Customer Reviews

The Long Way Home

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A young girl's painful first love and the unresolved feelings of the relationship are the crux of this novel, which moves from West Sussex in 1980 to Alloa, Scotland and New York. When Claire Barclay's widowed mother meets and marries the kind, gentle Leo Harrison, fifteen years her senior, mother and daughter move to Leo's rambling home in Scotland, a place Claire grows to love. Although she is never accepted by her jealous step-siblings, Charity and Marcus, Claire basks in Leo's generous affection, the only flaw in her world the abrupt and inexplicable ending to her close friendship (on the cusp of romance) with Jonas Fairweather, whose father works on Leo's estate.

Claire learns to put heartbreak behind, albeit unresolved, until her mixed emotions resurface years later after her mother's unexpected death and Leo's failing health. Suddenly Claire is back in Scotland with her husband and small daughter, faced with a confusing set of circumstances and a scheme that may threaten Leo's future security. Until old issues are put to rest and new troubles confronted, Claire's peace of mind remains elusive. At the heart of the novel is the unresolved breakup between Claire and Jonas, made more difficult by the uncertainty of Leo's future, the elderly man caught between his step daughter and his adult children, who have ideas of their own.

This novel might have more impact were the characters and their conflicts less superficial and formulaic. But it is hard to credit a young woman's loss of first love and the rancor still carried towards her by Marcus and Charity, let alone Fairweather's prominence in the story. The plot remains mired in petty, if expensive grievances. Pilcher does capture Claire's idyllic childhood in Scotland and writes with flair of the details of place. Yet the conflict at the heart of the story is less than satisfactory, the characters not quite memorable. Luan Gaines/2010.

When Claire's mother marries again, they move from their home in Sussex to stepfather Leo's large house in Scotland. Here 10 year old Claire meets 11 year old Jonas, whose father rents a farm on Leo's property. Claire and Jonas form a bond which lasts all through their teenage years until suddenly, without any explanation, Jonas distances himself from Claire and never talks to her again.

Postponing university, Claire decides to do a bit of travelling and after some time in Australia ends up in New York where she marries Art and together the two of them build up a successful restaurant business.

The sudden death of Claire's mother Daphne and the declining health of Leo bring Claire back to Scotland - and Jonas. Claire loves her stepfather and wants him to keep on living in his beloved home, well taken care of. Trying to help Leo, can she, however, put her trust in the man who broke her heart so many years ago and whom she has never completely forgotten?

The book is light and easy reading. But in spite of clever - although a bit stereotype - characterization, the story did not quite manage to grap my attention. It's flawed by too many platitudes, especially in the dialogue. The love story between Claire and Jonas does not convince. Instead of getting caught up and curious, I became impatient, skipped pages and took a peek at the end ...

What saves the book, is Claire's stepfather Leo. With his big heart and lots of personality, his beloved garden and rows and rows of exotic plants in his greenhouses, he makes a brilliant character beautifully drawn.

All in all "The long way home" is a disappointment compared with Robin Pilcher's previous work. A lightweight saved by dear, unforgettable Leo.

I'm a fan of Robin Pilcher and couldn't wait to get his latest book. I was put off at first by the way he shifts back and forth to various years, and found I had to keep checking back to see what year I was reading about. Did he think the plot wouldn't stand if he wrote chronologically? I also got impatient in the middle and cheated to see the ending. And then I got engrossed again and read every word.

I don't want to give away the plot, so let me say that what I especially liked about this book is that it is a man writing about relationships, not just romantic ones, but family and more. However, he also brings in subjects most female authors don't, such as business and finance, so his plots gets involved and interesting. In the end I found the plot and the characters believable.

If you are a Pilcher fan, either of Robin or his mother, do buy this book! But if you are just being introduced to this author, I recommend that you start with one of his earlier books.

Note that this book is being simultaneously published in the UK under a different title. So don't buy another book of Pilcher's with the characters Claire, Violet, Leo, Jonas, Art.

I was looking for a romantic novel to get lost in during a recent trip which involved several long lay overs in airports. This book did that for me, but I don't think the author was up to his usual high standards. The story is a little far-fetched and the characters don't really endear themselves to you, except for old Leo, maybe. There is a lot of bouncing back and forth between time and places. Fortunately, the beginning of each chapter is clearly markeed with date and place, so if you put the book down for a few days and get lost, it's easy to get reoriented again. The basic story line is that Claire's widowed mother marries an older man, Leo, who has a wonderful old mansion in Scotland. They move there when Claire is about ten. Leo's children hate Claire and try to make her life miserable whenever they are around, so she becomes close friends with the farmer tenant's son. They remain very close until suddenly, when Claire is seventeen, he breaks off their relationship with no explanation. She had been in love with him and was heartbroken, so she moved away and went on with her life. Many years later when she is married with her own child, Leo needs her help. She returns to face her old friend and her wicked step-siblings.

I really enjoyed Robin Pilcher's earlier books and had great hopes for this one, too. It started out fine - the groundwork laid for Claire's mother's remarriage, characters introduced and, as others have said, stepfather Leo was a bright light in the whole book. I won't rehash the plot since that's been done.

I was with him for the first half; things started to deteriorate when Claire and her family returned to Scotland after Leo's fall and hip surgery and got sillier and sillier after that. The financial goings-on and secrecy just didn't seem to fit at all. The "mystery" about Claire and Jonas was stretched way out of proportion and was very anti-climactic when finally revealed at the end.

In my opinion, a book that had a lot of potential but began to deteriorate half way through and never regained its appeal. I won't write the author off yet, but the next one has a lot to make up for!

Following in the footsteps of his writer mother, Robin Pilcher has crafted a story of love and loss. While not as well nuanced nor containing the depth of character contained in mother Rosemund's wonderful epistle THE SHELL SEEKERS, THE LONG WAY HOME is nevertheless worth the few hours of your time it takes to read.

In it we follow Claire Barclay from England to Scotland to New York and back again as she recalls the traumatic loss of her father at age seven, her mothers marriage to a wonderful man named Leo Harrison who loves Claire like one of his own children, Claire's friendship and ultimate disillusionment with a boy named Jonas Fairweather, her marriage to Art Barrington a successful New York restaurateur, the death of her mother and her return to Scotland to care for Leo when he suffers a fall that incapacitates him. As in her youth, most of Claire's plans are thwarted by her jealous step-siblings Marcus and Charity who have not outgrown the treacherous and selfish self-interest they displayed as teenagers.

The circumstances are further complicated by the presence of Jonas Fairweather, who has now become Leo's confidant and, as such, has convinced Leo to make some rather unusual decisions concerning the disposition of his estate. Claire, it seems, is still harboring a long held resentment for things that occurred over 20 years ago and the final "reveal" of what happened and why is really pretty weak......hardly worth Claire's years of despair. It could be that Mr.Pilcher was going for dramatic effect with a situation that had no drama. The plot would have been better served by focusing on Jonas's present behaviour and motivation than his past mistakes. It was, by far, the more interesting part of the story. The conclusion was more fairy tale than reality with the story moving along to its predictable conclusion. 2 1/2 stars

Claire Barrington loves her Scottish stepfather Leo Barclay who is her only living relative besides her spouse Art. So when Leo suffers a stroke, Claire accompanied by Art leaves New York's East Village and their restaurant Barrington's to help Leo recuperate. However, the man she adores and who has called her daughter for years making her feel good about life is not the same as he is no longer capable of caring for himself.

Claire prefers to arrange things as much as possible so Leo can remain home; Art suggests they buy the estate and establish a conference center while building a nearby cottage for Leo to reside in. The vultures arrive with plans and schemes. Marcus and Charity, his children from his first marriage who never forgave their dad for marrying Claire's mom and raising her; want him placed in a home so they can sell the place. Claire's childhood friend Jonas Fairweather suggests a public auction to raise money for Leo's care. Remaining competent, Leo chooses Jonas' concept, but Claire distrusts her friend's motive when another bidder surfaces who she assumes will want to tear down the place and replace it with a major development.

The story line is an entertaining look at how relatives act when a beloved elderly family member becomes too ill to care for themselves, but remains mentally competent. Leo is the terrific focus of the rest of key players as each has different ideas re his future. Although his malicious offspring and the contriving scheming childhood friend never come across as more than as more than one dimensional boors, fans will enjoy the three way fight as Claire and Art want the best for Leo while hurtful Marcus, horrid Charity, and opportunistic Jonas want the best for themselves.

Harriet Klausner

Robin Pilcher writes of Claire and her childhood home in Scotland where her beloved stepfather, Leo still lives. Claire resides in New York with her husband Art and has not returned for years to Scotland but she goes back when Leo is hospitalized with a broken hip and she then has to come to terms with a hurtful remembrance of her childhood friend, Jonas.
The book is written in short chapters that jump back and forth in time and place which can be a bit confusing and off putting. The intensity of Claire's continuing hurt feelings concerning Jonas when she is leading a happy successful life is a bit much, as is the refusal of Jonas and Claire to clear the air until the very last few pages.
The story is interesting and a relaxing read and ends with a satisfactory conclusion...all's well that ends well. There is just that bit of suspense... why Jonas spurned Claire and why is he acting the way he does and what is he really doing? Is he the good guy or does he have ulterior motives? It is what makes the book nice.

Robin is not his mother but he writes well. I have read all of the Pilcher books of both generations and have enjoyed them all. If you like others by Robin you will enjoy this one. The plot is satisfying and holds your interest. A good way to enjoy a day at the lake or on the beach during the summer.

I have read every Rosamunde Pilcher book ever written. "Winter Solstice" so infatuates me that I read it every autumn and have replaced it two times already. In reading the reviews for this book someone said "The Long Way Home" written by Robin Pilcher was as good as one of his mother's books, so I snapped it up.
This book is nothing like Rosamunde's books and I only managed to read it to the end because I somehow felt obliged to read Rosamunde's son's book. The characters never spoke to me. I never felt like I knew who they really were or what they stood for and honestly I just felt relief when I reached the last page, closed the book and dismissed them.