Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Best of 2024 ezine!

Read advance reader review of The Good Father by Noah Hawley

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reviews |  Beyond the book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Good Father by Noah Hawley

The Good Father

A Novel

by Noah Hawley
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (24):
  • First Published:
  • Mar 20, 2012, 320 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2013, 320 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Reviews


Page 1 of 4
There are currently 23 member reviews
for The Good Father
Order Reviews by:
  • Tillie H. (Baltimore, MD)
    Compelling
    This is a compelling novel about a father whose son has been accused of murdering the next president. The book is very well written and shows how the father believes in the son's innocence no matter what the media says. His journey through process causes him to soul search to discover if there is something he could have done to prevent this tragedy.

    I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. The only part of this book that I didn't like is that he seeks to compare this situation with all the other assassinations that have made headlines in the past 5 decades. But, I would still recommend it.
  • Jinny K. (Fremont, CA)
    The Good Father
    Compelling and tragic tale of a devoted father's quest to find the answer to his son's inexplicable murderous act. He traces his son's actions over the last few years, agonizes over every moment of his childhood and researches murders of public figures in a heartbreaking but fruitless effort to understand the tragedy.

    His character is very sympathetic and the story is engaging.
  • Elinor M. (Roswell, NM)
    The Good Father
    This is definitely a novel that captures your interest from the start. Hawley exhibits a remarkable style of writing that places the reader clearly in the mind of both father and son. One can feel the tug of guilt in the father as his relentless attempts to help his son seem in vain. At the same time, the independent nature of the son grasps your consciousness.

    "Blame" seems to be the name of the game here and I feel, because of that very subject, "The Good Father" would be an excellent book club choice, resulting in spirited discussions. Book club member or not, Hawley's work is a gripping narrative of a father/son relationship. It has my wholehearted recommendation.

    (As an aside, having recently reviewed William Landay's "Defending Jacob", I noted a similarity in the storyline at the start and, particularly later, at the point wherein the possibility of inherited genes was considered as the behavioral cause.)
  • Cynthia C. (Peekskill, NY)
    The Good Father by Noah Hawley
    I was not able to put this book down. A plot straight out of today's headlines with well-drawn characters, it is an intense read, perfect for book club discussions. Highly recommended!
  • Debbie M. (grand junction, CO)
    The Good Father
    The Good Father was a fascinating book. You think you know your child, but do you? Dr Paul Allen was a good father, trying hard to raise good children. What would cause his oldest child to do the unthinkable, to assassinate a presidential candidate .
    The book looks at how one family dealt with being in the spotlight. The denial and then the scrutinizing of every detail over and over again. We seldom think about the family of the accused. How they feel. What their lives must be like from that moment on. How they blame themselves. Hawley gives us great insight into a situation none of us ever want to find ourselves in.
  • Margaret M. (Chicago, IL)
    The good father
    The Good Father is an excellent read. The plot is great! It keeps your interest to the extent that it is hard to put down.

    The characters are well drawn and believable.if you are a parent or not you can easily identify with the family.
  • Beth K. (New York, NY)
    The Good Father
    A book that pulled me in from the first page, The Good Father is a work that is both wholly mesmerizing and utterly disturbing.

    The book shifts focus subtly, at times questioning the level of Daniel’s actual guilt, but always returning to the ultimate issue of how Dr. Allen can reconcile the man his son has become.

    A good portion of the middle section of the book contains detailed accounts of the actions of several well-known killers. This material at times felt creepy, and I was somewhat put off by the frequent interruption to the feel and flow of the narrative that resulted from including this information. As the book moved past this section, though, I quickly got back into the story, and it ultimately did not detract from my reading experience.

    A book that will stay with you after you read the last page, and a definitely a conversational gold mine for book clubs.

Beyond the Book:
  Parents of Young Killers

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    The Frozen River
    by Ariel Lawhon
    "I cannot say why it is so important that I make this daily record. Perhaps because I have been ...
  • Book Jacket
    Prophet Song
    by Paul Lynch
    Paul Lynch's 2023 Booker Prize–winning Prophet Song is a speedboat of a novel that hurtles...
  • Book Jacket: The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
    The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
    by Lynda Cohen Loigman
    Lynda Cohen Loigman's delightful novel The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern opens in 1987. The titular ...
  • Book Jacket: Small Rain
    Small Rain
    by Garth Greenwell
    At the beginning of Garth Greenwell's novel Small Rain, the protagonist, an unnamed poet in his ...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
In Our Midst
by Nancy Jensen
In Our Midst follows a German immigrant family’s fight for freedom after their internment post–Pearl Harbor.
Book Jacket
The Story Collector
by Evie Woods
From the international bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop!
Who Said...

Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Big Holiday Wordplay 2024

Enter Now

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.