The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Shell Seekers
Book Review: SHELL SEEKERS
Summary: 2 Stars
NOT AS GOOD AS THE CRITICS WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE. CERTAINLY NOT A NEW YORK BEST SELLER TO ME AT LEAST! PLEASANT READ NOT THRILLING BUT WELL WRITTENBook Review: Shell Seekers Review
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a good summer read. The characters are realistic and I've met people like them. The relationships between Penelope and her adult children are interesting and believable. Enjoyed this book. The print in the paperback edition is small so someone with poor eyesight might opt for either hardcover or large print editions.Book Review: Short story with loads of 'Filler'
Summary: 1 Stars
I know that Rosamunde Pilcher was asked by her publishers to write a longer novel than her previous ones. The result is a short story (a couple of hundred pages perhaps) and just loads of what I see as filler matierial. The book centres around Penelope Keeling who is sixty- four and the daughter of an artist who's work went for pennies while he was alive but now goes for thousands (early 1980's). Penelope has a handful of his work left including The Shell Seekers. Two of her three kids, Nancy and Noel, selfishly want the painting sold and a third, Olivia, doesn't care. At first when I began reading this book I was excited- I saw several hundred pages in front of me and thought 'Wow, this is gonna be good'. Little did I know that basically that was it! The author went back in time to WW2 and beyond to build up depth of character for Penelope and to stop us, perhaps from seeing her as just an old woman. What I have a big problem with in the book are questions I think the author did not intend. That is mainly Olivia who is written about as being special to Penelope, more so than Noel or Nancy, and the author excuses it. But I know that in real life siblings pick up on this. Nancy and Noel were portrayed as shallow monsters but I can hardly blame them if they've grown up feeling second best to Olivia. The author does put a little word-service into Olivia not being perfect herself with her 'I'm alright, Jack' attitude towards her siblings. Penelope doesn't seem to realise that if Nancy and Noel aren't what she'd hoped for then Penelope herself has failed them. But all of this really could have been done in just a couple of hundred pages but then her publishers wouldn't have got their longer book. One more thing, trying not to spoil anything, one character has a so-called life shattering illness- but it isn't. I know people with the illness and, really, for most it's no big deal, and the character would be one of the most. I so wanted this book to be a good'un, and thought it would be at the start but I'm afraid it was light, and boring and empty I just can't recommend it.Book Review: Surprisingly good
Summary: 4 Stars
I rarely read ficton, and never love stories, but the German language of this book was given to me by a friend, and it being the only literature in German I had to read, I read it. I was surprised to find myself pretty engaged in the plot. The main draw is the expertly-woven narrative. Even though it jumps back and forth just about every other chapter, it still seams to flow seamlessly. The events in the past flesh out some mysteries about the present-day story, and vice versa. I'm not entirely sure I find Olivia as sympathetic a character as the author seems to want you to, and there were certainly some long passages that turned out to be not at all relevant (Dolly Keeling's chapter at Penelope's wedding comes to mind). All in all if you're a fand of this love stories/family dramas you'll probably enjoy this book.Book Review: The Shell Seekers
Summary: 5 Stars
I did read that book in german laguage. All I can say it is beautyful written. You think you are in England and see the fantastic scenery.The WW 2 experience was realy true to life.Her books "HOMECOMING " and "wINTER SOLSTICE"(in german"Heimkehr"
and "WINTERSONNE") are written just as beautyful