Picking Up the Pieces

Rating:
Summary: Cozy English Novel of a Family Falling Apart
Review: "Picking Up The Pieces" is a delightfully engrossing book about a 50ish widow named Kate whose life has fallen apart after the death of her husband Oliver. She is living in a woman's world where everyone including her hardnosed and uncompromising daughter Joanna, her sadly vulnerable granddaughter Harriet, and her delightfully wicked mother-in-law Cicely seems dependent on her.

What do you do when your life falls apart, Joanna asks her mom at one point. You pick up the pieces, Kate replies, and if the most important bit is missing you pick up what's left, reshape it, and make something new of it, like a patchwork quilt. And the reshaping of Kate's life is what this irresistible novel involving four generations of women is about. Kate first discovers her needlework skills can lead to a profitable business and then discovers that the handsome new millionaire in town is the love of her life.

This is a wonderful tale of a woman who was stronger than she ever realized, and of how she overcomes self-doubt and low self-esteem to become the woman she was destined to be.

Adding spice to this cozy English tale is a long-held secret involving paternity, a strained marriage on the brink of divorce, a car accident victim in America, and a teenager who shaves her head for attention. But it is the flawless writing of Mary Sheepshanks, her witty dialogue and wonderful characterizations, that will keep you reading to the satisfying conclusion.

Rating:
Summary: A Nice, Easy Read
Review: "Picking Up the Pieces" is an unashamedly romantic novel set in modern-day England. There are a good variety of characters who all have their hidden secrets which the author uses to keep the reader turning the pages. I particularly enjoyed the main theme of the novel - that being that too many families assume that once a women is widowed, her life is basically over. Kate's family have a hard time dealing with the fact that a year after the death of her husband (who we learn has been far from the ideal spouse) she is out and about socially, has discovered a talent which she can translate into a profitable business, decides to move house and meets and falls in love with a wonderful man who can fill all the emptiness that is inside her. Kate really comes into her own at a time when others believe she should be sitting by the fireside with her knitting. This was a light read but a very, very enjoyable one.

Rating:
Summary: Cozy English Novel of a Family Falling Apart
Review: "Picking Up The Pieces" is a delightfully engrossing book about a 50ish widow named Kate whose life has fallen apart after the death of her husband Oliver. She is living in a woman's world where everyone including her hardnosed and uncompromising daughter Joanna, her sadly vulnerable granddaughter Harriet, and her delightfully wicked mother-in-law Cicely seems dependent on her.

What do you do when your life falls apart, Joanna asks her mom at one point. You pick up the pieces, Kate replies, and if the most important bit is missing you pick up what's left, reshape it, and make something new of it, like a patchwork quilt. And the reshaping of Kate's life is what this irresistible novel involving four generations of women is about. Kate first discovers her needlework skills can lead to a profitable business and then discovers that the handsome new millionaire in town is the love of her life.

This is a wonderful tale of a woman who was stronger than she ever realized, and of how she overcomes self-doubt and low self-esteem to become the woman she was destined to be.

Adding spice to this cozy English tale is a long-held secret involving paternity, a strained marriage on the brink of divorce, a car accident victim in America, and a teenager who shaves her head for attention. But it is the flawless writing of Mary Sheepshanks, her witty dialogue and wonderful characterizations, that will keep you reading to the satisfying conclusion.

Rating:
Summary: A Nice, Easy Read
Review: "Picking Up the Pieces" is an unashamedly romantic novel set in modern-day England. There are a good variety of characters who all have their hidden secrets which the author uses to keep the reader turning the pages. I particularly enjoyed the main theme of the novel - that being that too many families assume that once a women is widowed, her life is basically over. Kate's family have a hard time dealing with the fact that a year after the death of her husband (who we learn has been far from the ideal spouse) she is out and about socially, has discovered a talent which she can translate into a profitable business, decides to move house and meets and falls in love with a wonderful man who can fill all the emptiness that is inside her. Kate really comes into her own at a time when others believe she should be sitting by the fireside with her knitting. This was a light read but a very, very enjoyable one.

Rating:
Summary: A Delightful Piece of Fluff
Review: This is a one of those truly enjoyable light novels -- especially for those who love stories about English "society" -- with lots of distinctive characters, juicy plot lines, and happy endings all around. While the genre is somewhat like that of Rosamunde Pilcher or Maeve Binchy, overall I'd say Sheepshanks' writing is livelier and fresher than some of her cohort. I definitely recommend this book for a fun, upbeat read.

Rating:
Summary: Sheepshanks at Her Best
Review: What is it about Mary Sheepshanks that makes it impossible to put her books down? It must be the enchanting blend of reality and humor that gets me every time. Like her other heroines, Sheepshanks' Kate is a no-nonsense, "let's get on with it and cope with life" typical British character. But beneath that strength lies a vulnerability that grabs the reader's heart.

Kate's reactions to her lovely son and daughter-in-law, her strong-minded, bird-watching mother-in-law, her difficult and sometimes nasty daughter Joanna, and her enchanting granddaughter Harriet, all reveal different sides of her complicated personality.

Just when we think she's a typical dull countrywoman, Kate reveals her penchant for design, and a strong artistic talent that makes her needlework highly prized. Just when we think she's something of a prude, whose sexual feelings died with her philandering husband, she becomes strongly attacted to Jack, a newcomer with his own secrets.

The mixture of pathos, romance, good old British common sense, and sometimes uproarious humor (I found myself laughing aloud on the commuter train home one night) make this a good, comforting, and delightful read, especially if one is feeling too beleagured to tackle something heavier.