Starting Over
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Since the split of her 18-year marriage, Liz Dewhurst has lived with her son, Alex, and her father on their family farm on the east coast of Fife. Liz's acrimonious divorce and the decline of the business has left them burdened with debt - Liz wants to keep the farm but her father feels it sensible to sell to a company who wants to make the land into a golf course.
The arrival of Arthur, a professor, seems to bring more trouble but Liz's misgivings about taking in a lodger evaporate when she realises that not only does Arthur's presence help her lonely father but that she too, enjoys his company. Arthur, also divorced, is anxious to live life to the full, and asks Liz to accompany him on a trip to Spain. Liz refuses at first, but then thinks why not? When Arthur breaks his ankle, she is joined by Will, Arthur's estranged son, and with Arthur being the patient from hell and Liz feeling that she shouldn't be there, the return journey to Scotland is not an easy one but on the way the unexpected happens...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pilcher's sophomore and sophomoric effort (after his New York Timesbestselling An Ocean Apart) is all about second chances: second chances for romance, of course, but also for loving relationships between fathers and sons. The central soap revolves around Liz Dewhurst, now living on the family farm in the Scottish coastal village of Fife, following the bustup of her 18-year marriage. Potential love interests include an older Canadian professor who becomes her boarder, his estranged son, and Gregor, Liz's adulterous ex, who's always hovering around the sidelines. Meanwhile, the future of the farm is in question, with developers threatening to build a golf course in its place. Clunky storytelling, unlikely dialogue from characters who speechify rather than speak ("You can't change destiny, lass. You can't get your pebble back once you've thrown it") and a lack of tension are prime culprits in leaching the pleasure from a book presented as the novelistic equivalent of easy-listening music. Gregor is the closest thing to a villain here, but even he is a decent sort at heart. Furthermore, American readers may find it hard to credence American characters made to say things like, "I was just being bloody-minded." Although the last line of the book suggests otherwise ("Life does have a funny way of throwing up the least-expected things"), there's nothing unexpected here.
