Julie’s review of Coming Home > Likes and Comments

Oooo, intriguing note! :)

Ha! This is my 7th book of Rosamunde Pilcher's now, and it's my new favorite. Horribly cheesy covers that do not do the story justice!

A new favorite! 💐

I really adore this book as well. I find it is so comforting somehow and doesn't grow stale with a re-read. It is my favorite Pilcher, so I'm happy it is now yours!

I haven’t read her yet, but I’m intrigued.

Hi Jennifer!
Do you know what's weird? I worked in a book shop as a teenager, right when Rosamunde Pilcher's career was in its prime, and I never even knew her name or saw a book of hers. It wasn't until a few years ago, here on GRs, that I started seeing friend reviews of her famous book, THE SHELL SEEKERS. Her early work was all written under a pen name, and they were "romance novels." Then she broke away from that and started writing under her own name. Her first few offerings are rather "skimpy," but her epics are just lush and riveting! So very readable.

I'm actually starting to wonder if Alexander Dumas was an early influence of Ms. Pilcher's? Their themes were different, of course, but they are similar in style. They both must have had a lot of STAMINA!

Now I only have to decide which epic to begin with! “Lush and riveting” sold me.

How is your health?

Jennifer,
I love that! I have read all 4 of her epics now. I think THE SHELL SEEKERS is so perfect for summer; I think of SEPTEMBER as the perfect fall "sequel" to THE SHELL SEEKERS. WINTER SOLSTICE is so perfect to start, right around Thanksgiving, and this one, COMING HOME, seems perfect at any time you are looking for a WWII historical fiction (before the concept became so popular).

Daniel,
Is that a "tongue in cheek" way of asking, "How close were you to dying, while reading this?!"

(Seriously, though, my eyes feel swollen, after reading this. The same thing happened to me, after I read GONE WITH THE WIND in 10 days. Go figure!).

I will read your review once I am finished. Looking forward to getting back to it.

The lady was a masterful storyteller, and I’d put her work right up there with Ernest Hemingway's and Alexandre Dumas's with her ability to tell a riveting, robust, full-bodied tale.

I'm positive that you are the first reader ever to include these three authors in the same sentence and I am so here for it! I've only read The Shell Seekers and that was as a junior in college...a hundred years ago, but I've filled my Thriftbooks wishlist with the other Pilcher books you've recently read. Your Pilcher enthusiasm is a joy!

Antoinette,
I get it. I don't like reading reviews of books I am in the process of reading! (I will post a link to your review, after you've written it, unless you object).
xoxo

K,
Thank you for this comment. I've had a mental image of Alexander Dumas, since my 20s, of being this big, robust dude who would get up and overeat and drink too much coffee and then write and write and write! Ms. Pilcher was a little creature, and I doubt she did too much "overeating," but I KNOW the lady loved all caffeinated beverages and she simply MUST have written every day of the week. The woman produced FOUR huge books in 15 years. Who does that?? (Okay--Stephen King, James Clavelle, and James Michener, but it's not common!).
She was either a brilliant researcher, or had an impeccable memory (or both!). Either way: she is really able to show off her skills in this novel.

Well, I have The Shell Seekers - on my shelf, awaiting my attention - bought on your recommendation.

I think I am particularly looking forward to the houses that are better described than the characters. I do like an inside of a house, I think it says a lot about its owners.

And I think I should also say, that in my youth - Rosamund Pilcher was very much available - in the library, in the bookshops - everywhere - literally, and yet I have never read her. And to be perfectly honest, I was brought up to view her books - as very much - low brow or maybe middle brow - certainly they were classed in my mind as enjoyable reads for 'ladies at home' etc. I'm not entirely sure who was responsible for this orientation of my reading tastes - my school, my dad?

So, as I no longer subscribe to these antiquated reading classifications, I am looking forward to my first encounter with Ms Pilcher. I mean I've read many books - Elizabeth Howard's - The Cazalet series and many others by her; I think Jane Gardam might be similar, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Lynn Reid Banks, Monica Dickens - all in that category of "women's books" - with the nod to not "literary" - for women etc. Mostly that concept has been well and truly dumped - but it was very prevalent in my early years - 70s 80s, probably 90s also.

Final point - so funny when you identify Cornwall - "in the UK". I can't imagine a British reader considering the possibility of a Cornwall anywhere else.

Ah - finally remembered who I want to mention - Catherine Cookson - very popular - but considered "low brow".
And Jilly Cooper - on the contrary - highly recommended by my English lit teacher.

Shirley Conran - her infamous "Lace" - did the rounds of the class
likewise Flowers in the Attic.
Anything by Jackie Collins - considered hot and illicit
and Judith Krantz - it was all teenage reading - and books were passed - but under the desk - sort of the black market of reading - definitely would have been banned by parents - way too much sex etc.
So yes, I read my fair share of Jilly Cooper and Jackie Collins. Although I think Ms Pilcher would have shared a shelf with Cookson and Maeve Binchy and BTB - I think they were all in the soppy romance category. (Low on sex details!)

Julie, I just want to comment that describing someone's home can tell me more about that person than all the physical description in the world. The things they surround themselves with are important. I think I love "house" books for that very reason.

Magnifique critique! Well done, Julie!

Laura,
Thank you for this fabulous comment! First, I want to contribute that I will absolutely be rereading THE SHELL SEEKERS, and soon, because I just know it that the artists mentioned in this one are connected to the ones in that novel. I know now that Ms. Pilcher is leaving clues for me and I can't wait to solve these riddles. I feel like she invented them just for me!

Second, as an unapologetic Anglophile, I know exactly where Cornwall is, but I have come, in my reviews, to a place of better understanding that the world is large and I can not make assumptions about who knows where what is.

Third, I have spent most of my life being an absolute literary SNOB, and these floral covers of Ms. Pilcher's absolutely annoy me. Your comment about them perhaps being intended, at one point, for "ladies at home," interests me. . . because, I'm sad to say it, but I do think in many ways we're not quite as sharp as we once were. Reading these, retrospectively, I honestly feel like Ms. Pilcher is the equivalent of a Tessa Hadley, a writer who the average Joe just isn't reading. So, if we think of Rosamunde Pilcher as the "Tessa Hadley" of the 1980s and 1990s, I think this gives a new reader to her work a better idea of her scope.

I do wish she'd have gone deeper with character development, because it's my most favorite part of reading, but, honestly, I think she's a brilliant and engaging storyteller and I think she extraordinary in her powers of observation.

I think the general consensus of opinion was that many books with "the flowery covers" were classed as women's fiction and therefore automatically low brow.
Part of why I read so many Virago books is because of their insistence on women's writing and books that inevitably interest women - is their aim or at least was their aim in the 70s and 80s to reclaim women writers as literary and classic and highbrows, specifically novels that in earlier decades had not been deemed of a sufficient standard - by men.

Virago - have a list called Modern Classics - their insistence that women writers be included in the classic canon - big names like Rebecca West and unknowns like May Sinclair.

This revision of what should be deemed high brow, low brow - set the wheel in motion - so that nowadays - women's fiction - whether it is subdivided into different genres - romance, detective, mystery, sci-fi - is no longer automatically relegated as less than literary - as it clearly was. A good example - in the early 70s - Ursula K LeGuin - was specifically known as a Sci-Fi writer - also a children's and fantasy writer - but at some point possibly 90s her books were re-evaluated as Literary Fiction - her individual books let's say are still classified as Sci -Fi etc but she herself is regarded as a Literary writer.
R. Pilcher - was always in the Romance genre - which has always struggled with trying to move out of low-brow - for women, but then Daphne du Maurier - originally falling into this area - has now been "reclassed" as Literary also. It's often the case with writers who span many different genres.

Much more to be said about this - but maybe you already know much about the history of women's writing and its re-emergence into literary standing.

Julie, it’s all in decor! If one reads a R.P. It is of upmost importance to know the exact pattern curtains, not to mention the shade of paintwork on the surrounding fence line! I’ve not been able to comment on all your RP book reviews but it’s been marvellous fun following your journey and has provided me with plenty of smiling moments in recent weeks 💕😊

I guess a pot of tea helps wash down anything that comes our way, and that's resilience all right, as you so aptly pointed out, Julie. To hold the reader's attention for 728 pages is no small thing and your review is doing justice to the lady.
You also mentioned Gone With The Wind in one comment, and you reminded me how much I miss that feeling of abandonment in a long book's world.

Hi Laura,
I would not refer to Rosamunde Pilcher's work as "high brow" or "low brow," but I don't really think of books in those terms, anyway. (I'm not beyond declaring a book, privately, as "trash," at times, but we know the famous saying about "one man's trash is another man's treasure," etc.)
If I were to assign Ms. Pilcher a "brow," I think she'd do well at "middle brow!"
I have no issue, whatsoever, about reading about relationships, families, households, houses themselves, etc. My one craving with her work, as I mentioned above, is I do wish she would have challenged herself to go DEEPER at times. My brain craves those sharper edges sometimes, which is why I love Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Strout, Penelope Lively, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Taylor, etc, etc, etc. I'm sure you get my point.
However, having written all of that. . . I just ordered another Rosamunde Pilcher novel from the library!

I think it might also be a v English concern - an extension of the obsession with class - which is now considered obsolete.

This is so true, Laura. Rosamunde Pilcher was only one year younger than my grandmother. It gives me a good comparison, in regard to some of the attitudes and the behavior. We're actually British (and Welsh, Irish & Scotch), but we've been here in the States for several generations now, so less about class and more about the social norms of the day. I had the good fortune to have my grandmother until I was 39, so it's not even the recollections of a child.
I actually feel sad that my grandmother never knew Ms. Pilcher's work. They actually had a LOT in common. She even looks like she could easily be a member of my family.

Julie wrote: "but, I’m being perfectly honest when I tell you that the only way I wouldn’t have finished this story is if I’d have died while reading it."

That is priceless!

What a perfect selection for what I consider to be the best time of year to settle in with a long, 'cozy' book that is full of substance. I love your analysis of Pilcher's writing in general, Julie. This book was a favorite when I read it a few years ago. And, for the record, the word "clambering" makes me smile whenever I come across it :D Excellent review!

Julie- start with Ross Poldark - he is my absolute pin up☺️. DISCLAIMER: these highly addictive books , be warned, once you start this series it is very hard to stop but I can guarantee you will fall in love with Cornish folk. Very different from RP but every bit as brilliant 💕

I apologise from my plethora of typos and grammatical errors 🫣 - hopefully you get the gist!

Julie, I love the point you reviewed this book from, I didn't doubt Gus would appear in your review! Signing under this "Yes, there are silly parts to this story, and you could fault her, somewhat, for overwriting, but, I’m being perfectly honest when I tell you that the only way I wouldn’t have finished this story is if I’d have died while reading it."

That's very true, Diane. Interestingly, though, our main character, Judith, buys a house that is already furnished, and I think it tells us that she is still being "formed." Hey! Yes, that's true; I hadn't thought of that yet. Judith's house IS a great reflection of how young and unformed she is. By the novel's end (and the war's end), she starts making decisions about how she wants to decorate her own home.

Megan,
Here's my visual this morning: We are both in Cornwall, and the sun is shining, and the waves are crashing on the rocks on the shore.
Take me back there! It's like my vacation just ended and I'm sitting back at the desk.
Tell me, please, where to start with Poldark! There are so many titles. Where's a good starting point?

Violeta,
Isn't that the double-edged sword of reading (and life??). You want so badly to know what is going to happen, and, at the same time, you never want it to end!

Clinton,
I appreciate your comment!

Candi,
The word "clambered," is, for me, like fingernails on a chalk board. I do hope you are amused by it, to make up for my lack of enthusiasm for it!
I just read your review of this novel and I love what you pointed out about Gus. He was a favorite of mine, and I felt similarly.

Megan,
I just ordered it! Woot-woot! (Oh, and I just ordered another Rosamunde Pilcher. I can't leave Cornwall yet).

Another Pilcher-perfect review!! I keep saying I’ll read shorter and then lose my place in the library line. The joys of over-the-hill memory lapses 🌸

Fran,
That is so kind! Thank you. (I almost overlooked your comment, because it got sandwiched in between a conversation. I'm glad I found it, so I didn't miss out on your kindness).
xoxo

A woman was reading this on the plane next to me a couple of days ago - she seemed captivated

Tatevik,
It's really very funny that you know me well enough to know I was going to mention Gus! He was my 2nd favorite character (after Judith). Strangely enough, one of my all-time favorite characters is named Gus, in LONESOME DOVE. Maybe I love men named Gus?? (Can you believe I brought home another Pilcher novel from the library today? It's one of the "skinny" ones from the 1980s, only 215 pages. Child's play)!

Leif,
That actually cracks me up! Was she reading the hardcover? It's such a huge book; I'm sure it does not travel well!
You know. . . each of these characters starts the day with coffee, then drinks about 11 cups of "strong tea," throughout the day, then the whisky starts, in the evening, then most of them finish out the day with hot cocoa. I kept wondering why urination wasn't a theme of the book? Also, low blood sugar and hand tremors?!

I really should read something by Pilcher one of these days. Terrific review, Julie .

Julie wrote: "Leif,
That actually cracks me up! Was she reading the hardcover? It's such a huge book; I'm sure it does not travel well!
You know. . . each of these characters starts the day with coffee, then dri..."

This is hilarious. Good kidneys required for Pilcher characters.