From Publishers Weekly
In bestseller Plain's 21st novel, the son of a Jewish shopkeeper and an Irish farm girl seeks, and finds, his fortune in Texas. The saga begins in 1900, when 13-year-old Adam Arnring learns his parents had never married. His father and stepmother are good people, but he never really wanted to work in the family shop, so at 19 he hops a westbound train from New Jersey with $150 in his pocket. In the small but prosperous and growing town of Chattahoochee, Tex., he parlays his family grocery store experience and a moment of serendipity into a start-up job in a local clothing store. Thanks to years of hard work and a bit of luck, Adam takes over the business and becomes a wealthy and successful man; he even marries Emma Rothirsch, the formidable founder's beautiful and musical niece. Plains speeds forward as Adam and his family in Texas and back in New Jersey suffer the tragedies of World War I, the Great Depression and World War II. She shows Adam turn from a bachelor to a father of five, then to a grandfather and a great-grandfather. Her characters are pleasant and her plot is well paced, with dashes of intrigue, family feuds and secrets to spice things up. However, a side plot involving one of Adam's half-brothers, the hapless misfit Leo, who buries himself in mysterious books and comes to a fortune through blackmail, completely misses the mark. There's nothing revelatory here, just a lot of characters living their lives, and as such, it's an entertaining enough tale.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
David Pittu skillfully depicts Adam Armring's pioneering sense of business as he successfully takes over Mrs. R's dilapidated department store at the turn of the century. Using a variety of voices and accents, he reveals strong emotions and moral convictions, particularly those of Mrs. R, an elderly Jewish matron who is also his employer. Pittu portrays Emma, Mrs. R's niece, with innocence and naïveté, as Armring continues to resist his attraction to her, fearful of his low station. As Pittu deftly switches male and female roles, along with tone and moods, the listener is led to care deeply about Armring's budding romance and business success. This audio delivers an engrossing story. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Plain's latest offering is the story of Adam Arnring, who heads off for the American West at the beginning of the twentieth century to make his fortune. He ends up in Chattahoochee, California, and soon finds himself working at a store owned by the persnickety Mrs. Rothirsch. Adam's suggestions help to turn the small, insignificant clothing store into a supplier of the most fashionable women's clothes. Adam's success brings prosperity, but he sends most of the money he earns back home to his elderly father and his two brothers. Adam finds himself drawn to Mrs. Rothirsch's beautiful, talented niece, Emma, and she returns his feelings. Adam boldly goes to Mrs. Rothirsch to ask for approval to marry Emma, and much to his surprise, she acquiesces. As Adam and Emma begin their life together, a tragedy shakes Adam's family that will have repercussions for years to come. Though billed as a multigenerational saga, this novel really is the tale of one man's life, from his youth to his struggles to establish himself to his life as a husband and father and beyond. Plain's many fans will be pleased by this sweet, moving tale. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Another comfy read."
--Kirkus Reviews


From the Hardcover edition.

Review
"Another comfy read."
--Kirkus Reviews


From the Hardcover edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

New York Times bestselling author Belva Plain beguiles us once again with a novel that explores the bonds that sustain families--and the lies that can shatter them forever. Sweeping through the pivotal events of twentieth-century America, The Sight of the Stars chronicles four generations of one remarkable family as they journey through years of love, loss, sacrifice, and unimaginable betrayal.

Dressed in a brand-new suit, with one hundred and fifty dollars in his pocket, Adam Arnring says good-bye to his family and boards a train for the fabled West. The year is 1907. Adam is nineteen years old, a young man with stars in his eyes who has always dreamed of a future in the great open spaces of America. Now, far from his New Jersey home, he takes the first step toward attaining that dream, landing a job in a small department store in a booming Texas town. Here he meets a woman who excites him beyond all measure. The exquisite, untouchable Emma Rothirsch lives in a world whose doors are firmly closed to him. But Adam is a man willing to take great risks to get what he wants.

One is Emma. The other is to build a lasting business enterprise that will live on through his children and grandchildren. But just when Adam's dreams are within reach, fate intervenes. Tragedy strikes from the trenches of World War I, setting in motion a series of events that echo down through the years. The owner of a prospering department store and the head of a growing family, Adam succumbs to a moment of weakness that culminates in an unforgivable act of betrayal. And now, as another generation prepares to take its rightful place in the family's legendary empire, the tenuous threads of the Arnrings' pastbegin to unravel, revealing a shattering secret that reaches back nearly a century.

Across a teeming canvas of history, through world wars and the close of a century, The Sight of the Stars tells a deeply affecting story of family and forgiveness, guilt and redemption. Brimming with the emotional depth and moral complexity we have come to expect from this incomparable storyteller, The Sight of the Stars is about what happens when we dare to dream, and the moments that can change families forever.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In bestseller Plain's 21st novel, the son of a Jewish shopkeeper and an Irish farm girl seeks, and finds, his fortune in Texas. The saga begins in 1900, when 13-year-old Adam Arnring learns his parents had never married. His father and stepmother are good people, but he never really wanted to work in the family shop, so at 19 he hops a westbound train from New Jersey with $150 in his pocket. In the small but prosperous and growing town of Chattahoochee, Tex., he parlays his family grocery store experience and a moment of serendipity into a start-up job in a local clothing store. Thanks to years of hard work and a bit of luck, Adam takes over the business and becomes a wealthy and successful man; he even marries Emma Rothirsch, the formidable founder's beautiful and musical niece. Plains speeds forward as Adam and his family in Texas and back in New Jersey suffer the tragedies of World War I, the Great Depression and World War II. She shows Adam turn from a bachelor to a father of five, then to a grandfather and a great-grandfather. Her characters are pleasant and her plot is well paced, with dashes of intrigue, family feuds and secrets to spice things up. However, a side plot involving one of Adam's half-brothers, the hapless misfit Leo, who buries himself in mysterious books and comes to a fortune through blackmail, completely misses the mark. There's nothing revelatory here, just a lot of characters living their lives, and as such, it's an entertaining enough tale. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Plain (Looking Back; Her Father's House) chronicles the life of Adam Arnring. It is 1907, and the 19-year-old leaves home for the West, landing in Chattahoochee, TX. He rooms in a boardinghouse and takes a job in a small clothing store that has seen better days. There, he meets and almost immediately falls for the wealthy niece of the store's owner, Emma; success at the store, marriage to Emma, and an impressive mansion follow in due course. Meanwhile, Adam's "good," would-be doctor brother is killed in World War I after receiving a Dear John letter from his fiancee. Lumpish, jealous brother Leo blackmails Adam, who had a one-night stand with his late brother's fianc e. Adam confesses all to his wife, who takes it badly. And so on, through the next generation. While fans will undoubtedly enjoy Plain's familiar story, there is nothing particularly memorable or exciting here. Recommended for popular fiction collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/03.]-Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., MA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews