Customer Reviews

The Best of Times

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Penny Vincenzi is known for her sweeping, dramatic, often surprising sagas that usually focus on large families and associates, groups of people who have long-standing connections by virtue of blood or business (and sometimes both). In her latest novel, Vincenzi takes a startlingly different approach. Here she uses her tried-and-true approach of focusing on intersecting lives, but the lives of random strangers intersect (sometimes literally) following a harrowing traffic accident on Britain's M4 motorway between London and Wales.

THE BEST OF TIMES opens with a journalistic-style account of the fictional accident and then steps back in time, as it explores the lives of some of the key players in the accident, examining who they are and outlining how they happened to be on that particular road at that pivotal time.

At the center of the story is handsome doctor Jonathan Gilliatt, a happily married father of three who is carrying on an affair with Abi, a sexy younger woman (who happens to be in his car at the time of the accident). How will he explain her presence to the police, the newspapers --- and his wife? There's also eager groom Toby and his best man Barney, rushing to get to the church in time for Toby's wedding to Tamara, but delayed by a top-secret errand that would destroy Tamara if she knew of it. There's Mary, an elderly lady heading to London to reunite with the love of her life, an American man she met during World War II. Both of them are widowed, now finally free to be together after 60 years apart. And there's Georgia, an aspiring (but ambivalent) actress on the way to the audition of her life.

Following the catastrophic accident, other players enter the scene, including doctors who treat the wounded at the hospital, the friends and families of those involved, the police officers inquiring into the cause of the crash, and the farmer who witnesses the whole thing and becomes intimately involved with one of the crash victims. Encounters at hospitals, in hotels, and in courtrooms bring the accident participants together again and again --- often resulting in surprising connections, new opportunities, and even true love.

Vincenzi's experiment with this new approach is rewarding, especially for long-time readers who might have thought they had her formula figured out. Here she juggles multiple plot lines, a mystery or two, and several romances, all while manufacturing circumstances (many based on coincidence) to bring together these characters who come from different worlds. At times the plotline lags slightly, especially when the narrative gets bogged down in exploring who is at fault for the crash. In all likelihood, most readers won't even really care much about the outcome of that investigation; instead, they're more invested in whether or not the couples they're rooting for will wind up together.

But when the happily-ever-afters come, they arrive in abundance, leaving readers deeply satisfied even as they consider if, or how, the events of an instance can leave an impression for a lifetime.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

If you would have asked me anywhere in the first 400 pages to give a one-word description of The Best of Times, I would have said "gripping." I was totally enthralled with the stories, and the characters, who are all so well developed. It reminded me very much of the movie Love, Actually where there are lots of storylines that all flow together and culminate at the end with a feel-good-heart-warming moment that restores your faith in love. But if I'm being really honest, it did drag just a bit for me in the last 50-75 pages or so. The storylines were being neatly tied up, and I thought there was a lot of filler. That being said, I loved the characters, the story was great, and for the first 400 pages or so, it really kept you guessing. It was an interesting premise - taking a horrible tragic accident and examining how it affected all these different lives. And I really enjoyed how the author went into each person's perspective when she was telling their story. It was very believable, and rang true for the most part. Some of the characters seemed a bit stereotypical, but it wasn't enough to make me not enjoy it.

All in all, it was a great ride, that could have been about 5-10% shorter for me to really have given it five stars.

Another great book. Story and character development are outstanding. This book will hold your attention from first page to last.

Ok, this book had some great reviews so I went for it.

I'm sorry, I just don't get what's so great. It dragged on. It was mundane. It was predictable.

I typically can finish a novel in 2-3 days if I love it. This one took me 3 WEEKS. I had to force my way through.

Now, I'm wondering how many Americans loved this book. Maybe it's a Brit thing? It was slow - I've never READ beating around the bush quite like this. Too many characters were introduced to have any sort of connection to each one. I knew what was going to happen, it was sit-com predictability. You know this person is going to shack up with that one, you know this one is going to die & that one is going to be pregnant. You KNOW.

I give this book one star. I'm so sorry I paid money for it. Today, I'm off to the used bookstore hoping to get some money back on it. Pathetic.

This is the first book I have read by "VINCENZI", and it will not be the last. She is a wonderful author,I could hardly put this book down once I started to read.This is not only a complete entertaining book,but one that has a real life lesson to it. The characters are so enjoyable and quite real. The story is one that could happen to any and every one, it brings to forth how one's life can change in no more than a blink of an eye.I loved every page of this book,and I will read it again some day,I will certainly be reading other books by her also.

A really,really good book!!

This is a book that just kind of plods along and the cast of characters is really large and hard to keep track of. I kept putting this book down and picking it up again because I finish every book I start. My theory is that if someone thought this book was good enough for publication, there must be something there. I don't think that after reading this novel.

The plot centers around a huge accident that happened on a major London expressway and all the lives that that tragic event touched. I think I was about halfway through the book when I realized the timeline of the story hadn't progresed much--it was still only two weeks after the accident. Then, the author spent the last half of the novel in a hurry, it seemed to tell me what happened in the rest of the year following the accident. I did begin to care for the main cast of charactrers so for me the tension was slowly, VERY slowly ratcheted up. I like chick lit, especially British chick lit, but this novel left a lot to be desired. I will probably read another Penny Vincenzi novel just to see if this was a fluke (and she does have quite a loyal following) but probably not for a while.

Have read quite a few of her books and this one was a good read but a bit on the fluffy side for real plot.

I am a long time Vicenzi reader. But this sort of left me cold. I'm trying to get involved in it but it is so darn boring. I keep putting it down and then pick it up again. I am going to try one more time and then ditch THE THING!!!!!!! I always finish a book

especially if it's one of my favorite authors. I think this may be a dud.

Such a "novel" idea for a novel! A chain reaction in a highway accident and a chain reaction to the characters and people involved, leaving you totally absorbed with Penny's amazing writing style...a real page turner! I have read every PV book and marked all "excellent" (with the exception of "Absolute Scandal--which I rated VG). One set was a trilogy, so should you want to read PV's books, check this out first. I am a huge fan and anxiously await her next book!!

A wonderful book that any Vincenzi fan will enjoy. Great story with a multitude of characters and storylines that a real Vincenzi fan will have no problem following. Thank you Ms. Vincenzi.