After the Fire

Rating:
Summary: After the Fire--A Must Read
Review: After the Fire, by Belva Plain, is a very good book because it holds your interest and makes you want to keep reading. The plot begins a little slowly as it describes the meeting, dating, and subsequent marriage of Gerald and Hyacinth. The pace picks up, however, once Gerald becomes a successful doctor and their marriage begins to fall apart.When Hyacinth's jealously places her in Gerald's office building the night it burns down, deceit, divorce, and blackmail quickly follow. The twists and turns of Hyacinth's life after her divorce and loss of custody of her children make this book a real page-turner.

Belva Plain does an excellent job of describing her characters and making the reader feel their pain. As Hyacinth mopes around the house after Gerald and the kids move to Florida, you want to cry right along with her. When she finally pulls herself together, goes to school, and becomes a successful fashion designer, you want to cheer for her. On the other hand, you want to despise Gerald for being so cruel and keeping the children away from their mother. The reader's heart also aches for the children who are caught in the middle and cannot be told the truth about what is keeping their mother from them. I would definitely recommend this book to all those who enjoy reading suspense and romance novels.

Rating:
Summary: Sorry I read this title!
Review: Belva Plain is one of those authors who I still insist uon reading. But now, after finishing After the Fire, I may very well pass on reading her books in the future. Known for her blockbuster hit Evergreen and the continuation of this family saga, some years ago Plain ventured into more contemporary subjects. I for one sure wish she hadn't especially after reading this book and Homecoming and Fortune's Hand among other titles. Concentrating on today's issues liek spousal abuse, black mail, family issues, adultery and child abuse, I still long to read a book like Evergreen or even her more recent Legacy of Secrets which was her last good book.

The theme of After the Fire is once again rich girl marries poor doctor man and while their lives should be picture perfect, they're not. And in one moment the husband is in a position not only to divorce hsi wife but also sue her for custody of their children. The remainder of the book is predictable but all the whiel I wondered why the woman didn't pursue his allegations.

I'm sorry I can't recommend this book, even as a beach read and am still longing for another great read from Belva.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: Hyacinth has met the love of her life, Gerald, a medical student who wants to marry her. She is sure that theirs will be a "happily-ever-after" marriage. Her mother warns her about things she has observed in Gerald, but Hyacinth, undaunted, proceeds with the wedding. As it turns out, Mother really does know best in this case but Hyacinth has to learn this the hard way. Gerald uses an unfortunate incident against Hyacinth and she loses everything that she loves. Eventually she finds her true niche in life through a man who loves her, but her secret past keeps her from marrying him. This is a good page-turner and one in which you do care about the main character.

Rating:
Summary: This soap opera is a squeaky clean page turner!
Review: I assume that this work is indicative of other titles by the author. Never dull, it is remarkably wholesome in spite of "sordid" subject matter. If it's a G-rated romance/soap opera novel you're after, this is a good choice. Not racy enough to be a LIFETIME movie, it will at least be good company on that cross-country airline ride!

Rating:
Summary: Another entertainer from Belva Plain
Review: I think my first Belva Plain was Evergreen, and I have to admit I haven't found another book as wonderful as that one. But I have enjoyed Plain's novels over the years just the same. I usually suggest Ms. Plain to fans of Maeve Binchy because they are both such wonderful storytellers. After the Fire was no disappointment. Hyacinth, a naive artist, falls in love with Gerald, a seemingly responsible, loving husband. After the birth of their two children, Gerald strays from the marriage and his family. They divorce and the rest of the novel depicts Hyacinth's ability to pick herself up and move on. There are a lot of surprises in the novel, and I think you will enjoy taking time to read After the Fire.

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: I'll have to reserve a higher rating until I finish this saga. I think I will have to agree with the previous reviewer that gave a low rating. The dialog is so stilted I can't believe what I am reading. I AM a Belva Plain admirer, but her writing here leaves much to be desired.
Back to this unbelievable couple and their disolving marriage.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a straight 5 starts!!
Review: I'm an avid reader of Belva Plain's books, and After The Fire is just another one of her masterpieces. I really don't understand how anyone who've read this book can think otherwise.

Rating:
Summary: my review
Review: In this story, Hyacinth is a woman who is faced with one of the most horrible moments in a mother's life: she is forced to give up her two children for a moment of craziness she already regrets.

Faced with an incredible emptiness, she is able, with the help of a total stranger, to rebuild her life. what once seemed an impossibility becomes her career and she is good at it.

The story is interesting and the plot keeps you interested till the end. It makes a good summer reading.

Rating:
Summary: A Well-Written Book-All About Truthfulness in Relationships
Review: In this story, the picture-perfect marriage dissolves when Hyacinth's physician-husband, is found to be having an affair. One terrible night she commits an act that she will regret for the rest of her life. An act that gives her husband the ultimate weapon; blackmail. The price of his silence is uncontested custody of their two children.

When her own beautiful, angry mother wants to know why Hyacinth won't fight for custody, she can give no anwers. For she alone knows, or believe she knows, what really happened on that fateful night.

Rating:
Summary: A Grandma Book!
Review: This book falls into the category of what I call Grandma or Mothers Day books--probably given as a gift.
Hyacinth,a quiet,gentle and totally non-sophisticated girl is swept off her feet by a handsome,go-getting young doctor who is quick to seize any opportunities to advance his career.Against the advice of her mother,she marries him and sublimates her budding artistic career to him and their subsequent children.Unfortunately, Hyacinth is too much of an innocent to realise that this monster is "Gaslighting" her into a state of subjugation to the point where he forces her into a divorce and the signing away of her children.He convinces her that she's guilty of a criminal offence which,if brought to light would ruin the lives of her family.I am normally a fairly mild mannered person but I could cheerfully have punched this excuse for a man till he was a pulp! After many lonely years,she meets a new love who sets her on the path to newly realised talents and who helps her to rediscover her self confidence and future happiness with him and her reclaimed children.