Reviews for Noble Norfleet

The average rating for Noble Norfleet based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-09-06 00:00:00 Ryan Ragsdale A brutal story about a family. Noble's mother acts out her craziness in a brutal way and his life is permanently affected. Price has a knack for writing about his home state of North Carolina. I feel a strong sense of place on every page. Not surprisingly, Noble's sense of women and sex is part of the unraveling of his life. Each of his relationships is driven by sex or loyalty or yearning and this essentially forms the heart of the novel. Reynolds Price writes fairly straightforward sentences, and they are beautiful. The sentences are what pulled me through this consistently tragic novel. Not exactly a vacation read, but I read it in a remote cabin in a wilderness area. The starkness and beauty of both the book and the setting complemented each other.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-04-08 00:00:00 Branislav Cosic Noble Norfleet's mom spared him his life. She left him asleep as she killed his brother and sister in another part of the house. His father had long since abandoned them. Noble is recounting his life to us and most of it is spent dealing with this central tragedy. Noble has had visions at times in life. He wonders if these visions were signs to point him in a particular direction. Otherwise, he has no direction. There times when reading this book that I wished I had a vision because I could not figure out what direction this book was supposed to be going. I'm still not quite sure what happened. The book, like its central character, is not without its merits. The characters are intriguing, if less than fascinating. The setting is thoroughly Southern. Unfortunately, it just all seems so aimless at times. I'm reminded of Holden Caufield. He was aimless too but endlessly more fascinating that Noble Norfleet. Noble lacks the brutal honestly of Holden's internal monologue. Instead, he is constantly wondering if and what if and maybe and what could have. This character draws few conclusions. Sex figures prominently in this book. His sexual education begins with a Spanish teacher in high school. He shares a homosexual relationship with his pastor. He visits the occasional prostitute along the way. Noble is convinced his worship of women is overbearing and ultimately drives them away. The book ends on an unexpectedly sweet and tender note. Even so, I find it hard to recommend this book. It is too unfocused.