Starting Over by Robin Pilcher

January 15, 2008
Book suggested by Pat D., and meeting hosted by Lori.

Once again, we read a book that had an assortment of reviews from our readers. Most of the disparity of opinion centered on the very descriptive writing style of Robin Pilcher, and the fact that some thought the plot was relatively uneventful. Some of us liked his very descriptive writing style while others couldn’t tolerate it and admitted to skipping full paragraphs to read sections in the book that were more eventful. Some appreciated the way the reader could envision the setting in great detail (even the sounds and scents), but others did not want to read the description of “every blade of grass” on the golf course! There was a comment that this story was “vanilla” and some readers wanted more in the plot.

We did think, though, that the story was very believable and appreciated the character development. We liked the characters themselves who we thought were very entertaining in their eccentricity. Johnny and Annabelle ran a B & B that we would all like to visit, though Kelly would want to help with the dishes! Roberta was a wealthy old spitfire that we thought could be played in a movie by Cathy Bates! We couldn’t quite understand Arthur’s past and why the estrangement from his family was so enduring because we saw things in him that we liked.

We talked about the relationships of the individuals, particularly that of Liz and Gregor, and we were all very disappointed in the ending. In fact, the end of the book ruined it for some of us and resulted in some of the low scores that were given.

We noticed some differences in the vocabulary and phrasing of this book in comparison to others we’ve read as it was written by a Scotsman. (Yes Judy, it’s Gregor, not Gregory.) We were all proud of Judy, because she did not read the ending first, like she usually does and thought that was worth mentioning in the minutes!

In summary, the book was easy to read and held the interest of most, if not all, of our members.

Lori did a great job coordinating the food with pretzel sticks and cheese shaped into golf clubs, brownies as divots, meatballs as golf balls, and sand tarts as sand traps! She even brought Spain into it with Spanish wine and Spanish olives.

Robin Pilcher's website: http://www.robinpilcher.co.uk/