London Holiday

Rating:
Summary: A Funeral, a Gunshot and Three Friends
Review: This story begins with a funeral, a gunshot and a coming together of old friends now approaching middle age. Three childhood friends are prompted by unusual events to flee familiar grounds and try an over-the-pond holiday at a most unusual bed & breakfast "near the top of the list" - truly in a class by itself. There are really five main stories (three generations) running at the same time, yet they are clearly delineated. Richard Peck seems to really understand the dynamics of women's friendships. The flashbacks to wartime London are fascinating, and obviously well researched. The characters are well developed, from the "seen-it-all" and rather magical Mrs. Smith-Porter (with a slightly shady background behind her upright façade) to the individual charms of Les, Julia & Margo and the utterly-lacking-in-charm Kimberly. The Bed & Breakfast was a thank you from a former lover, and through treasure hunts in the London markets, Ms. Smith Porter has furnished it with lovely, priceless antiques and a certain joie de vivre. Concisely and beautifully written, the story evolves simply through circumstances that are quite amazing. Mr. Peck gives the readers a flavor of London past and present together with glimpses of foolish lives, marriages gone bad, lives gone lonesome -- and then tosses in a bit of enchantment to show how things can fade into adventure and novelty.

Rating:
Summary: A Funeral, a Gunshot and Three Friends
Review: This story begins with a funeral, a gunshot and a coming together of old friends now approaching middle age. Three childhood friends are prompted by unusual events to flee familiar grounds and try an over-the-pond holiday at a most unusual bed & breakfast "near the top of the list" - truly in a class by itself. There are really five main stories (three generations) running at the same time, yet they are clearly delineated. Richard Peck seems to really understand the dynamics of women's friendships. The flashbacks to wartime London are fascinating, and obviously well researched. The characters are well developed, from the "seen-it-all" and rather magical Mrs. Smith-Porter (with a slightly shady background behind her upright façade) to the individual charms of Les, Julia & Margo and the utterly-lacking-in-charm Kimberly. The Bed & Breakfast was a thank you from a former lover, and through treasure hunts in the London markets, Ms. Smith Porter has furnished it with lovely, priceless antiques and a certain joie de vivre. Concisely and beautifully written, the story evolves simply through circumstances that are quite amazing. Mr. Peck gives the readers a flavor of London past and present together with glimpses of foolish lives, marriages gone bad, lives gone lonesome -- and then tosses in a bit of enchantment to show how things can fade into adventure and novelty.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful for a beach read
Review: Three middle-aged women have a holiday in London; they've been friends since sharing a Midwestern childhood and are now all variously dissatisfied with their lives. The bed & breakfast house in which they stay is run by the elusive, charming, and secretive Mrs. Smith-Porter who seems to be a helpful angel of some sort.
Not a deep book, but no one ever said it was; just a thoroughly enjoyable way to pass the day on a screened porch with a fan, a squeaky rocker, and a glass of iced tea.