetrated by, Daniel, his son from his first marriage. After dropping out of college for a soul-searching life on the road, Daniel assumed a new identity and is arrested for assassinating a popular presidential candidate. Mostly narrated by Dr. Allen, there are parts that switch to Danielās point-of-view, giving the reader the full 3-D experience.
Reading this book was a bit of a harrowing experience. What propels the book forward is Dr. Allenās quest to understand his sonās actions. He is desperate to prove his sonās innocence while also trying to come to terms with what he has done. Was it the divorce that changed his sweet boy into a killer? Was it the cross-country flights between parents? Was it because he had remarried and started a new family? Did he pay his son enough attention? These are the questions Dr. Allen asks himself as the rest of the world vilifies his son.
What is difficult about this book is that it personifies the killer. In light of recent events in Aurora, CO; Newtown, CT; and California, this is a difficult pill to swallow and I know that a of of people will likely put off reading The Good Father because of it. But it is a very good book and it should be read because itās main focus is the father. We oftentimes forget that violence affects the families of the guilty, and this is one of those rare books that delves into that unexplored side of tragedy.
For more reviews, go to The Book Wheel
Reading this book was a bit of a harrowing experience. What propels the book forward is Dr. Allenās quest to understand his sonās actions. He is desperate to prove his sonās innocence while also trying to come to terms with what he has done. Was it the divorce that changed his sweet boy into a killer? Was it the cross-country flights between parents? Was it because he had remarried and started a new family? Did he pay his son enough attention? These are the questions Dr. Allen asks himself as the rest of the world vilifies his son.
What is difficult about this book is that it personifies the killer. In light of recent events in Aurora, CO; Newtown, CT; and California, this is a difficult pill to swallow and I know that a of of people will likely put off reading The Good Father because of it. But it is a very good book and it should be read because itās main focus is the father. We oftentimes forget that violence affects the families of the guilty, and this is one of those rare books that delves into that unexplored side of tragedy.
For more reviews, go to The Book Wheel
jfr_wi's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed both "Before the Fall" and "The Good Father" by Noah Hawley. They both had the perfect amount of 'thrill' for me. They have enough suspense and mystery to keep me turning pages, but are not too intense for me, unlike many books in the thriller/suspense novel genre.
atamiinblue's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
paperbackprodigy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kurtvolmar's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Look, if Noah Hawley writes something Iām going to read / watch it and Iām going to like it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
ohheyymjreads's review against another edition
4.0
the way this one surprised me, hurt me, & drew me inā¦ itās a tough subject, but brilliantly written!
stephh's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of those books that I would never normally pick up based off its cover. However, it was a book club read and one that showed me why perhaps I should give more books the benefit of the doubt.
Set in the US after a man assassinates a prime democrat presidential candidate, this book is told from two points of view: the father of the killer and the killer himself. The father can't quite believe that his son who he has grown distant from but still loves deeply would do something like this, so he set out to prove his innocence despite the fact that the son has never proclaimed he is innocent. The book takes you on the father's increasingly desperate attempts to make sense of what happened, and makes you question it too.
The son's chapters on the other hand show his life in the years leading up to the murder he commits. You see the incidents in his early years that may have affected who he became as an adult, as well as the issues he had in the years preceding the murder.
The book really is as sad tale of regret from a father who never bothered to take the time to try to understand his child until he was forced to. He'd always considered himself to be a good father, despite the split with his ex wife and not living with his son. For me, his attempts to find out what really happened on the day, and rationalise the murder as either not being committed by his son or as his son being radicalised, was not really about his son: it was about the fact that he couldn't face the idea that he hadn't been the father he thought he was. He had to re-evaluate his own identity, rather than his son's.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author included snippets about other high profile US assassinations throughout which I found very interesting as I really didn't know much about any of them. The emotional journey that the father went on was really well done, and I found myself along with him willing the son to not have committed the crime. I liked the fact that the book kept you guessing at the end - there's a segment of the son's life missing that the father cannot find the answers to and is kept from the reader in the son's sections. It means that I came away with different thoughts about what may or may not have happened in that time than other readers and thus a different perception of the book as a whole.
I gave this four stars and would recommend it for fans of Louise Doughty's books.
Set in the US after a man assassinates a prime democrat presidential candidate, this book is told from two points of view: the father of the killer and the killer himself. The father can't quite believe that his son who he has grown distant from but still loves deeply would do something like this, so he set out to prove his innocence despite the fact that the son has never proclaimed he is innocent. The book takes you on the father's increasingly desperate attempts to make sense of what happened, and makes you question it too.
The son's chapters on the other hand show his life in the years leading up to the murder he commits. You see the incidents in his early years that may have affected who he became as an adult, as well as the issues he had in the years preceding the murder.
The book really is as sad tale of regret from a father who never bothered to take the time to try to understand his child until he was forced to. He'd always considered himself to be a good father, despite the split with his ex wife and not living with his son. For me, his attempts to find out what really happened on the day, and rationalise the murder as either not being committed by his son or as his son being radicalised, was not really about his son: it was about the fact that he couldn't face the idea that he hadn't been the father he thought he was. He had to re-evaluate his own identity, rather than his son's.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author included snippets about other high profile US assassinations throughout which I found very interesting as I really didn't know much about any of them. The emotional journey that the father went on was really well done, and I found myself along with him willing the son to not have committed the crime. I liked the fact that the book kept you guessing at the end - there's a segment of the son's life missing that the father cannot find the answers to and is kept from the reader in the son's sections. It means that I came away with different thoughts about what may or may not have happened in that time than other readers and thus a different perception of the book as a whole.
I gave this four stars and would recommend it for fans of Louise Doughty's books.
quinndm's review against another edition
3.0
For a book that tackles this subject matter, I was surprised by how much the epilogue affected me emotionallyā¦ and thatās because Noah Hawley does it with genuine emotion, without cliche or melodrama. The story, though severe and heavy, never felt depressing or too dark but, instead, was an engaging and fascinating look at a family, especially a father, trying to understand what happened and why. The book left me a little āunfulfilled,ā but I suppose that was the point.