Risk Worth Taking [Paperback]

Robin Pilcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2005

Life has not turned out the way that Dan Porter had planned. He thought that when he married Jackie twenty-five years before, he would be providing for her and their family until he could retire to a small house on the Devon coast and sit with a smug smile on his face, knowing that he had not only done his bit to perpetuate the human race, but had achieved it with distinction. But life doesn't always turn out the way you imagine it will. Firstly, Jackie's little job turned into a high-powered executive position with a top fashion house which required most of her time and attention, leaving only a sliver of a moment for her parenting and home-making duties. Secondly, that he would suffer an out-of-character brainstorm, leave his safe job and start up a business on his own - but customers had not come rushing to his door. Dan becomes a house husband - and most of his time is spent studying his empty email inbox. Approaching fifty and having read a magazine article, he thinks of a new brainwave - to upsticks from London, buy a croft in Scotland and take over a mail order business with Jackie. The family are not amused...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pilcher (An Ocean Apart; Starting Over) crafts another engaging, happy-ending tale in the tradition of his mother, beloved British novelist Rosamunde Pilcher. Dan Porter was a successful London investment banker until the dot-com bubble burst. Now his portfolio's crashed, he's lost his job, and his beautiful wife, Jackie, the managing director of a design firm, is giving him the cold shoulder. His son, Josh, has dropped out of college, and his daughters Millie and Nina are miserable in the public school that dwindling assets force them to attend. A fortuitous inquiry into the sale of a trendy trousers factory in bleak Fort Williams, Scotland (sparked by an article about owner Katie Trenchard, which Dan reads in Woman's Weekly), leads to interim employment at Seascape, the prosperous prawn sales business belonging to Katie's disabled husband, Patrick. As Dan's getting drenched in Scotland, Jackie starts spending more time with Stephen, the design firm's young financial director. Pilcher relies heavily on coincidence, but readers will probably forgive strains on narrative credibility in their eagerness to root for Dan. Dan, Katie and Patrick all get along beautifully (barring one desire-driven slip between the first two, which only proves them human); Josh, who went north with his father, swiftly discards his slacker past for industriousness and affection for a young Latina co-worker, and Dan's stereotypical teenage daughters show emerging admirable traits. Jackie, on the other hand, sins and isn't sorry, so contented readers don't care what happens to her. They will care about Dan, though, and his children and friends, and will approve of Dan's belief that risks are worth taking, and that life can be a great game.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Dan Porter had it all: the nice house in suburban London, three children, a beautiful wife, and a great job in finance until the dot-com crash and 9/11 changed his outlook about life and making money. Dan lost a good friend in the tragedy, and is now content being a househusband focusing on his family, while his wife, Jackie, pursues her high-level job with a fashion designer, but changes in income have caused strife. His wife and daughters want their old life back, and Jackie perceives Dan and their son, Josh, as loafers because they seem content with less. Recognizing his wife's discontent, Dan takes action after reading an article in a women's magazine about a woman who started a clothing company in a remote area of Scotland and now wants to sell. Dan travels to Scotland with the hope of buying the company and expanding the business, but he finds something much more valuable. Pilcher offers a charming story about life in the new millennium and one man's pursuit of happiness, a tale that will appeal to both men and women. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown P/B (January 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0751530905
• ISBN-13: 978-0751530902
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.9 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,529,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars what a great meandering book, April 7, 2005

By 

clifford "akitonmyers" (Portland, OR, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Risk Worth Taking (Hardcover)

I didn't think that I would enjoy this book when I picked it up. And while reading it, I was amazed at how much I was getting into the story. I say this because it really lacks a driving plot. Maybe because I have read way to many mysteries and thrillers where its almost impossible to break the mold of tradition where you start in point x and end in point y that it was very enjoyable to be swept up in a story where you truly do not know what was going to happen next.

The author, Pilcher also does a great job of second hand story telling. By this I mean he will have a character sit down say in a pub and tell an engrossing tale to another character which allows for the reader to be swept off on a tangent. I found that Pilcher really knows what he is doing when it comes to moving a story along and it was hard to put down this title because of that.

Lastly, the only fault that I found here was that besides the main character 'Dan the Man,' the supporting cast was not fleshed out very well. I liked Dan and found him to be very human as he was undergoing a life transforming change. But the others in the book (his children, mother, wife, and acquaintances) were not pushed as far as they could have been. They change, but the change is too simple.

I would highly recommend this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An engrossing novel!, April 11, 2005

By 

Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Risk Worth Taking (Mass Market Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed Robin's first book when it first came out years ago, and I was happy to see this one on the shelf. I needed a quick read in between reading books for review ~~ and this one fit the bill.

Dan Porter is unemployed and his wife is getting highly irritated with him as she has to work fulltime in her career and keep things going. His two daughters are upset with him because they couldn't go to their expensive private school where they were very happy. Dan Porter was living a life based nearly on depression ~~ ever since he got laid off just before 9/11. When he reads of an interview of this woman in Scotland who started up a clothing business right off the ground ~~ and that the business was for sale, he thought perhaps he should go check it out. His son, Josh, offered to come with him and together they started off on an adventure that changed their lives and outlook on life completely.

It's a quick read and very entertaining. Some of the conversations can be wordy but that's what is so entertaining about them. This is just a brief glimpse into a life of a frustrated man who decided that working for fast money isn't just enough anymore. And yes, his wife is a stereotypical character, angry at him all the time ~~ but even there, the reasons for her affair are so flimsy and weak ~~ that is really the weakest part of the novel. But fortunately, she doesn't figure into the novel as much as Dan and Josh are.

It's a comforting read. And I think it is fair to say that Robin will not be confused with his mom who is one of my favorite authors. He has a totally different style of writing and his way is just as interesting and engrossing ~~ with a modern flair to ages-old issues of love, infidelity and life. It's a good bet that his book won't be considered boring.

4-11-05

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars engaging character study, January 31, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Risk Worth Taking (Hardcover)

Dan Porter believes his life is near perfect as he has a wonderful job with a dot com firm, married to a loving wife for twenty years, and three precocious children. However, when his company hits bad times, the policy of last in first out leaves Dan unemployed. Meanwhile his wife Jackie is managing director of Rebecca Talworth Design Limited, but makes little money as profits are returned to the company.

Dan fails to get a new job, which leads to a tear in his relationship with Jackie because she feels he has become complacent while their lifestyle slips. When he reads an article in Women's Weekly about a small Scottish firm Vagabonds needing help to expand, he races north while Jackie is on the continent on business. Though the makers of the popular "Vaggas" is not what Dan expected, he finds his life changes perhaps even more than when he lost his dot com job, but Jackie's resentment grows.

This is an engaging character study of a person who once was riding the crest, but since has lost his self esteem. He begins to regain his confidence with his trip to Scotland, but the cost may prove too high. The cast is a delightful ensemble, especially Dan, his family, and the Turnbows (owners of Vagabonds). Robin Pilcher provides a deep look at what really counts as Dan reassess his values and how he has lived.

Harriet Klausner