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The Sight of the Stars
The Sight of the Stars
Author: Belva Plain
From the beloved author of twenty New York Times best sellers comes a mesmerizing new novel -- a tale that spans the pivotal events of 20th century America to chronicle four generations of one family... as they journey through years of love, loss and unimaginable betrayal. — Dressed in a brand-new suit, with $150 in his pocket, 19-year-old Adam A...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780440296096
ISBN-10: 0440296099
Publication Date: 2/2004
Pages: 343
Rating:
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 3

3.3 stars, based on 3 ratings
Publisher: Bantam
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

emeraldfire avatar reviewed The Sight of the Stars on
Helpful Score: 1
Dressed in a new suit with 150 dollars in his pocket, Adam Arnring says goodbye to his family and boards a train for the West. The year is 1907. Adam is nineteen years old, a young man with stars in his eyes who has dreams of a bright future in the wide open spaces of America. Far from his New Jersey roots, Adam lands a job in a small department store in a booming Texas town. He is taken with the beautiful and untouchable Emma Rothirsch who inhabits a world whose doors are forever closed to him. But Adam is determined to fight for what he wants.

One is Emma, another is to build a lasting empire to pass on to his children and grandchildren. But just when Adam seems to be able to attain what he wants, fate intervenes. Tragedy strikes from the trenches of World War I, setting in motion a series of events which will have reprecussions throughout the years.

Adam, now the head of a growing family and a prosperous department store, succumbs to a moment of weakness culminating in an ultimate act of betrayal - one that is unforgivable. Now as a new generation of the family is born, a secret from the Arnrings' past reaches forward to shatter their lives.

Surprisingly, this is one of very few books by Ms. Plain that is completely new to me. Somehow, it never even registered on my radar that she had written a new book until this one had been out for almost a decade. I have always thought Belva Plain was a wonderful author - in my opinion, she was a natural born storyteller, able to develop the type of characters that readers could really relate to and plots that were incredibly realistic.

The Sight of the Stars by Belva Plain is just such a book - I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, and was completely swept away by it; avidly wanting to know what would happen next. I would definitely give this book an A+! and would whole-heartedly recommend it to others who enjoy reading historical family sagas.
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reviewed The Sight of the Stars on + 26 more book reviews
Adam Arnring leaves his family in l907 and sets out with stars in his eyes with great hopes for a bright future. His two goals are to get Emma,whose doors are firmly closed to him, and the bright business career. He achieves great success, but succumbs to a moment of weakness that culminates in an unforgivable act of betrayal. The book is well-written and fast moving.
reviewed The Sight of the Stars on + 136 more book reviews
Explores the bonds that sustain families.
reviewed The Sight of the Stars on + 496 more book reviews
I enjoyed this book, but something on the back cover had me looking for "past begins to unravel, revealing a shattering secret that reached back nearly a century." I kept waiting for some deep secret twist.
Don't get hung up on that, because there are secrets, and the plot thickens, but I never found this sentence to be true. I wasted a lot of thought looking for something that never came.
reviewed The Sight of the Stars on + 95 more book reviews
I really enjoyed reading this book, very fast reading, hard to put down,
Belva Plain at her ultimate best...
A wonderful story that chronicles four generations of one family...as they journey through years of love,loss and unimaginable betrayal....
reviewed The Sight of the Stars on + 14 more book reviews
I loved this. Just the insight to the early 20th century is great. It is very warm and loving.
reviewed The Sight of the Stars on + 25 more book reviews
Interesting book by one of my favorite authors.
reviewed The Sight of the Stars on + 14 more book reviews
From Publishers Weekly

In bestseller Plain's 21st novel, the son of a Jewish shopkeeper and an Irish farm girl seeks, and finds, his fortune in Texas. The saga begins in 1900, when 13-year-old Adam Arnring learns his parents had never married. His father and stepmother are good people, but he never really wanted to work in the family shop, so at 19 he hops a westbound train from New Jersey with $150 in his pocket. In the small but prosperous and growing town of Chattahoochee, Tex., he parlays his family grocery store experience and a moment of serendipity into a start-up job in a local clothing store. Thanks to years of hard work and a bit of luck, Adam takes over the business and becomes a wealthy and successful man; he even marries Emma Rothirsch, the formidable founder's beautiful and musical niece. Plains speeds forward as Adam and his family in Texas and back in New Jersey suffer the tragedies of World War I, the Great Depression and World War II. She shows Adam turn from a bachelor to a father of five, then to a grandfather and a great-grandfather. Her characters are pleasant and her plot is well paced, with dashes of intrigue, family feuds and secrets to spice things up. However, a side plot involving one of Adam's half-brothers, the hapless misfit Leo, who buries himself in mysterious books and comes to a fortune through blackmail, completely misses the mark. There's nothing revelatory here, just a lot of characters living their lives, and as such, it's an entertaining enough tale.


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