Town Father Or Where Graceful Girls Abound edition by Kevin Brennan Literature Fiction eBooks
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Three hundred independent-minded women in 1880s California have embarked on a seemingly impossible journey to establish a town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada composed exclusively of women. The only way for the singular town of Hestia to succeed, though, is for a second generation of residents to come along, and the women imagine there must be, somewhere in the country, a benign and willing gentleman who can help them. In short, a Town Father.
Set against the rough-and-ready backdrop of Gold Country, Town Father chronicles the occidental adventure of Hestia's choice, Henry O'Farrell, as he comes to believe in the women’s feminist dream, living their trials and tragedies at their side. Rosella Kimball (architect), Lucien Thorpe (poet, philosopher), Maisie Grace (markswoman), Tilly Swan (builder), and the object of his private affections, Avis Honeycutt (executive) -- along with 295 other utopian trailblazers -- may not be his wives, but they are his loves. Hestia, named for the Greek goddess of hearth and home, is where he was always meant to be.
The only question is whether society at large will let them all live in peace…
Town Father Or Where Graceful Girls Abound edition by Kevin Brennan Literature Fiction eBooks
Town Father is an historical fiction novel that takes place in the late 1800s in an all-women, utopian town named Hestia. Hestia needs a male to sire the next generation. Henry is surely the least qualified man available and doesn’t understand what he’s gotten himself into, which allows for several comical scenes. The reader gets to laugh, ponder the feminist ideals of such a utopia, and find out whether the whole enterprise, and Henry’s place in it, is a flop, a success, or something else entirely.On the whole I enjoyed Town Father, which is a big deal because I’m not normally into historical fiction or feminist literature. I wanted to give the book 5 stars, but there were a few distracting places where I thought Brennan’s own voice popped in, standing out against the background of the story. For example, Henry (or rather Brennan) opines about the political state of the country and where it’s headed, and later on he says something about men and the earth and belligerence.
Still, it’s brilliantly written book. With Henry in the position of the (literal) town father, there has to be sex scenes, and plenty of them, but Brennan handles them without the details coming across as gratuitous or titillating, just intimate and respectful. Likewise, Brennan pens violent scenes with heartache rather than made-for-TV gore. (He’s SUCH a good writer, folks!) The ending was extremely satisfying. Brennan’s writing is so good with deep character development, precise and fresh word choices, and clever layers of meaning that I was wholly captivated. Four-point-five stars!
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Town Father Or Where Graceful Girls Abound edition by Kevin Brennan Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Town Father's premise is that of a women-only feminist utopia, Hestia, set in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada at the turn of the 20th century (late 1800s & early 1900s). To ensure the community's future, the women contract a Town Father. Although Hestia is far from my ideal, and I'm a feminist, I found the novel very entertaining. My own skepticism and love for monogamy and marriage kept me from every seriously entertaining the premise. But, that is what is so fun about reading fiction. I can set aside my own preconceptions and preferences, and enjoy a world unlike my own. Of course, there have been other utopian free-love communes in US history. Oneida, for example, comes to mind.
This latest novel by Kevin Brennan could be considered a slight departure from his earlier novels. Town Father is historical fiction (1880s forward), written in a style that evokes the manners and sentiments of the time. But that is as far as it departs. All the rest—the dry humor, the humanity, the subtle but pointed political commentary (“I am afraid for the country, though in many ways I no longer live in it”)—is there, just as it is in his earlier work. And it is what all his novels and short stories have in common that make them quintessentially the work of Kevin Brennan.
On the surface, Town Father is a polite, delightful story of a utopian experiment the establishment of a town of 300 women, who are all “serviced” by one very dedicated and moral gentleman. It sounds almost whimsical, except from the very beginning of the novel, the reader develops sympathy for the gentleman which leads quickly to a desire to protect him. Henry O’Farrell is a kind, dutiful man who suffered a broken heart due to the fact that his beloved’s father thought him a man of few prospects. His pain is such that he suffers from stuttering and asthmatic attacks whenever in the company of a beautiful woman. So imagine how he might fare among 300 beautiful women.
Without telling you the whole story, suffice to say that Brennan neatly lays out a plot that contrives to have Mr. O’Farrell innocently move from Philadephia to the foothills of the Sierras in California, thinking his mission in his new employment to be simply the clerk of a new town called Hestia. He is completely unaware of the intent of the six women who govern Hestia. Once all is made clear, he struggles against the seeming immorality of it, but it’s too late. He is smitten with all of Hestia, as is, by that point, the reader herself.
Hestia is idyllic, with every citizen contributing to the growth and well-being of the community, using the best of her talents and skill. And so does Henry contribute, heretofore unaware of his soon-to-be apparent talents and skill in getting women pregnant. But still, Henry is an ideal Town Father in that he believes in his mission (as comically as that is presented at times) and he sympathizes with the community’s concern about male influences “[…] they are so right about humans of the male persuasion in this world. It is—sad to say—a Darwinian place, this earth and country we hand down to our children, where the strong and belligerent win every time.”
But can such a utopia truly last? There are tensions between Hestia and the nearest town, where the men look upon Henry with suspicion and disdain. Outsiders intrude, quickly discerning the town’s secrets, and for a time Henry leaves, believing that his presence will only make things worse. There are no easy resolutions as the outside world presses in, but the women of Hestia, and, eventually again, Henry, persevere. Though in this review, I’m focused on Henry, each of the major female characters—Avis, Maisie, Tilly, Willow, Callipoe, Lucien, Paige to name a few—left deep impressions on me. You would think with such a large cast of characters, the reader would get lost, forget who is who. But much like Henry, who learns to recognize each visitor to his bed even in the dark, the reader learns to tell Tilly from Paige, Avis from Lucien.
I had the good fortune to read the second half of the book in one sitting, a relief since a number of the plot twists turn there. Initially this novel seemed to be turning into nonfiction since in the first half, Hestia runs smoothly and grows by leaps and bounds thanks to Henry’s service. But darker times come and they don’t go away easily. Hestia and Henry are tested, and during that second half, I was often on the edge of my seat (actually, couch), eager to find out what would happen next.
I will say the ending surprised me, ending on more of a philosophical note than a cliffhanger or plot twist “The culmination of life may as well be this moment, he thought.” But I want things to end well for Henry and for Hestia. I’m not sure I can fully believe that without Henry, the town will be able to keep the outside world out. But that I could believe at all that one man, even the right man, could enable a community of women to prosper points to the power of Brennan’s writing.
I highly recommend Town Father. If you want just a delightful romp through what could be everyman’s dream, it’s the book for you. But if you want that romp to test your sense of the world, of humanity, and of morality (oh, the irony of a thief and possible murderer referring to Henry as immoral), then this book is also for you.
I have been a fan of Kevin Brennan's writing since I read Yesterday Road and was not disappointed when I rushed to buy Town Father. My fandom (if that is a word) is based on Kevin's extraordinary ability to take a small piece of a story and build it into a literary tour de force. As a writer, I am hopelessly in awe of Kevin's writing and in some small way I pick up his books with the idea of being exceptionally critical. Instead, I walk away with new learning on character and plot development.
The story itself is very straightforward. A guy is asked to come to a town of nothing but women to take over the duties slowly revealed to be the sire for a new generation of residents. Okay enough said. The reader can now expect a bunch of machinations around relationships, right? Wrong. The reader has no idea what is to unfold and here is the best part. The reader has to stay with the story because it is told so damn well that the outcomes are not the point. The point is the journey to get to the outcomes.
The town is a utopia, and the protagonist is living the dream of every male on the planet. The dream does come with some complications which Mr. Brennan masterfully weaves into the story. The reader becomes increasingly concerned about the health and welfare of not just the residents but the very town itself. We end up caring what happens to this little piece of heaven, and this then exemplifies the genius of the writing.
The story is one that will be enjoyed by all readers no matter the genre preference. I give the book five stars and anything less would not be an honest reflection of my appraisal. (envious or no)
Town Father is an historical fiction novel that takes place in the late 1800s in an all-women, utopian town named Hestia. Hestia needs a male to sire the next generation. Henry is surely the least qualified man available and doesn’t understand what he’s gotten himself into, which allows for several comical scenes. The reader gets to laugh, ponder the feminist ideals of such a utopia, and find out whether the whole enterprise, and Henry’s place in it, is a flop, a success, or something else entirely.
On the whole I enjoyed Town Father, which is a big deal because I’m not normally into historical fiction or feminist literature. I wanted to give the book 5 stars, but there were a few distracting places where I thought Brennan’s own voice popped in, standing out against the background of the story. For example, Henry (or rather Brennan) opines about the political state of the country and where it’s headed, and later on he says something about men and the earth and belligerence.
Still, it’s brilliantly written book. With Henry in the position of the (literal) town father, there has to be sex scenes, and plenty of them, but Brennan handles them without the details coming across as gratuitous or titillating, just intimate and respectful. Likewise, Brennan pens violent scenes with heartache rather than made-for-TV gore. (He’s SUCH a good writer, folks!) The ending was extremely satisfying. Brennan’s writing is so good with deep character development, precise and fresh word choices, and clever layers of meaning that I was wholly captivated. Four-point-five stars!
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