Πέρλες

by Celia Brayfield

ΗΤΑΝ ΟΜΟΡΦΕΣ, ΠΛΟΥΣΙΕΣ, ΔΙΑΣΗΜΕΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΝΤΟΔΥΝΑΜΕΣ.

Κάθριν Μπέρτον: Παρά τη φαινομενικά αθώα αλλά πολύ γοητευτική προσωπικότητά της, σάρωσε κάθε ανδροκρατούμενο οχυρό του αυστηρά επαγγελματικού λονδρέζικου σίτι, με αποτέλεσμα να μπει στο πάνθεο των διεθνών παλυεκατομμυριούχων.

Μόντι Μπέρτον: Διάσημη σταρ της ροκ, ένα άγριο θηλυκό με καταπληκτική φωνή, αναζητά επίμονα την προσωπική κατοχύρωση και κάλυψη στον έρωτα.

Πριγκίπισσα Αγιεσά: Μια σκοτεινή και μυστηριώδης γυναίκα, βασίλισσα της νύχτας και ιέρεια του έρωτα, χρησιμοποιεί τη σεξουαλική απληστία για να κάνει τους άντρες πιόνια της.

Ξαφνικά, ένα πρωί οι αδερφές Μπέρτον βρίσκουν κάτω από το μαξιλάρι τους από ένα τεράστιο ροζ μαργαριτάρι αμύθητης αξίας. Αναζητώντας την προέλευσή τους ξεκινούν ένα ταξίδι στο παρελθόν, μια περιπλάνηση που έμελλε ν' αλλάξει τη ζωή τους...

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Drama

663 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Celia Brayfield has written four non-fiction books and nine novels of which Mister Fabulous and Friends is currently in development for television. Her novel Heartswap was optioned by Paramount and Harvest for Chrysalis Films. Celia is currently working on a series of historical novels. She also teaches Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and Brunel University.

After attending St Paul's Girls' School in London, Celia went to Grenoble University in France to study French Language and Literature, before moving into journalism at The Times. She has one daughter and lives in Oxfordshire.

Reviews

[Tea Jovanović · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality female fiction... For those who like Penny Vincenzi, or Tasmina Perry... You read it in one go!

[Francesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part historical fiction and part bonkbuster, "Pearls" is the heartbreaking story of the ups and downs of three strong women in Malaysia and the UK. Ever if the historical fiction part is a little bit slow and the end is bittersweet, I can guarantee that it's worth the effort.

[Helen Carolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining tale of two sisters who are each mysteriously given a pearl. To find out where it came from they'll have to delve into their late father's past.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pearls by Celia Brayfield
Story starts out with the pearls and they have been examined and the results are told to Catherine, the Mona Lisa of Wall Street and her sister Monty, the rockstar have lost their father and pearls have magically shown up under their pillows.
Love the clues of the pearls themselves....they hire a PI to find out why their father killed himself.
The story then goes back to when James, their father was alive and his wife would rarely spend time together, but he was heavily involved in the girls education, even when Monty got caught smoking.
Liked antics of the girls while attending boarding school with nuns teaching them...
Gets a bit confusing at times as the story follows the older days of the father growing up and the kids in their lifes growing up.
They find many secrets as the story goes back to reveal them. They find ways to get out of how society has placed them in their roles.
Like the story especially the world wide travel and facts about the pearls, xrays and what the rings mean... book was over 24 hours listening to the tapes.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read until the last few chapters. The plot all hinges on two perfect pearls that are given to two sisters. They get curious as to who gave them to them, but the investigative part of the book is more towards the end.

The majority of it focuses on three different timelines. There's the timeline of the girls' father in Malaysia during WWII. There's the timeline of the mysterious princess, also in Malaysia. Then there's the timelines of the two sisters as they grow up under the cloud of doom left after their father committed suicide. Cathy and Monty must endure a lot of hardships during their lives as they try to cope with their father's death.

So there's a lot to unpack in the plot. Sometimes it gets confusing as you try to remember what timeline you're in and who the characters are.

It worked pretty well until the end. The end was rather disappointing and felt rushed. The mystery of the pearls had been largely forgotten in the majority of the book, but now it's quickly brought back to the forefront. The lives of the sisters also seems rushed as Brayfield tries to jam several years worth of events into a few chapters, whereas the majority of the book meandered around in their lives and covered every little thing they (and the other characters) did.

So it's a standard chick-lit/potboiler novel. There's cliches in it and sometimes Monty and Cathy come off as Sues, but it held my interest enough that I wanted to see how it ended.

[Fashion and Textile Museum]

In the emerging years of chick-lit, Pearls begins with the wealthy and fashionable Bourton sisters finding a large pearl under each of their pillows one morning. The novel unfolds as the sisters do a bit of detective work to understand the origins of the pearls. Each sister represents a different side of the independent woman: Cathy as a wealthy businesswoman and Monty as a commercial rock star in the States. With a Lord for their father and an unveiling scandalous family history, the two sisters epitomize the glamorous lives of the upper class.

By Sarah Vine

[Jackie Simons]

Read 6/97

[Ria Ali · Rating 1 out of 5]

i didnt like this book at all!!it was the most boring one i had ever read!!