Flowers In The Rain And Other Stories (1992) - Plot & Excerpts
Rosamunde Pilcher has just become one of my new favorite authors. This is the first book of hers I've read, and not to use a cliche (I'm going to anyway), but her writing is so comfortable. It's cozy, like curling up in my favorite big comfy chair with a steaming cup of tea. She paints perfect pictures for her readers so they can envision the scenery she describes. She writes about everything that is familiar and welcoming about the different seasons and settings. "A Walk in the Snow" and "Skates" had me longing for winter and Christmastime when summer (my favorite season) has hardly begun! Even her characters are wonderful. They're ordinary people, and I really got the feeling that I've met them before. Their lives and emotions are easy to relate to, and I ended up walking away with a favorite character or two. When I found out that she writes love stories, I was pretty hesitant about this book. But I have to say, I adore the kind of love story she writes.It isn't always necessarily between couples (sometimes mother-daughter, mother-son, sister-sister, parents-children, etc). And she doesn't write that mushy-gushy, harlequin crap. Everything is completely PG--I would hand this book to a 13-year-old with no qualms. Her stories are sometimes predictable yet heartwarming, and the endings always made me smile. Some stories have happy endings; others suggest a happy ending while ultimately leaving it up to the reader to decide. My favorite stories were "The Doll House," "The Blackberry Day," "The Red Dress," "A Girl I Used to Know," "A Walk in the Snow," "Cousin Dorothy," "Whistle for the Wind," and "Skates." I love short stories, but now I'm intrigued to read one of her novels. Personally, I can't figure out why she isn't more popular than she is. Her stories and characters are familiar and perfect for a rainy day. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys love stories or is looking for something nice and comfy.
I was so upset to think that I had come to the end of these short stories by our beloved, Rosamunde Pilcher. They were fantastic!!! Some of them were even equal to "Shell Seekers" which I truly loved. I wish this were my own personal book instead of the library's book and I have to return it. I would like to be able to reread a story at random when I want to. Perhaps my favorite was "Endings and Beginnings". This was the story of Aunt Mabel in her castle. Mabel and her late-in-life husband had never had children of their own but had welcomed friends and family into their huge, comfortable castle. Mabel's nephew, Tom, came home for a visit and Mabel's 75th birthday celebration. While home he once again saw Kitty. Kitty was his 2nd cousin. They had always been close and Tom seemed to be one of the only people who understood Kitty. She liked to do her own thing. She had found an old cottage after the collapse of her marriage, had refurbished it with old doors and windows, and was getting ready to move herself and her young son, Crispin, into the cottage. Tom and Kitty once again found each other with Aunt Mabel's blessing. I loved this story. It was just so "do it yourself".The short story with the same name as the title of the book, was also very good and also reminded me of "Shell Seekers". It was the story of an aged, dying woman, at whose home two now older, but childhood friends, once again find each other. The flowers are these young people, Rory and Lavinia, who are now going thru a difficult time near the death of Mrs. Farguhar, the rain. Pilcher writes with such an English countryside, seaside atmosphere, peat fire feel, brisk cold weather, dogs barking, wet wool, tea drinking, rosy cheeks...... I just love her books.
What do You think about Flowers In The Rain And Other Stories (1992)?
1st book selection to read in my new Reading Scotland Challenge for 2013 !Like to join us ? Welcome! From now to Nov 30th 2013... Flowers in the Rain & Other Stories- by seasoned Scottish author Rosamunde Pilcher doesn't disappoint!Compilation of Short stories, some previously published in women’s magazines as noted.Well rounded representation of contemporary shorts situated in Scotland during various seasons including Christmas and winter. Several I found to be quite poignant and will look forward to re-reading in next year's fave Christmas selections...
—writer...
I've read this collection of short stories several times. I would love to live in one of Rosamunde Pilcher's Scottish or Cornish villages. The stories explore universal themes like love and marriage, friendship, birth, death, and dreams coming true. She writes about all types of characters, children, young women, bachelors, newlyweds, older gentlemen and mothers and fathers. All of the characters are likeable and full of life. My favorite story is "The Blackberry Day." Claudia, who has been entangled with the elusive Giles for years, retreats to the Scottish highlands after he cancels their planned vacation to Spain. Returning to the village where she spent many happy childhood summers, she reevaluates her love life and reconnects with a charming bachelor she had known as a young girl.
—Linda
Some of the short stories in this book were quite sweet and I really got into them, but inevitably they all ended far too abruptly for my liking. There was a lot of potential in most of the stories to develop the characters and the plot further, and make a really good read, but in the 15-20 pages that the author had allocated, this could not happen. As such many of the women in the stories came across as weak women who felt they could not live without a strong man in their lives. Now don't get me wrong, I like a romance book as much as the next person, but this constant theme of weak needy women whose lives are incomplete without a man got a little tedious and repetitive.
—Laura Burdekin
