Matters of Chance

by Jeannette Haien

Book Overview

Matters of Chance is a glorious, aptivating novel about Morgan and Maude Shurtliff, who fall in love and marry in the years before World WarII. Unable to have children of their own, Morgan and Maude adopt twin girls. The four go home to their beautiful house in the country outside ofNew York City and begin to settle into what they hope will be a long and happy life. When the twins are still young, Morgan is called to serve inWorld War II, leaving...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060929529
• ISBN13: 9780060929527
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Extraordinary, eloquent, poignant, a must read.

My only words to describe my experience was to a dear friend who also read this extraordinary novel and my words were "Okay, now what do I do". It left me feeling as if any other book I would read would pale in comparison.

wonderfully written story of a man's life and lovesOf

Of the many new books I have read recently, I enjoyed this one the most. Ms. Haien writes well and captures the sincerity and decentness of her main character Morgan. His love for his wife and adopted daughters and the progression of his life through many stages lead the reader through every page. The veiled nature of the older woman whom he befriends lends a richness to the story and the plot twist near the end is unexpected. I have not read others of Ms. Haien's work, but I expect to as a result of the pleasure I received from this work.smh

A very good read

This book is about the 40's and 50's; it is written in the prose, style, and sentiment of those years; it has the manners and the voice of those decades. The writing is formal, the themes are idealistic, the plot is secondary to the characters. If you enjoy good writing about a special, simpler time, you'll enjoy this book. If you're strung out on 90's deconstructivism and can't or don't want to understand the codes and morays by which some people used to live, then you might think the book is trite or the author is somehow a betrayal to her gender (?). I for one found the female characters very strong and interesting, but then I think that mothers can be strong, passionate figures without being lawyers as well.