Random Harvest, is one of those rare books in which the movie version(1942 movie with Ronald Colman, Greer Garson) is way way better than the book.

I have read James Hilton's Lost Horizon and really enjoyed it as well as the movie, so I thought, "Heck, I love the Random Harvest movie, so I bet the book is great as well." My first challenge was finding a copy of this book. It wasn't at the library or in an old used book store. However ebay saved the day. Well, when I received the book I excitedly jumped into reading...sigh...the book is full of English social faux pas, politics, and random chatter (maybe that is why it is called "Random Harvest"). It really didn't start getting semi-good or "plot-tastic" until around 3/4 of the way through, and even then is was slow going. So if you want to read the book, I would suggest watching the movie instead.

4.5 stars

I first wanted the book after loving the classic Greer Garson movie, but it took me a few years before I found a copy at a library sale. Then, since it was a few years since I first saw the movie, I let it sit on the shelf waiting to be read for far too long.

A rather slow beginning and a great deal of profanity deflated my rating just a bit, but this story grabbed my heartstrings and jerked them to pieces over the course of the read. The romance is the real aim of the story, and its understatement through the story only seems to make it all the stronger. This is one of the most beautiful romances I've ever read--despite there being almost no interaction on the page.

Charles Rainier and his wife will be some of the most memorable characters I've ever come across.

Fantastic! I read this for my RS book group, and we all came so excited to talk about it. The problem is that you can't really talk about it unless you've read it, so I can't write much here without giving anything away. And if you plan to read the book, I recommend that you DON'T read the Goodreads summary. The less you know, the better, because following the story as it progresses is part of what make this book so enjoyable.

Here's what I can tell you: this takes place in England between the World Wars. The main character is a man who remembers being in a trench during WWI and then nothing until he wakes up on a bench in Liverpool a few years later. Throughout the book his past is revealed.

A couple of the people in our book group had also seen the movie adaptation starring Greer Garson. They said the movie should really be seen as a companion to the book, because, while the book is from the man's point of view, the movie is from the woman's.

I loved the movie with Ronald Colman and Greer Garson and could hear Colman's voice as Charles Rainier as I was reading the novel. The book is many things--an insight into British society between the wars, a look at shell-shocked soldiers during WWI, and a love story. The movie has more of the love story whereas the novel spends well over half of it on Charles returning to his family after the war and dealing with family obligations, including a failing business. The family had thought Charles dead, because he disappeared toward the end of the war, and he doesn't reappear for two years. He has amnesia about the time between when he was wounded and when he has an accident in Liverpool. After his father dies and his older brother makes a mess of the family business, Charles gives up his studies at Cambridge to help the family. He's successful in business and becomes a Member of Parliament, but there is always a hint of sadness about him. Those missing two years of his life haunts him, which we find out mostly indirectly, from what he tells his secretary, who relays much of the narrative. It's really only the last third of the novel when he starts to recover his memory, after seeing a a hokey musical entertainment that he saw two years before. This reminds him of a kind woman who had a bit part in the same show, took care of him, and who he later married. The strands of the story come together at the end in a very romantic way.

I saw the movie first and really liked it, so wanted to read the book and get all the extras that only a book can provide, and I hoped for more details of the plot. What I got was the author's soapbox for his political and social commentary. Vast portions of the book added almost nothing to the actual story. If I hadn't known what was coming, I would have been pretty bored waiting for something to happen, even though Hilton is a good wordsmith. The screenwriter did an excellent job of sticking to the heart of the story, erasing all the extraneous characters Hilton wastes space on, and generally getting on with telling a good story.

I am glad I read the book for two reasons, though - the problem of the ages of the characters is not a problem in the book (sticking with two well-known stars for the entire story instead having younger actors play the younger selves of the main characters can, I suppose, be forgiven of 1940's Hollywood); and the question of what they were doing for money is answered in the prose.

It's also good to know how well Greer Garson and Ronald Coleman played their parts as described by Hilton. They really did a masterful job.

Now I'm going to watch the movie again.

This is yet another excellent novel. The plot line, the characters, the world are all imminently believable. The mystery of being shell-shocked (today called PTSD) forms the basis of the novel in a tale set between the two 20th century world wars. Although this is not James Hilton's best novel, it is a very good novel that reinforces both Hilton's skill as an author and his strong human empathy.

James Hilton probably somewhat forgotten other than The Lost Horizon and Goodby, Mr. Chips surprised me with Random Harvest which I may have like as much as Lost Horizon which was an old favorite. Something that usually never interests me is a romance story but this is a great one set against the backdrop of the end of WWI and the beginning of WWII. It's about a man who suffered from what was then called shell shock and he has lost a big chunk of his memory. It's in five parts, some in first person, some in third. It has a great twist which I grasped about the time the author would have wanted although I'd like to think I caught on earlier I am not totally sure so it worked perfectly for me as a reader who stayed enthralled throughout the novel. Hilton had a positive if somewhat sentimental view he seemed to hold onto in his writing and I was a happy sucker for it. It has it's moments of sadness but is pleasingly uplifting for the most part. His world is a nice one to escape into and get lost.. I must see what other books by him are in print if any. This, like the other two I mentioned above, was made into a movie.

It's an excellently written, interesting narrative with well-drawn characters but I felt there was something a little dispassionate about it. Almost as though the author wasn't totally connected with his creation.

I just finished this for the second time in the wee hours and it was even more romantic than I had remembered. About 7 pages from the ending I remembered it and LOVED it. This is probably the best romance I have ever read.

Estaba yo iniciando la escuela secundaria y una vez fui al cine a ver "Adiós Mister Chips"; supe luego que era la versión cinematográfica de una obra de James Hilton. Mi maestro de literatura me recomendó leer "En la noche del pasado", título en español de "Random Harvest". Siempre le agradecí la recomendación. Me adentraba yo en la literatura "de adultos" y aquella novela tuvo mucho significado para mí por eso mismo, por ser de las primeras que leí una vez dejado atrás a Verne, Salgari, etc. La historia que se narra en Random Harvest me fascinó. Aquí mismo, en GoodReads se dá una síntesis de ella y no tiene caso que reitere yo lo ya escrito y mejor de lo que yo lo pudiera hacer. Quien conozca la obra seguramente estará de acuerdo en que es una historia estupenda. Como anécdota personal me permito comentar que años atrás, siendo niño, se dió en México (mi país) una versión en calidad de radionovela, que mi abuela escuchaba todas las tardes. Yo ocasional y fragmentariamente. Pero se me quedó en la mente los nombres de los personajes y algunas situaciones. Quién me iba a decir que en mi adolescencia leería la obra. Y al paso de los años, acaso más que por su valor literario (innegable ciertamente), por lo que me significó personalmente, la he releido dos o tres veces más.

I've seen this as an old black and white movie several times and was curious to read the book. Reading something you've seen on the screen, or watching something on the screen that you've already read on paper always bring a bit of disappointment -- and it doesn't always matter which side gets the disappointment.

The story consist of 4 parts. Part I (and the book doesn't cover them necessarily in this order) is Charles Renier's life prior to WWI where he is raised in an affluent family. Part II finds Charles serving in the war and injured, an injury that finds him with a complete and utter void of knowing who he is or where he came from. He spends 2-3 years being transferred from hospital to hospital to end up in an asylum. Part III finds him falling off of a curb and re-injuring himself and awakening to the knowledge of who he is but now with no knowledge of where he has been for the past 2 years. Part IV finds him finally recalling his "missing amnesia years" and he goes looking for answers. Short synopsis, but there you have it in a nutshell.

There were a few differences from the screen version to the written version, and in all honesty I think I found the screen version more believable. I enjoyed the book, but reading a story plot that you already know can be a bit daunting and there was much of the book I felt was bogged down with details and descriptions that didn't bring value or clarity to the story. I found myself having to skim through some of it just to get to some dialogue.

All in all, I'm glad I read it but I'm ready to find me a random book I know nothing about and curl up on the couch with it for a few hours.

How lovely!! I won’t say much in the review because it can spoil the ending but this is a wonderful romantic book and it made me so happy!!

Edit: with further thoughts, I do also think that this book paints a very interesting picture of England between the wars. The Great War is a turning point in the story and the lead up to WW2 provides the backdrop of the modern day components. It is in no sense war themed, but it does set a lovely romantic story in an interesting context. Very very good, I really enjoyed and am looking forward to watching the film!