Honor Thy Farther and Thy Mother

Book Review

By Richard E. Noble

This is the most serious book that I have written. It is one of those cathartic books that all writers feel that they must write to square themselves with their consciences. Most writers have made a bargain with the god of truth. There are books that we all feel that we must write or our lives will have been lost in the small print.

I wasn’t going to publish this book because I felt it was too personal and because of the “Mommy Dearest or Daddy Dearest” implications. But then my wife read it. She read it and felt that it may be the best thing that I had ever written. She felt it to be objective and gave her insights into other lives that she had never gotten from her personal experiences or from anything else that she had ever read. She particularly liked the “style” of the book. When I told her that I had no intention of publishing it, she was upset. “You finally write a book that I think is great and you are not going to publish it? What is it with you?”

In any case, at her insistence, we began editing. We had some serious debates on this one but after all was said and done, we both feel that we came out with a very good novel.

The book is written in a style like nothing else I have written. It is stark and unembellished. This was one of those stories that told itself – I had to keep out of the way. Although it is written in the third person, it is the child who is actually writing this book. It is written from the inside out. You see the events from inside the child and as he grows, you grow with him.

It is a “heady” book with many different levels. You will recognize the different levels according to your experiences with life. Because of this fact, it can be read and enjoyed by a twelve year old or and eighty year old. Each will read and ponder a different tale. To one it might be the sad story of a little boy. To another it will be a Freudian mind bender. To yet another it may be a sociological triste.

As I said previously, it is a serious book. There are some chuckles as described in Richard’s first day at school or Grandma’s arrival at Christmas time.

But if I have done my job you will spend much of your reading time with this book lying open on your chest or in your lap as you reflect.

At the risk of being cliché, I wrote this book in the hope that it would be considered “thought provoking.”

I doubt if I will write anything this deep or emotionally involved ever again in my life. I have no desire to. Writing this novel was a strain and it took many years. I hope that those of you who are courageous enough to read this type of book will find it time well spent. It is not “Mary Poppins.”