The Truth of the Matter: A Novel

by Robb Forman Dew

From a National Book Award winner comes a masterful novel set in the 1940s about a woman finding a new life for herself and her grown children after her husband's death.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Historical, Literary Fiction

327 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 2005

About the author

Granddaughter of US poet, essayist and political writer John Crowe Ransom. Godfather was US poet, essayist, academic Robert Penn Warren. Grew up between Baton Rouge, LA and Ohio, well-connected to Kenyon Review writers and artists. Attended but did not graduate from Louisiana State University.

Her first novel - Dale Loves Sophie to Death - won the 1982 National Book Award. She has taught at the Iowa Writer's Workshop and has received Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2007 she was awarded an honorary degree by Kenyan College.

Since 1977 Robb Forman Dew has been living in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where her husband Charles B. Dew is now the Ephraim Williams Professor of American History at Williams College. They have two sons.

Reviews

[Jasmine · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was full of great detail and various characters. I really liked that the point of view was from the perspective of a woman, Agnes Scofield. I thought that this book gave great insight into what the 1900 time period was like. I thought this author did a great job with detail and word usage, which made the story more interesting! Another thing I liked was that there were a lot of flashbacks throughout the book which made the reader better understand what was going on. I thought this book did a really great job with allowing the characters, Agnes, her kids: Betts, Howard, Dwight, and Claytor, to really allow you to see what the relationship between mother and child is like. I liked that because that relationship isn't often looked at and this book gave a great viewpoint into the ups and downs of raising kids and dealing with a child's silent reputation that they give to their parent. Another thing this book did that I enjoyed was describe the anxiety and worry felt by a parent who had a son in the war, because due to the time period that was something that went on. The final thing I liked was that this book will really make you see your parent in a whole new way!

[Jacki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eh. I got this book at a library book sale, where you fill up your bag for 2 or 3 bucks or whatever. I'm glad because otherwise I would have felt cheated with this one.

I pretty much hated it. Here is what I hated: I hated that there were these very emotional issues explored with no emotion whatsoever. The author was spelling out for me how the characters felt, but he didn't make me FEEL that way, if that makes any sense.

From the book jacket, I think that this book had a lot of potential, storywise, but it just didn't live up to it at all, in my mind.

Luckily it was a quick read and by the time I realized I didn't like it, I was more than half way through, so I woke up early this morning and just devoured the last half. Not in a good way. The way you devour food at your in-laws house because you don't like it and you just want it to be over. Ah well. Moving on...

[Ariana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not sure what this book was about. None of the characters are compeling or interesting. Snoozeville.

[Bachelm · Rating 2 out of 5]

THE CHARACTERS FELT RATHER BLAND & FLAT TO ME. IF YOU WANT CHARACTERS YOU CAN REALLY ENJOY- PASS

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. i had to just bag it and stop reading this. This woman (Agnes) is self-absorbed and the prose is too boring.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not get into this book at all.

[Rosie · Rating 2 out of 5]

easy read though very slow to get going and sometimes hard to follow

wouldnt recommend

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was very hard for me to get through. It felt disjointed and nothing was really accomplished with regard to any of the characters. A disappointment at best!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Second in the Trilogy; if you haven't read the first book this one will not do much for you but if you are in for the trilogy I think you'll find that each one gets better. I still need to read the third but am looking forward to it. As I said when reviewing the first book, I think the reader may need to be of a certain age to actually enjoy this trilogy. In my opinion I don't think the younger readers will really get too much out of it even though it does give a little background on what was going on in the US beginning in the 1900s. The whole trilogy so far has been a rather quiet look at life in suburban Ohio and mostly centers around 2 families with the main character being Agnes who it appears we will follow through to the end. It is difficult to explain what I like about her novels because the story of a family through the years is not new and many times even those written by well received authors start to bore me, eg. Jane Smiley's "The Last 100 Years". Wow I couldn't wait to get through the last of the Trilogy. But there is something in Dew's books that just ring so true to me: middle class family living in suburban Ohio and other than the first one, mostly takes place in my time period and is about so many things I either lived or remember from my family and the emotions and thoughts that Alice has are recognizable to me. So much of it is so realistic and truthful. Going to church was something that was done by the majority and was thought to be something that you just did whether you were really religious or not. Example: As Agnes's children started to question whether they wanted to go to church, she didn't argue the point. They could attend church or not. Her reply was that one of the reasons for her was that it was reassuring to see people on Sunday morning on their best behavior. "No matter whatever else is going on in their lives, they get up and brush their hair and put on their best clothes. At least for a few hours all the people at church have to behave as if they're the people they mean to be every day. It feels so safe, I always think. So calm." That paragraph seems to be a perfect example of the way things were in the late 40s and early 50s.
As I said, it is not an exciting trilogy, no thriller and no criminals or babies being stolen or anything like that, just a quiet reflection on life.
Oh, also another great cover!!

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agnes Scofield is the mother of four (three of her own children and her youngest brother) and wife of Warren, until he is killed in an icy car crash. When her husband dies, she is left to continue raising her children in 1940s Washburn, Ohio. She has to reckon with what her marriage meant to her -- the wonders and imperfections of it all -- and how her children evolve into adulthood with or without her steady guiding hand. The story is very ordinary in its telling, quite bland really, with a lot of characters thrown into the mix. Sometimes there are too many characters to keep straight, although I didn't find myself getting hung up too much on figuring out who was who.

I enjoy quiet stories that reveal depths of character and ordinary day-to-day living. Often I wondered where the story was going, whether anything of substance was ever going to happen. But that is often life, mundane days flowing into one another. I enjoyed it overall.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this book by skim reading it to get through it. And sadly I don’t think I missed a thing by doing so. I gave the two stars I did for the writing being fine. But what was the point? Low marks for too many similar character names especially since there were so many characters.

[Tiana Balzarini · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written continuation of the tale of an intriguing family during and after the war. I love the wise observations of every day life that are still relatable to us as females now. Looking forward to diving into the last installment!

[Sierra Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Evidence Against Her seems to be a better read but all in all a great book.

[Cary Boswell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much exposition and unnecessary characters.

[Michele Hartshaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so boring and repetitive. I do not recommend this book.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually loved everything about this (except some of the bad choices people made). I do love a good family drama - and the time period was fascinating too.

[Rhonda Erickson-Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worse book I've ever read!

[Connie Hess · Rating 3 out of 5]

We follow Agnes through her courtship, marriage, widowhood, watching her children leave and become adults with children of their own.
The entire time she is questioning her happiness and not finding much satisfaction in life.
From beginning to end, there are too many characters and it is hard to keep them straight and who is related to whom.
If you set this book down for any length of time, you will truly be lost.
I am being kind with three stars.

[Bookmarks Magazine]

An old-fashioned novel in the best sense, The Truth of the Matter follows the evolution of a complex woman from wife and mother to independence in the 1940s. Elaborate family ties, centered on Agnes's familiar emotions and changing relationships with her children, form the heart of the novel. But Truth also convincingly juxtaposes the minutiae of daily life against a panorama of wartime America. The novel's unhurried plot concerned a few critics, who cited the first half as limp. Other reviewers compared Agnes's rich characterization to her more stiffly portrayed children. Either way, critics look forward to the third installment of the Scofield family saga.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

almost tedious

p.68
...the eventual sustained state of forgiveness that's required in a marriage when each spouse proves to be not quite what the other expected. Agnes didn't have the desire to regain the emotional flexibility essential in a marriage.
p.77
...she mistakenly believed that her children would remember serenity and competence as clearly, and for as long a time, as they would remember injustice or grief.

from "A Conversation with the author..."
p.3
Because as soon as I buy it, as soon as I read it, it's out of the author's hands altogether, and my interpretation becomes that book's existence.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just quickly...you have to read the first book in the trilogy before reading this one. Otherwise, there's no context to really understand what's going on.

Robb Forman Dew's books are like beautiful landscape paintings, or genre paintings. I could see a whole gallery filled with paintings inspired by descriptions in her trilogy...her language is that clear.

Insights into Agnes's feelings about her children and their sense of her as a parent are very, very real and insightful.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I found the very end of the book slightly unsatisfying (although I understood it as being logical), the book as a whole was great and I was surprised, time and time again, at how poignant her descriptions of the characters' feelings were. Rarely have I read descriptions of personal melancholy that seemed so realistic. If you liked Kate Chopin's The Awakening, you may really like this book; I liked it even better than Chopin's book because I found the main character more sympathetic.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Truth of the Matter: A Novel by Robb Forman Dew is the sequel to The Evidence Against Her. Agnes Scofield, widowed since age 30, having raised four children and managed the family home on a school teacher’s salary, enjoys a discreet affair in her empty nest until the children begin to return. The end of World War II marks the beginning of the next generation of Scofields when family secrets, myths and memories are challenged anew.

[Maxanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second in a trilogy of an Ohio family. The novel continues with the Schofields in the 1940. The author draws an astute picture of the life in this small town. Under her skillful hands the story comes alive with vividly drawn characters and a richly described place. Though the plot moves slowly- even as life did for our characters- they become friends and at the end you're glad that there is still another book to come.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

better than robb forman dew's first attempt i thought. writing became not so linear and you finally realize which character's life you're supposed to be following. i really was able to get into agnes's head and began to understand her. which was interesting because she is probably about 20 years older than me. it gave me a new perspective on mothers.

[Vivian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars because there were some profound thoughts sprinkled sporadically throughout this book. However, the story in its entirety was flat and rather boring. Agnes was self-centered and cold. Betts started out like able but seemed to end up just like her mother. Sam was the only character who was remotely normal. Overall, sorry I wasted my time.

[Laurel Deloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agnes Scofield, the heroine of Dew's lovely, low-key period piece, can join Mrs. Ramsay and Mrs. Bridge at the tea table of exquisitely etched literary matrons. A respectable Ohio widow with three grown children, Agnes is beginning to carve out an independent middle-aged life for herself and her kids come ome and show sh e is doing nothing right including making love to her childhood sweetheart

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't as good as The Evidence Against Her, but it's still beautifully written. The author reminds me a little of Anne Tyler with the insight into a family - all of the hurts and slights recorded. The pace was a little slow, but the characters are compelling and the prose is gorgeous.

[Peyton · Rating 1 out of 5]

A few lines, a few entire paragraphs were memorable & enjoyable, but that was counter balanced by large sections in which my mind wandered or with which I was outright frustrated. A second-rate Wendell Berry type novel.

[Joel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so disappointed in this book. Dale Loves Sophie to Death, another book by Robb Forman Dew, is one of my all time favorites. I thought her writing was exquisite. But in this book, that was not the case. There was too much going on and none of it really interesting or compelling.