Customer Reviews

A Risk Worth Taking

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

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

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

Many changes in life take time, they are slow and the person involved usually does not realize what is happening until it has been going on for a while. This book faces changes in a few lives, including Dan's, at a slow "real time" pace. This novel does not have a quick, to- the-point plot, but instead it is a story of daily normal domestic (some very humorous) situations lived by interesting characters going through changes in their lives and lifestyles and how these changes are molded by the decisions made in the course of the story. I did like this book a lot, I believe all of the characters are interesting and all of the secondary characters could have been a tad more enticing if their personalities had been developed a touch more. Nevertheless, what I loved the most is that while reading this book, I was permanently reminded of Fort William and I was amazed of how well the author has caught the daily rhythm of life of a Scottish highlands town. For me, it was like being there.

Mr. Pilcher puts together a fine story focusing on relationships and personal transformation. His characters are believable though not too deep or complex. The story moves along and is interesting.

I listened to the cd of the book, and the narrator does an exceptional job reading the book and speaking for the characters' accents. You will thoroughly enjoy listening to him. I found myself sitting in the parked car to continue to listen--it is the audio equivalent of a page turner.

I think this is well-written and fluid and explores some of the dynamics in today's family that has two working parents trying to fulfill themselves in careers and family.

I've read both of his previous efforts, loved "An Ocean Apart" frowned over "Starting Over". This book I enjoyed for the development of its principal character. The motivations and decisions that Dan Porter made were clear to me. I could only give it three stars as I felt some of the characters were superficially developed. His wife Jackie for example, I had no sense how she felt about her children, what motivated her to not consider custody of them, what was so attractive about Stephen. And Kate, the pivotal action she took was out of the blue, Maxwell Borthwick was a flat caricature. All of this aside, Pilcher has a lovely way with words, an adept, preceptive and warm manner in his presentation of children and adolescents, and wins me over every time portraying friendships of kindred spirits. I have to admit to taking him as he came, I haven't read any of Rosamund Pilcher's books, if having that name before him enhanced his being published, I am glad for it.

NOT very believable. The problems Dan and family faced do not "fix" themselves just by wishful thinking as Pilcher would have us believe.
A lay-about Dad goes to remote Scotland and "finds himself" within days; his lay-about son follows Dad and "finds himself" within days; two spoiled-brat teenage daughters go to visit Dad and brother and "find themselves" within HOURS. Poor wifie-Jackie--stays home and "loses herself." Only a total misogynist could create a woman as shallow and unredeeming as that. The best and only redeeming feature of the "book" was listening to the audio-CD version's wonderful Scottish accent of the narrator.

Well, I struggled through this one, putting it down several times for a week or more at a time. The biggest problem with this book? The characters engage in pages-long soliloquies in order to fill in the story. I know it worked for Shakespeare, but it just isn't working here. If I ever engaged in a conversation where the other person was giving me five-minute speeches like this I would go to sleep, or go hang myself.

The next biggest problem? Very sterotypical & flat characters. The wife is your stereotypical angry witch-wife. The protagonist is your stereotypical good-guy-trying-to-deal-with-angry-witch-wife. No story or relationship is that simple. It would have been much more interesting to read if these main characters had been realistic, or had realistic interactions. Neither one of the main characters inspires your pity or your interest. What is interesting about reading about a dysfunctional family & crumbling marriage -- all of which is failing because of two completely selfish & self-serving people? They can't even be bothered to take proper care of their children. This sort of family tragedy is all too common & isn't appealing when it is glorified as just a "life choice" & portrayed so unrealistically in its affects on the people involved. I was also appalled that the character was so "moved" by the events of 9/11 that he felt inspired to abandon his marriage & family, and that this is portrayed as perfectly reasonable & good behavior--all while remaining extremely critical of his wife for doing the same thing.

This book was hard to read because of its long, unrealistic character speeches, its unrealistic characters acting like stereotypes. And the ending is just disappointing & makes me feel a bit pessimistic about the whole human condition.

I really enjoyed this book; however, I felt the book ended before the story was done. I feel like it's all still hanging in midair. I HOPE MR. PILCHER DOES A SEQUEL SO I CAN HAVE SOME CLOSURE!

Some of the characters were more developed than the others. I understood Dan re-evaluating his life, family and career (I did the same thing, having myself been laid off from a dot.com company in July just before 9/11). I did NOT understand Jackie (nor did I like her much - which was probably the point of her), however from Dan's reminiscences of their early relationship I would have thought she would have more depth and character than to abandon her entire family - she struck me as the martyr type.

With all of that, I must say I quite enjoyed myself. I'm a huge Rosamunde Pilcher fan and find Robin to be an equally satisfying author.

I have never read a dreadful Pilcher book by either mother or son but some are better than others. Robin does not write as well as his mother but his books stand on their own. This is a nice read I would recommend to others. It is not the best of the bunch but I am glad I bought and read it.