Please note the delivery estimate is greater than 8 business days. Please allow additional time if international delivery is subject to customs processing. Start of add to list layer. Sign in for more lists. Read more. Dec 01, PST. Shipping help - opens a layer International Shipping - items may be subject to customs processing depending on the item's customs value.
Your country's customs office can offer more details, or visit eBay's page on international trade. Seller's other items. Sell one like this. Sponsored items from this seller. Showing Slide 1 of 2. Seller Similar sponsored items. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing. Item specifics. Seller Notes:. Random House, New York.
DJ has light shelf-wear present to the DJ extremities. Bound in cloth boards with titles present to the spine and front board. Boards have light shelf-wear present to the extremities. No ownership marks present. Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid. When Clay Spencer fails to arrive home at the expected hour on Christmas Eve of , his family grows concerned.
While his seven brothers and sisters and his mother keep vigil the older son, Clay-boy, goes in search of his father. But on his journey through the snowbound Virginia hills, the boy experiences a series of hazardous, touching and hilarious adventures.
Well, we'll talk about that later. Right now you have to go do some other plot stuff ," and John-Boy is saved the necessity of explaining that he was actually trying to flog his log. But now he's in a pickle since he's unwittingly committed himself to becoming a writer, and that's how we got this book. QED: he's an accidental author. If he'd only had the courage to be forthright with his mother, he would've been able to pursue his true passion: basket weaving.
I swear all of that is true, or my name isn't Pierce-Boy. I must confess that John-Boy's conversation with his mother is not one I would ever willingly have with my own, but mine had the grace not to pursue the matter if she knocked on my door and received the answer "reading" to her "what are you doing" query.
I would also like for the record to show that I always was reading and never lied about it. I had put a sticker with words on it on the desk by my bed, and I always cast my eye over it before giving my answer. We must always be truthful even if we're not being entirely honest. Learn that lesson well, and you too could have a successful career in politics, law, or the media. And we should all be thankful that mama Pierce didn't get pushy, or I might've had to fabricate my own writing ruse, then I'd be stuck writing all the time instead of dedicating my life to the much nobler calling of putting away folders for an accounting firm.
Something resembling a review starts here: First, let me point out who's who since all the kids have different names in the book than they do on the show. Some of this is guesswork, and I don't suppose it's all that important since most of the kids are minor, background characters, but I couldn't find this information on the internet, and it's time somebody took care of that.
There are eight kids in the book and seven in the show, so alas for poor Matt, a middle brother who never made it to prime time, though there was one episode where Jim-Bob discovers he had a twin brother who died in childbirth, so I guess that could be Matt Joseph in the show. The first name is the book character, and I think there's evidence here that Earl may have been a fan of the gospels.
Patty cake! I don't believe it! Patty cake, Patty cake It's not true! They were all siblings, and I know Hazel isn't that odd of a name. She was the youngest and got a more normal name because their mother chose it. She had gotten tired of the father picking names because he obviously didn't know what he was doing. This book was surprisingly good. I'm a fan of the TV show at least the first five or six seasons before they start getting too retarded , and Earl Hamner, Jr.
And, um And as surely, as the waters of the streams and the rivers find the sea, let each of us find happiness and wisdom in this hour And what is with all these "boys" being added to the end of names?
I assumed purple prose was just Hamner's style, so that's what I expected to find all over this book, but it was minimal. In fact, going into this I thought it was going to end up on my "liked movie better" shelf, but it didn't even come close to landing there.
That's partly because I love the movie and watch it every Christmas, and I intend to continue that tradition, but the book was definitely better. The book adds a healthy dose of reality that's absent in the film and the subsequent TV show. The children are nowhere near as goody-two-shoes about everything; Clay-Boy sneaks a cigarette when he can and actually gets a bit tiddly on eggnog fortified with bootleg whiskey though he doesn't know it's happening since it's his first experience with alcohol ; he hunts and has no qualms killing game to provide food for the family because, hello, he's been exposed to that since birth and is living in the middle of the Great Depression; Clay-Boy and Becky squabble constantly like 15 and year-old siblings are supposed to, and there's no heart-to-heart between them about puberty while Clay-Boy milks the cow; Clay, Sr.
Furthermore, I can believe that every character in this grew up in the mountains of Virginia during the great depression, and that's something I can't say for their TV counterparts who are incredibly naive about a lot of things. This is especially noticeable when race relations get involved. Hawthorne a black man picking up extra work helping the Baldwin sisters is within the realm of possibility, but his son Claudie going to the Walton's house to tell them a missionary lady is handing out presents at the store?
Still possible, but you're really pushing it. Then Claudie being allowed to participate in that gathering with all the other white kids? Way into the red zone now.
Then John-Boy just wandering into the negro church during the middle of the Christmas Eve service and sitting down with the congregation, and joining in with the singing, and nobody batting an eye as if this happened everyday?
Sorry, I gotta call it. It's a lovely sentiment, but that simply did not happen in the mountains of Virginia in the 's. I don't think it happened anywhere in America back then, though I could be wrong there. Not a chance. Shit, that kind of behavior in the blue ridge mountains will still earn you at least a few arched eyebrows in ! The show came out in on the heels of the Civil Rights movement, and some revisionist history was going on, so we'll just have to ignore it.
Luckily all those scenes were different in the book. I was expecting the book to be just as ridiculous with that kind of stuff as the show, but it wasn't, and I can't for the life of me figure why they made such changes with the movie.
I guess that's just Hollywood for you. Since I'm poking fun at Hollywood, here's another thing. I've spent a lot of time in the mountains of Virginia, and I have never seen anything resembling this: The show purports that it's part of Appalachia, but don't you believe it. It's a California mountain, part of Hollywood Hills , and any landscape in Virginia that looks like this ought to explain itself.
One last thing which is apropos of nothing in this book, but I feel like sharing it anyway since it relates to the Waltons. I tend to play a game in my head when I see some new-fangled geegaw, hear a new style of music, see something in a movie which shows that decency and propriety have suffered another blow, or see any other sign that the times have changed again, and that's "I wonder what grandma Walton would make of that? I don't know why I'm so concerned about her opinion, but there it is.
This book won't appeal to a wide audience, but it's short, well-written, humorous, fun, touching, and paints a pretty accurate picture of life in the Blue Ridge mountains during the 's.
Highly recommended to people who enjoy simple, backwoods stories. I have been looking all over my house for this book for like the last FIVE Christmas's and just stumbled across it this month! YAY ME! I recommend highly! Never get tired of this story. From the first time I saw "The Homecoming" on television when I was a small boy I've considered it one of my most favorite Christmas films.
Somewhere along the years I realized that the film was based on a book, but I never read it until now. I can't recommend it enough. The sense of family and home and the love of same is present on every page. The story differs from the film - names have changed - Clay-boy is more familiar to most of us as John-boy, and the family name here is Spencer and not From the first time I saw "The Homecoming" on television when I was a small boy I've considered it one of my most favorite Christmas films.
The story differs from the film - names have changed - Clay-boy is more familiar to most of us as John-boy, and the family name here is Spencer and not Walton. However, the essence of the source material has been captured. It's Christmas and Clay Spencer hasn't arrived home yet and a blizzard is on the way. Oldest son Clay-boy is sent to find his father and bring him home.
It's an odyssey. He runs into the sheriff, Ike Godsey and Charlie Sneeds under arrest for poaching , he attends services at "the black church," and end up at the home of two elderly lady bootleggers who give him "recipe" and a ride home through the snow in a horse drawn sleigh.
The book has a happy ending that doesn't seem at all forced or unreasonable and left this reader in tears. Oct 06, DJ rated it really liked it Shelves: 90s. View 1 comment. Dec 19, Kris rated it really liked it. I am a huge fan of the television series, but have never read the source material until now. I should state that I love the 1st seasons of the TV show, as it obviously lost the plot as the years went on.
This book is very faithful to the descriptive ness of the author. He has an obvious love for the countryside and nature surrounding the area he grew up in period some of the characters were a little more rough and I actually think they did well by Tony knows down a little for the movie.
A very e I am a huge fan of the television series, but have never read the source material until now. A very enjoyable read though! This was a sweet little tale. I could definitely read this every year around Christmas and not grow tired of it. I had never read this book even though it's been on my shelf for 20 years. I finally picked it up because one of the popsugar prompt for is to read a book by an author whose first or last name is the same as yours.
I loved this little book. It's comforting and hopeful and full of joy and love. It puts me in the mood for Christmas. Jul 23, Jim rated it really liked it. This book started out for me like one of John-Boy's stories All of us older folks remember The Waltons and I was comparing the descriptions of family members to their TV counterparts and trying to match them up - until I realized there was an extra kid in here!
The story unfolds slowly, considering the brevity of the book but it really is worth the time. The old ladies who sell their papa's recipe, the worry over a father who may or may not a This book started out for me like one of John-Boy's stories The old ladies who sell their papa's recipe, the worry over a father who may or may not arrive in time for Christmas, the little girl who cries over a cracked doll I enjoyed the look into Clay-Boy's mind, the description of a nighttime sleigh ride and a Christmas Eve visit to a black church where he realizes with great sadness that there are whole societies within his own that he does not know and may never be a part of.
The ending is predictable but so is the one in A Christmas Carol and I read that one every year! I think I will make a new tradition of reading this one as well. Sep 18, Katy rated it really liked it.
A really short novella based on the Spencers of Virginia and one Christmas when. Pa was coming homeroom a job in another town. However, John-Boy goes out to find Pa, only to be lost. These stores are the basis for the old TV favorite, "Walton's Mountain. I loved The Waltons television show and Spencer's Mountain is one of my favorite movies, so when I saw this book on the shelf at the library I just had to read it.
And the story did not disappoint. This was a nice quick holiday read. If you've seen the TV show or the movie, no surprises here. This novella although written after Spencer's Mountain takes place some time prior to the events of that novel.
Mar 30, Sheri rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorites. I love this book and movie I read it every holiday season.
The last pages or so were tough going It's Christmas Eve, , on Spencer's mountain and Olivia Spencer along with her eight "thoroughbred" children, anxiously await their father's homecoming. With old man Winter wreaking one of his best, life goes on despite the trials and tribulations of life during the Great Depression, not to mention their apprehension that shakes each of them to the core, especially Olivia.
What the family didn't expect was the real miracle that followed. Originally published in by Earl Hamner, Jr. I fell in love with Earl Hamner, Jr. The show told the story of a family during the Great Depression. The oldest son on the show was named John-Boy, John after his father. In the book, the character is called Clay-boy. I enjoyed all the characters in the book and on the show. Great Christmas story. If you enjoy historical fiction and want a glimpse of what it was like to live in the s, this is the story for you.
Check out this cool video with Richard Thomas talking about playing John-boy. Dec 18, Carol Wiilliams rated it liked it. I loved it!
It was one of the shows I could watch with my elderly Mother and not cringe because it was a clean, decent show and she could relate. I enjoyed this book. The TV movie is better, which just means that a group of editors and writers added to the truth to make it more appealing to watch.
Reading it, you did feel the true story. It was well written and easily read. I read it in less than an hour, but I truly am a very fast reader and I enjoyed it very much.
Stories like this can be sickly, but, as in 'Spencer's Mountain', Hamner succeeds in keeping what is in fact quite a sentimental read from becoming schmaltzy. It's Christmas Eve and the family on whom 'The Waltons' was based await the return from town of their father, now working away. Is he lost or has he got sidetracked by a poker game or whisky? The eldest son heads out to look for him in the snow, while mother Olivia cooks the next day's fare and looks anxiously out of the window.
Short bu Stories like this can be sickly, but, as in 'Spencer's Mountain', Hamner succeeds in keeping what is in fact quite a sentimental read from becoming schmaltzy. Short but very enjoyable. The story itself was very simple and should have been two chapters rather than a novella.
Too simple and redundant. This is such a perfect, heartwarming Christmas story set during The Great Depression. I loved every moment and being swept back to simpler though more stressful times.
Mar 19, Geneva Robertson rated it it was amazing. Charming book about rural Virginia during the Depression. The dialogue sounds like the people of rural Virginia and North Carolina. His descriptions are wonderful and the images swirl in my head.
It is similar to "The Homecoming" movie from the 's, but enough differences to make it an interesting and entertaining read. Feb 19, Marti Martinson rated it really liked it. Holy crap, what a quick read.
Effortless to read, but the care with which the author wrote it is evident. Still, taking it as a stand-alone text, the scenery, the characterizations, the plot, and the dialogue are masterfully done.
I see nothing wrong with sentimentality. The one nickname of the daughter "Patty Cake" was a bit much, though. Dec 01, Sarah Utter rated it liked it. If you want a nice, good Christmas story then this is perfect.
For those that have seen the Waltons Homecoming, yes this is the book.
0コメント