The Shell Seekers

This is definitely one of Pilcher's better novels, although I love them all. I particularly enjoy her descriptions of Cornwall and the beauty of nature that she captures. Her characters are very entertaining as well.

Truly enjoyed this family saga. There were some twists and turns in the plot that I enjoyed. True-to-life personalities of the adult children in the family and their reactions to their mother's estate,etc. Romance, a bit of mystery,and a long,lost love.Some people may like a faster paced read but I thouroughly enjoyed the author's writing style and will be reading more of her books.

Having now read The Shell Seekers at least four times, both in hardback form and kindle, I feel that I know all the characters personally. I would not change a thing. It is a joy to read each and every time.

re-reading this book after about 20 years. Again I find myself engrossed in her story and in the in depth creation of each of the cast of characters that surround the leading lady. Makes me want to actually go the places she describes; almost wish I could have been a fly on the wall and lived the life depicted within the covers of her book.

Rosamunde Pilcher describes nature and human personalities so well that the reader can visualize everything that was intended. Several side issues were stories in themselves, all woven together to make this a delightful book. I will be reading many more of her books in the future.

What a wonderful story! Pilcher has taken me to a world I would never have known, introduced me to people I would never have met, and entertained me as I had not expected. I am now hungry for her other books. Her descriptions of people and places made me feel as though I were right there in her world.

I found the story interesting and also a fun read. I was always eager to get back to story if I had to stop reading. I loved the way the author told individual stories of each character intertwining their lives.

A wonderful book with characters you fall in love with; stories of each character that is heart warming and absolutely lovely.

For anyone that enjoyed The Shell Seekers, it's a must to read September if you want to know further on the character, Noel.

I think Rosamunde Pilcher is a wonderful storyteller; I love and enjoy reading all of her novels. I just wish she was still writing.

The ironic part of receiving this book = right after I opened it from the US Postal Service, I found my mom's copy that I had been looking for at her house, since she passed away in January of 2013. I read this book several years ago and enjoyed it very much, so I thought it would be fitting to read again since my first name is Shelly. Found my mom's book, and although it is a different cover, same book = HAPPY. Now I have 2 copies and will re-gift this purchase and keep my mom's copy since she wrote her name on the pages in black sharpie marker. Thanks again, much appreciated and package arrived promptly and great condition. Funny how ironic things happen to ALL of us in life.....guess we all have to keep "seeking" the right path as the main character in this book, and I think she got it right in the end, but it took her many years to get there.................it is a GREAT read!!!
Shelly

Rosamunde Pilcher writes page turners that make you believe her characters and their struggles are real. I loved this story about a mother and her grown children. You get completely involved and cannot put it down. Her writing is wonderful. The Shell
Seekers was my second Pilcher read, I am planning on reading everything she's written. It made me sad to see it end.
Great book!

This is a great book five stars! . However the paperback version that just arrived has the tiniest lettering I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure my eyes will hold out for 582 pages. I would not recommend purchasing this mass market paperback.

I was introduced to the author Rosamunde Pilcher by my Scottish Sister..She did me a great favor..and I have ordered many of Rosamunde's novels...and begrudgingly share them...they are novels you want to keep in your library..but know you have to share...her characters good or bad are finely drawn..I love her style of putting the line of fine reading to paper or kindle!

This is my second reading of The Shell Seekers. I had forgotten how much I really enjoyed it the first time around and it was even better the second time. The characters are so beloved and so real to those of us who have lived with them. I will keep it and reread it again in a few years. The fantastic thing about a wonderful character driven story is that it is never tiring,

This is absolutely my favorite book. Have read it several times and never tire of the story. It's the kind of book you want to sit and read on a cold winter day with a cup or tea (or wine). Pilcher transports you into the lives of the characters. A feel good story. It's my go to story when i'm at a lose about which book to read next. A comfortable story.

You probably will read "The Shell Seekers" totally engaged by the people and the places. Reading this book is like a walk along the beach on a glorious day, the fragrance of the ocean mingled with that of fresh-mown lawns, with a companion who is a Scherazade of a story-teller. Rosamunde Pilcher brings all of the writer's craft to this four-generational tale with firm organization carrying the story from chapter to chapter, creation of many engaging characters, great skill in dialog, and excellence in bringing before us the sounds, the fragrances, and the loveliness of cherished places.

The story centers on Penelope Keeling, who is 64 when we meet her, reaching her cherished home after she checked herself out of a hospital, diagnosed with a heart attack. Her three children--Nancy, Olivia, and Noel---call; her caring,efficient housekeeper arrives; and through Penelope's memories and coversations, the places and people in her life quickly come into focus. These include her beloved, Bohemian artist-father and his artist friends in France, her dryad Fench mother, their long-remembered cottage home in Cornwall and their very grand home on London (supported in part by lodgers); her lovers (both ending sadly for different reasons), the charming inhabitants of the little towns, and her lifelong friends.

Together, these braid into (a) the situations with her children who are not such nice people, (b) her own end-of-life efforts to make things as they should be for the fourth generation, and (c) the direct and symbolic resonances from the gardens she creates and from the great painting "The Shell Seekers," a wedding gift from her artist father. A page-turner!

Yet, when the last page is read, although the characters may be memorable and one may wonder what happens next in Daunus's and Antonia's lives, the colors of the shells, so fascinating when one is immersed in this book, fade a bit.

As one example, Penelope seems meant to be admirably charming, marvelously able to cope with privations, self-sustaining and independent, yet joyously engaged with friends and a creator of what grows in beauty such as gardens---a nurturer, a nourisher. But all the generations are comfortably buffered by inherited wealth: the father's great house in London is an inheritance from his father; Penelope inherits this house as well as a valuable cottage on the coast, some of her father's now wildy expensive paintings, as well as exquisite family jewellery to sell off when need really arises. Yes, she lives frugally wearing tattered clothes but this seems more as an aftermath of World War II rationing than lack of funds; and her children are well-educated as she and they are well-traveled.

As another example, yes, one theme is to love freely and fully as Bohemians and "moderns" do, without judgments and with heartiest acceptance of all liaisons. Yet there is not a lot of concern for how this might affect others, such as the possible conquences for one's relations to children as they become adults. The thought doesn't seem even to occur to Penelope although she is deeply upset by her rows with two of the children and the characters of all three. Even her favorite and alter-ego, Olivia, doesn't choose to make time to make time for Penelope when Mumma really needs her. "Why," wonders Penelope, when she gave them everything, attributing their characters to "being like" their grandmother or like their father. "Hello," wonders the reader.

This is in many ways a beautiful book, a gardener's delight to read, a fine romantic novel, with a full basket of pretty shells gathered along our walk with Rosamunde Pilcher----but not likely to be an enduring novel: the bright shells may fade and the flowers may wither.

"The Shell Seekers" has proven to be a world-wide best seller, clearly a popular book. Yet one feels it had the potential to be an enduring, perhaps even great one, and this was missed, not by much, for whatever reason.

Beautiful description and depth of writing to carry you through right to the end. The depth of the story and the interaction of the characters was
so carefully developed as to make you feel a part of their lives. Wonderfully written story.

I've read this book dozens of times throughout my life and love it more and more each time. The author paints a fantastic story. I can't wait to visit some of the places mentioned in the book. My lifelong dream is to visit Cornwall, simply to stand in the same places as the Characters.

What an incrediblely well written book. Her descriptive passages of the Cornish coast and villages are so well done that I felt I was there. She brings her characters alive by delving into their interrelationships in a manner that is clearly understood. She was able to evoke my emotion where the story required it. I was told this was a woman's book. My wife suggested I might appreciate it. I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good story written in excellent English prose

Not great, but enjoyable enough to finish. The negative part:

My book had an introduction written by the author for a 10th anniversary re-release of The Shell Seekers. She said that after not having written anything for a long time, she and her grown children had a casual get-together with her publisher, all old friends by then. She said her children were giving the publisher a "bad time", saying "Why don't you make our mother famous, and, more importantly, rich, and isn't it about time we all hit the jackpot?" The publisher said if she'd write a novel worthy of it, they would promote it heavily. That novel turned out to be The Shell Seekers.

That story struck me as something that isn't usually mentioned to an author's readers. I kept thinking of that story as I read a number of passages of prose that seemed -- unimportant? boring? padded? (I don't remember what adjectives came to mind, only the feeling). I had similar feelings about certain characters whose development seemed shallow. And the mysterious part of the Danus story was lame.

Since I haven't read any other Pilcher novel, I don't know if this is her normal style or if this one was rushed.

Asking someone to rate The Shell Seekers is like asking someone to rank a sunset. This is a magical book. Not great literature but good for your mental health.

Unplug, curl up, and dive in. If you don't like it, reexamine your soul.

Beautiful love story that does not follow a structured romance outline. It combines both romance and the tragedy of Britain during wartime. The characters are richly developed and the story has surprises that kept me reading into the night.

Don't understand why Danny would leave his family and home for that no-personality young person. She had no redeeming qualities and in the end, neither did he. Some of the other characters were worth meeting and learning about.