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A review by obsidian_blue
Flowers in the Rain by Rosamunde Pilcher
3.0
Updated review: September 17, 2024:
Read this again while on vacation, I honestly have the same thoughts as I did when I first read through this. It was an okay collection, but not the best samples of her works. I thought her other short story collection (which I re-read) was much better.
So I read this one after the other collection of short stories by Pilcher. I wish I had waited. Maybe that is coloring my review. I just thought that the majority of the stories in this one didn't work for me at all. Also, I got really tired of reading stories about broken engagements. They could all be summed up as so and so chose this person as second best. I don't think I would run off with anyone that just broke up with someone, so maybe that's my personal bias working.
"The Doll's House" (3.5 stars)- A young boy missing his dead father, goes through with a promise to make a doll house for his younger sister. While that would be enough, he also has to deal with knowing that a local man is interested in his mother to marry and he hopes that she doesn't. Pilcher leaves us with enough to know how the story is going to end when we get finished with this story.
"Endings and Beginnings" (3 stars)-This one read as the longest story in this collection. A man (Tom) goes home for his Aunt Mabel's 75th birthday. He tries to get his girlfriend to come along and she declines. While home, he makes the acquaintance of his cousin or I don't know cousin once removed Kitty. Kitty's life has been a bit of a mess and now Tom seems intrigued by it and her.
"Flowers in the Rain" (1 star)-I really didn't like this one at all. A woman returns back to a place her family spent holidays at. She's there (supposedly) to say hello to Mrs. Farquhar, but really she wants to know about her grandson, Rory. I think it just bugged me since it read as if the main character had put her life on hold for Rory. And though I was reading him as saying goodbye (he won't see her again) I think she was deluding herself a bit thinking he would come back to Scotland. It just read as depressing.
"Playing A Round With Love" (2 stars)-I see this married couple getting divorced eventually. A man who is married acts surprised that his wife would not want him to take a whole day off to go golfing on the weekends.
"Christabel" (1 star)-Another common theme in Pilcher's short stories seems to be young women/men who realize that they shouldn't marry someone like days before their wedding. I didn't see why Christabel or her grandmother were so impressed/loved the character of Sam. He was not developed enough for a short story for me to care about a tall.
"The Blackberry Day" (2 stars)- A woman (Claudia) travels to her childhood friend's home to get away from the fact that a man she has been in a long term relationship with for years does not seem to be any closer to proposing marriage. I hated how this one ended since it just seemed that Claudia was going to choose whatever as long as she wasn't alone.
"The Red Dress" (1 star)-I was so confused by this story. I don't know if the main character was angling for an affair or what. She seemed way too intense/involved with the gardener who was married with kids.
"A Girl I Used to Know" (3 stars)-An okay story. A woman finds out she can actually do things that she is scared to do. All of this winds up being about her being afraid her boyfriend will dump her if she doesn't ski.
"The Watershed" (4 stars)-I liked this one. A married woman who is about to celebrate her pearl anniversary, is wondering if she and her husband should stay in their big home. She is thinking about downsizing and moving to something small since their children have homes and lives of their own.
"Marigold Garden" (2 stars)-Another broken engagement story.
"Weekend" (3 stars)- A young woman is afraid to get married thinking it could mean the end of her ability to be self-sufficient. Or at least that is what I took from this story.
"A Walk in the Snow" (3 stars)- A young girl realizes that the young boy she's in love with has moved on from her. The story ends in such a way though you realize she's already thinking of someone else.
"Cousin Dorothy" (5 stars)-My favorite in this collection. A widowed woman trying to do her best for her daughter on her wedding day. I would have maybe shaken my daughter since the girl acted like a brat pretty much the entire story. Her husband's cousin rides to the rescue.
"Whistle for the Wind" (2 stars)-Another broken engagement story.
"Last Morning" (4 stars)-A woman prepares for her son's wedding day.
"Skates" (3 stars)- A young girl finally realizes that someone in her family sees her for who she is, not what she can be. It was a pretty weak story (IMHO) to end on in this collection.
Read this again while on vacation, I honestly have the same thoughts as I did when I first read through this. It was an okay collection, but not the best samples of her works. I thought her other short story collection (which I re-read) was much better.
So I read this one after the other collection of short stories by Pilcher. I wish I had waited. Maybe that is coloring my review. I just thought that the majority of the stories in this one didn't work for me at all. Also, I got really tired of reading stories about broken engagements. They could all be summed up as so and so chose this person as second best. I don't think I would run off with anyone that just broke up with someone, so maybe that's my personal bias working.
"The Doll's House" (3.5 stars)- A young boy missing his dead father, goes through with a promise to make a doll house for his younger sister. While that would be enough, he also has to deal with knowing that a local man is interested in his mother to marry and he hopes that she doesn't. Pilcher leaves us with enough to know how the story is going to end when we get finished with this story.
"Endings and Beginnings" (3 stars)-This one read as the longest story in this collection. A man (Tom) goes home for his Aunt Mabel's 75th birthday. He tries to get his girlfriend to come along and she declines. While home, he makes the acquaintance of his cousin or I don't know cousin once removed Kitty. Kitty's life has been a bit of a mess and now Tom seems intrigued by it and her.
"Flowers in the Rain" (1 star)-I really didn't like this one at all. A woman returns back to a place her family spent holidays at. She's there (supposedly) to say hello to Mrs. Farquhar, but really she wants to know about her grandson, Rory. I think it just bugged me since it read as if the main character had put her life on hold for Rory. And though I was reading him as saying goodbye (he won't see her again) I think she was deluding herself a bit thinking he would come back to Scotland. It just read as depressing.
"Playing A Round With Love" (2 stars)-I see this married couple getting divorced eventually. A man who is married acts surprised that his wife would not want him to take a whole day off to go golfing on the weekends.
"Christabel" (1 star)-Another common theme in Pilcher's short stories seems to be young women/men who realize that they shouldn't marry someone like days before their wedding. I didn't see why Christabel or her grandmother were so impressed/loved the character of Sam. He was not developed enough for a short story for me to care about a tall.
"The Blackberry Day" (2 stars)- A woman (Claudia) travels to her childhood friend's home to get away from the fact that a man she has been in a long term relationship with for years does not seem to be any closer to proposing marriage. I hated how this one ended since it just seemed that Claudia was going to choose whatever as long as she wasn't alone.
"The Red Dress" (1 star)-I was so confused by this story. I don't know if the main character was angling for an affair or what. She seemed way too intense/involved with the gardener who was married with kids.
"A Girl I Used to Know" (3 stars)-An okay story. A woman finds out she can actually do things that she is scared to do. All of this winds up being about her being afraid her boyfriend will dump her if she doesn't ski.
"The Watershed" (4 stars)-I liked this one. A married woman who is about to celebrate her pearl anniversary, is wondering if she and her husband should stay in their big home. She is thinking about downsizing and moving to something small since their children have homes and lives of their own.
"Marigold Garden" (2 stars)-Another broken engagement story.
"Weekend" (3 stars)- A young woman is afraid to get married thinking it could mean the end of her ability to be self-sufficient. Or at least that is what I took from this story.
"A Walk in the Snow" (3 stars)- A young girl realizes that the young boy she's in love with has moved on from her. The story ends in such a way though you realize she's already thinking of someone else.
"Cousin Dorothy" (5 stars)-My favorite in this collection. A widowed woman trying to do her best for her daughter on her wedding day. I would have maybe shaken my daughter since the girl acted like a brat pretty much the entire story. Her husband's cousin rides to the rescue.
"Whistle for the Wind" (2 stars)-Another broken engagement story.
"Last Morning" (4 stars)-A woman prepares for her son's wedding day.
"Skates" (3 stars)- A young girl finally realizes that someone in her family sees her for who she is, not what she can be. It was a pretty weak story (IMHO) to end on in this collection.