Tokey thinks that it was impossible for King to be a good parent all the time to each of his children. Do you think that was true? What did you think of King as a parent?

Tokey thinks that it was impossible for King to be a good parent all the time to each of his children, given their own “attitudes, temperaments and aspirations.” Do you think that was true? What did you think of King as a parent?

We are told that King probably knew about Junior and just wanted him to find himself. Yet Junior never felt this - and believed he had repeatedly failed his father - both as a carpenter and as a man.

As a parent, King may have loved his children, but they all had significant problems which may or may not have been affected by his relationship to each of them.

King was wrapped up in his own grief and was a good parent by his own standards. He taught the boys woodworking, he fed and clothed his children. What more was required of him? I think he loved the children but probably was overwhelmed by their individual needs.

King wasn't raised to be an affectionate man. I think it was hard to show feelings to his children and to cope with all the varying personalities. I think he was of the generation that meant men were the providers and women the caretakers,

Since King dies at the beginning of the story, we only learn about him through his children and their experience of him. He seems to be putting one foot in front of the other just to put food on the table and pay his taxes. As a man of few words who leads by example, we come to know him by the strength and character of his children.

I agree with Marcia S. King reminded me of my father in some ways. I don't remember a lot of affection, but he always did nice things for my sister and I. I think he left it up to my mother to pay more attention to us. I fortunately had a wonderful childhood because of the roles they each played.

Many men do not show much emotion whether it be grief, or love. They are more comfortable in doing things for others. King expressed himself with his hands - providing a home or protecting his loved ones. He taught through example, not by words.

We aren't really given enough information about King's fathering, since he dies at the beginning of the book. But raising your children without them even knowing their mother's name doesn't win him father of the year in my book.

I agree with Sallyh. I thought King had no excuse to allow his kids to think that their mother abandoned them. But as a parent, I think its hard to be a good parent to all you kids all the time! But being honest with them would have been a start

I think it's very hard to be a "good parent" to your children ALL the time. I believe people do the best they can based on their own childhood.

As other reviewers have mentioned, I really struggled with the fact that King never told his children about the death of their mother. Being able to grieve her loss instead of always wondering why she left them and never came back really affected each of the children and their ability to trust others.

I don't think I agree with Tokey. Our understanding of King only comes from his children or others. I doubt they know the full situation. King certainly tried to take care of his children and taught them a trade. However, he was in grief and was not able to express his feelings.

I actually had a lot of sympathy for King as a parent. Although we never get to meet him, one can imagine the difficult life he had. I'm sure they couldn't have had a lot of money, plus he had four young children and no partner to help him. Each of his children had radically different needs, and I'm sure he didn't know how to meet them. It seems like the only child he really understood was Manse. I think he did his best.

Each sibling is so different, and their lives are so diverse, that I think it would be difficult, if not impossible, to parent each of the kids effectively. I'm a mother of four myself, and life provides so many ups and downs that I definitely needed to focus differently on each of my children's needs/desires/crises as they came along. Without prejudice, I'm not sure a father does this the same way as a mother, and King did not have the advantage of a partner to collaborate on each of his children in this way. Thankfully, I did.

I think Hazel's death changed King. He might have been a different type of parent if she had lived. He and Mance could find some type of relationship through their woodworking, but it doesn't seem that the other children had much of a relationship with their father. They each in their own way felt they were not living up to their father's expectations and he didn't really seem to do anything to change that.

I feel King did the best he could given his circumstances and the time the book was centered in. As a parent you try to do the best with the knowledge you have, the way you were raised, the money you have etc. anyone could say would of, could of.

I think King struggled as parent. It’s an hard enough job in an he best of circumstances but After Hazel died he couldn’t deal well with the kids or the circumstances. He loved them. But as Jesse said after Hazel died, he no longer smiled or laughed. Since he never shared what happened to Hazel with kids. They clung to each other for support.

I think King was from a generation where fathers were supposed to be providers and protectors and not necessarily nurturers. The whole thing about telling the children nothing about their mother's absence was a huge mistake and caused each child too create their own story based on zero facts. I think they all felt guilt, as if it was their fault and/or wondered what their father had done to drive her away. That her name was never mentioned is disgusting. That being said I don't think any parent can always be a "good parent" never mind be a good parent to all four children all the time!

With all his own grief and emotional problems, King was doing what he could. I don’t think he knew how to handle some of kids issues. King was overwhelmed