The Road to Understanding

by Eleanor H. Porter, Mary Greene Blumenschein (Illustrator)

A bright boy whose mother has died is given all the frosted cakes and toy shotguns he wants at the age of ten...and thus his life decisions are permanently affected.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Novels

373 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1917

About the author

Eleanor Emily Hodgman Porter (December 19, 1868 – May 21, 1920) was an American novelist. She was born as Eleanor Emily Hodgman in Littleton, New Hampshire on December 19, 1868, the daughter of Llewella French (née Woolson) and Francis Fletcher Hodgman. She was trained as a singer, attending New England Conservatory for several years. In 1892, she married John Lyman Porter and relocated to Massachusetts, after which she began writing and publishing her short stories and later novels. She died in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 21, 1920 and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy the story line of this one as well as other Eleanor H. Porter books. But it was a decent book to listen to while I was sewing.

[Channing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some precious descriptions, especially on the difficulty of adjusting to marriage but the length of the separation was absurd.

[Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two spoiled young lovers marry, and spend many years apart before reconciling, because of pride, fear, and shame.

[Aleena Grosjean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorites in this collection. It is so easy to only see one side of the story and not consider what another is feeling. This was eye opening.

[Hannah Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe I read this but don't remember much.

[Vicki Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was getting kinda predictable but then the plot twisted and it kept me hanging on till the end. Some really great food for thought and helpful to understand relationships.

[Mike Reiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one, but my local library doesn't have it.

[Funguylucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10 only cause it’s one of my favorite looking books I have it was only okay

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the Pollyanna author, a grown-up (and not nearly as successful) story of lives gone awry and made right again. Certainly a period piece, capturing 1917 quite nicely, but truly Pollyanna in its conclusion of unbelievable circumstances and resolutions.