Charming but so light on plot that it seems a few chapters may have been chopped out.

I love Rosamunde Pilcher. Even within the pages of a short story her words wrap their deliciousness around your shoulders securing you into luscious lore.

It's truly amazing how quickly and deeply Rosamunde Pilcher can make me care about the characters in her novels. This is a short book - 4 hours and 40 minutes on audio - but I was immensely invested in Jane's story and what happened to her over the course of this novel. Additionally, I cared about places. Elvie, Jane's childhood home in Scotland is a character in and of itself, which is not a surprise by any means when it comes to Pilcher. I found that by the end of the novel, I also cared deeply what happened to Elvie.

There is not much about this novel that is propulsive or shocking, although there is one tragic - albeit not surprising - moment. Nevertheless, I was so captivated by my care and concern for the people and the places that I still couldn't wait to see what happened to them by the end of the novel. As with all the Pilcher novels I've read thus far, this one ends on a hopeful and loving note. I ended the audiobook with a smile on my face. And don't we all want to end a season - especially summer - with a smile on our face?

This was a very slight tale of a girl, Jane, who has traveled the world with her rather feckless novelist father but has now finally returned to Elvie, her childhood home in Scotland. While staying there with her beloved grandmother she learns the painful truth about her cousin Sinclair for whom she has long held a long-cherished infatuation. Of course, the reader divines the truth right away through a couple of "clues". Thankfully, it is not long before Jane has his number as well. She is never in danger of doing something really stupid. It is a typical Pilcher in many ways but it does take an uncharacteristically dark turn at one point. What bumped my rating up a star, was a touching and revealing letter from her father near the end. It turns out there was a little more there than at first met the eye as far as his character goes.

Pilcher's heroines are always pretty and very nice. Nothing wrong with that. But Jane also embodies other traits that can be troubling. Besides being very young, they are also under-educated (by choice) and unambitious. They are easily victimized or taken advantage of. If they even have jobs, they are not careers, like teaching or nursing or management. They usually have no independent means of support so marriage to a rich or successful man is the only realistic option for a secure future. "Luckily" Jane finds her true love meal ticket at the end of this tale. I usually choose to overlook this trope while reading Rosamunde because her books are charming. But I felt I had to point it out, because even her old fashioned grandmother does.

"But nowadays every girl should be able to support herself"...hadn't I ever wanted to do some sort of job? ...I said, "Not really." I said that I was very happy being supported by my father.... "Oh my poor Jane."

Yay Granny! ***3 1/2 stars**

3 star
RTC

Very flat characters. The story's resolution is too convenient and somewhat contrived. Kinda boring.

mulle tundub, et mina raamatuostjana ja kõik raamatute kirjastajad on siinkohal astunud samasse lõksu - Rosamunde Pilcher kirjutas 80ndate lõpus ja 90ndatel mõned väga head romaanid ("Merikarbiotsijad", "September", mu suur lemmik "Kojutulek") ja nende tuules anti uuesti välja (ja vastavalt osteti kodudesse) ka tema varasemad... mitte nii head lühiromaanid. "Suve lõpp" ilmus esmakordselt 1971 ja, noh, ütleme, et ei saanud tollal ülemäära populaarseks. aga pärast, kui kirjanik juba tuntud oli, müüs kindlasti hästi. isegi mina olen ostnud!

lugu on siin väga vähe. üks šoti päritolu tüdruk tuleb üle paljude aastate Californiast koju vanaema juurde ja avastab, et tema imetletud onupoeg, kellesse ta eluaeg salaja armunud on, ei ole tegelikult eriti meeldiv inimene. onupoeg püüab teda kosida (stopp! googelduspaus! jah, Ühendkuningriigis olid esimese astme nõbude vahelised abielud täiesti seaduslikud 1970ndatel ja... on seda praegugi. wow), Jane teeb, tundub, esimest korda elus mingi iseseisva ja mõistliku otsuse ja ütleb ei. siis on paar lehekülge draamat ja traagikat ja siis on õnnelik lõpp.

pahad on pahad ja head on head ja "nature vs nurture" diskussioonis võetakse siin otsustavalt seisukoht, et kehvad geenid löövad üle ükskõik kui hea kasvatuse. (mulle isiklikult käib see mõtteviis väga vastukarva, aga eks selle üle võib vaielda. lihtsalt... siin ei vaielda. kuskilt Pilcheri raamatust tuleb see tegelikult veel tuttav ette, et somehow need täiesti imelised naised, kes on ühtaegu tugevad ja õrnad ja targad ja ilusad ja rikkad ja boheemlaslikud... kasvatavad oma poegadest jobud. miks, kuidas?)

ja see Jane ise. preili on 21 ja tal ei ole mingit haridust, mingit elukutset ega ka mingit soovi ühtegi neist hankida. mitte ainsatki plaani ülejäänud eluks! ma ei tea, noor daam, miks te arvate, et te võite siin veel abieluettepanekutega pirtsutada... (okei, antud juhul tegelikult tean ja võis, aga nii üldiselt.)

aga muidugi üht asja Pilcher oskab: kirjeldada. loodust (nii California kui Šotimaa oma) ja kodusid, olgu siis terve mõis või kellegi suur- või väikelinnakorter või kasvõi lihtsalt üks hütt kuskil surfirannas. see kõik kukub tal nii kohutavalt hubane välja ja tekitab kohutava tahtmise ise kohale minna kõigisse neisse kohtadesse. olen elus korduvalt läinud ka (ma kolisin osaliselt selleks Suurbritanniasse, et oleks kindel, et ei jää käimata Cornwallis ega Šotimaal) ja kinnitan, et kõik on aus ja õige ja seal tõesti ongi nii imeline. niisiis... nautisin ka seekord lugemist tegelikult täiega, kuigi käsi ei tõuse raamatule kuigi kõrget hinnet panema. kuulge, kas see ongi see, mille kohta öeldakse "guilty pleasure"?