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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
All bedrooms were occupied, attics turned into temporary accommodation for gangs of grandchildren, and sparse bathrooms worked overtime. Huge quantities of food were produced, cooked, and eaten every day at dining-room tables elongated by extra leaves. And then, September.
I love a good family saga, and when you take that family and put them in Scotland, I'm going to love it even more. The setting - the Scottish highlands, the characters - real and flawed and funny and interesting, the plots - let's plan a gigantic September party, and subplots - romance and boarding school and family drama, are all classic Rosamunde Pilcher and every bit of it is entertaining and lovely.
I love a good family saga, and when you take that family and put them in Scotland, I'm going to love it even more. The setting - the Scottish highlands, the characters - real and flawed and funny and interesting, the plots - let's plan a gigantic September party, and subplots - romance and boarding school and family drama, are all classic Rosamunde Pilcher and every bit of it is entertaining and lovely.
good winter read to sink into, but a little too perfect
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
A very lovely and gently atmospheric family story set in Scotland, anchored by a party taking place in September.
Pilcher creates a wonderfully immersive setting—not just with the little village, but with the community established and structured by the people of the village and characters of the book. Their relationships and familial connections are so tightly woven and so dearly felt that they take on the very characteristics typically associated with the setting. They bind and connect and ground each other so well and with such history, everyone plays their role with a kind of significance and weighted quality.
"It occurred to her, sadly, and not for the first time, that as you grew older you became busier, and time went faster and faster, the months pushing each other rudely out of the way, and the years slipping off the calendar and into the past. Once, there had been time."
With an entire host of characters, the beginning (on audio) was a little confusing—not necessarily keeping them separated but remembering their connections and who was related and who was not. Nevertheless, briefly confusing or not, the simple premise was made entirely propulsive due to Pilcher's fantastic writing and perfect pacing.
Someone's throwing a party for their daughter in September...and she's going to invite everyone. Everyone including the woman, Pandora Blair, who up and left the village twenty years ago and hasn't been seen since. Pandora's name alone carries with it this sense of devil-may-care, caution-to-the-wind allure she left in her wake...which seemingly has only intensified with her long absence. The build-up of the party, the return of Pandora, the introduction of all the important players, and all the other day-to-day and normal life events that take place, create a living, breathing book that's full of life, love, betrayal, lies, and loss.
I can't think why I never picked up another Pilcher after finally reading [b:The Shell Seekers|37095|The Shell Seekers|Rosamunde Pilcher|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385213408l/37095._SY75_.jpg|517040] years ago, but I'm sorry I took so long. Something I'll have to remedy.
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Jilly Bond|913929|Jilly Bond|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: Bond seems to have been paired perfectly with this novel – perhaps with Pilcher on the whole. She was really brilliant with this performance. Her voices were wonderful, but it was the acting and performing on the whole that got me. If the character had her mouth full of food when responding, then I swear that's exactly how Bond sounded. If the character was hoisting herself up from sitting on the ground while speaking, then Bond added the incredibly natural (and never overplayed) sounds of exertion that would go along with that. Everything was subtle and just fantastically played; the kind of performance that immediately makes you go in search of other books narrated by this audiobook performer.
Pilcher creates a wonderfully immersive setting—not just with the little village, but with the community established and structured by the people of the village and characters of the book. Their relationships and familial connections are so tightly woven and so dearly felt that they take on the very characteristics typically associated with the setting. They bind and connect and ground each other so well and with such history, everyone plays their role with a kind of significance and weighted quality.
"It occurred to her, sadly, and not for the first time, that as you grew older you became busier, and time went faster and faster, the months pushing each other rudely out of the way, and the years slipping off the calendar and into the past. Once, there had been time."
With an entire host of characters, the beginning (on audio) was a little confusing—not necessarily keeping them separated but remembering their connections and who was related and who was not. Nevertheless, briefly confusing or not, the simple premise was made entirely propulsive due to Pilcher's fantastic writing and perfect pacing.
Someone's throwing a party for their daughter in September...and she's going to invite everyone. Everyone including the woman, Pandora Blair, who up and left the village twenty years ago and hasn't been seen since. Pandora's name alone carries with it this sense of devil-may-care, caution-to-the-wind allure she left in her wake...which seemingly has only intensified with her long absence. The build-up of the party, the return of Pandora, the introduction of all the important players, and all the other day-to-day and normal life events that take place, create a living, breathing book that's full of life, love, betrayal, lies, and loss.
I can't think why I never picked up another Pilcher after finally reading [b:The Shell Seekers|37095|The Shell Seekers|Rosamunde Pilcher|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385213408l/37095._SY75_.jpg|517040] years ago, but I'm sorry I took so long. Something I'll have to remedy.
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Jilly Bond|913929|Jilly Bond|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: Bond seems to have been paired perfectly with this novel – perhaps with Pilcher on the whole. She was really brilliant with this performance. Her voices were wonderful, but it was the acting and performing on the whole that got me. If the character had her mouth full of food when responding, then I swear that's exactly how Bond sounded. If the character was hoisting herself up from sitting on the ground while speaking, then Bond added the incredibly natural (and never overplayed) sounds of exertion that would go along with that. Everything was subtle and just fantastically played; the kind of performance that immediately makes you go in search of other books narrated by this audiobook performer.
“It occurred to her, sadly, and not for the first time, that as you grew older you became busier, and time went faster and faster, the months pushing each other rudely out of the way, and the years slipping off the calendar and into the past. Once, there had been time. Time to stand, or sit, and just look at daffodils. Or to abandon housekeeping, on the spur of the moment, walk out of the back door and up the hill, into the lark-song emptiness of a summer morning.”
There’s something about Rosamunde Pilcher’s descriptive writing that just pulls me in and keeps me turning the pages. I finally read The Shell Seekers after being nudged by a few Instagram friends and I loved it. So it comes as no surprise that I enjoyed September just as much. I think I can safely say that this is one author that I will make the effort to read all of her books.
There’s something about Rosamunde Pilcher’s descriptive writing that just pulls me in and keeps me turning the pages. I finally read The Shell Seekers after being nudged by a few Instagram friends and I loved it. So it comes as no surprise that I enjoyed September just as much. I think I can safely say that this is one author that I will make the effort to read all of her books.
I really want to love everything she’s written but this one didn’t do it for me. Quite dated and hasn’t aged well.
This is my third time reading September by [a:Rosamunde Pilcher|20849|Rosamunde Pilcher|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1363607202p2/20849.jpg] and I think I enjoy this book more each time I read it!
The book starts in early May as spring is starting in Scotland as plans begin for a lavish twenty-first birthday party to be held in September.
With multiple storylines that all link together seamlessly, Rosamunde Pilcher brings together people from London, New York, and Spain to the small community of Strathcroy.
One of the things I love about Rosamunde Pilcher’s books is that while they are cosy, gentle reads, her characters are flawed individuals who sometimes make huge mistakes, and are all the more relatable for them. It’s how they move forward in the face of challenges, which makes for such compelling reading.
In addition I always feel like I extract morsels of wisdom from her books. Like this sage advice:
“You should always leave a party just when you are most enjoying yourself.”
Or this bit, spoken by someone with too many regrets.
“‘You only have one life. You don’t get second chances. Let something really good slip through your fingers and it’s gone forever. And you spend the rest of your life trying to find it again…’”
It may seem silly to admit this, but when I read a Rosamunde Pitcher book I feel like I’m getting lessons in how to be a better, more carrying and generous person.
She writes characters that you can look up to and ones that you can learn from.
This was the first book of hers that I read and I knew from the beginning that her writing was special and I don’t think I’m alone in believing that the lady who wrote these books must have been extraordinary too.
I’ll leave you with this sample:
“[M]ost important of all, September meant fun. A packed season of socializing before the darkness of a long winter closed in on them all, when the bitter weather and snow-packed roads isolated scattered communities and precluded any form of contact. September meant people. Friends. For this was when Relkirkshire come truly into its own.”
The book starts in early May as spring is starting in Scotland as plans begin for a lavish twenty-first birthday party to be held in September.
With multiple storylines that all link together seamlessly, Rosamunde Pilcher brings together people from London, New York, and Spain to the small community of Strathcroy.
One of the things I love about Rosamunde Pilcher’s books is that while they are cosy, gentle reads, her characters are flawed individuals who sometimes make huge mistakes, and are all the more relatable for them. It’s how they move forward in the face of challenges, which makes for such compelling reading.
In addition I always feel like I extract morsels of wisdom from her books. Like this sage advice:
“You should always leave a party just when you are most enjoying yourself.”
Or this bit, spoken by someone with too many regrets.
“‘You only have one life. You don’t get second chances. Let something really good slip through your fingers and it’s gone forever. And you spend the rest of your life trying to find it again…’”
It may seem silly to admit this, but when I read a Rosamunde Pitcher book I feel like I’m getting lessons in how to be a better, more carrying and generous person.
She writes characters that you can look up to and ones that you can learn from.
This was the first book of hers that I read and I knew from the beginning that her writing was special and I don’t think I’m alone in believing that the lady who wrote these books must have been extraordinary too.
I’ll leave you with this sample:
“[M]ost important of all, September meant fun. A packed season of socializing before the darkness of a long winter closed in on them all, when the bitter weather and snow-packed roads isolated scattered communities and precluded any form of contact. September meant people. Friends. For this was when Relkirkshire come truly into its own.”