Set in the bustling, changing New York City of the 1910s, His Family centers on Roger Gale, a man in his later years who has built a comfortable life. After losing his wife, his main focus becomes his three grown daughters: Edith, Deborah, and Laura.

The Story

Each daughter represents a different path for modern women. Edith is deeply religious and pours her soul into settlement house work with the city's poor. Deborah is a sharp, independent school principal, dedicated to her career and new ideas about education. Laura is all about her home, raising a large, noisy family that feels both chaotic and full of life to Roger. As Roger navigates his relationships with them, he's pulled in different directions. He wants to be the supportive father, providing financially and emotionally, but he struggles to understand their choices. The world they are building feels foreign compared to the one he knew. The core of the story is Roger's internal journey as he tries to find his place in their lives and reconcile his own values with the new century roaring in.

Why You Should Read It

I was surprised by how much this book got under my skin. Poole doesn't write big, dramatic scenes. Instead, he builds this steady, empathetic portrait of a family in transition. Roger is a fantastic character—flawed, sometimes stubborn, but his love for his daughters is never in doubt. You feel his confusion and his pride in equal measure. The book is really about the universal ache of watching your children grow up and away, and the quiet question of what you leave behind. It’s not a sappy story; it’s clear-eyed about the sacrifices and misunderstandings that happen between generations. Reading it, I kept thinking about my own parents and the choices I've made that probably baffle them.

Final Verdict

This is a perfect read for anyone who loves character-driven family sagas or stories about social change. If you enjoyed novels like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or the quiet humanity in Kent Haruf's books, you'll find a friend here. It's also a great pick for history-minded readers who want to feel the pulse of everyday life at the turn of the 20th century, not just the big historical events. His Family is a gentle, profound novel that proves some struggles—between tradition and progress, between holding on and letting go—are truly timeless.