The Shell Seekers Mass Market Paperback – July 15, 1997

I read this novel many years ago when it was first released as a hard bound edition. I had forgotten how delightfully enjoyable and entertaining a story it is. Extremely well written with finely drawn characters that seem so real you almost expect them to walk off the page and sit down to chat with you. The kind of old fashioned story that no one seems to know how to write anymore. The kind that reaches out and grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until the very last page.At the heart of the story is Penelope Keeling, a most complex and amazing woman. It follows her life from her childhood in Cornwall, the turbulent years of WWII, and her marriage and life in London. The daughter of an English father who is a renowned artist and a French mother she is shaped by her life events into a most extraordinary woman.A finely woven story with intricate details so vivid you almost imagine you are there reliving the events of her life, experiencing them right along with her. Other people become part of her story and life, each adding rich layers to the story. Her oldest daughter and her son both whom feel entitled and are extremely selfish. Her second daughter Olivia who was my other favorite character most like her Mom. A marriage that didn't quite work out and the true love of her life who was lost in war.I am one of those individuals that will read a book more than once if I find it truly enjoyable. It's like revisiting and spending time with old friends you haven't seen in ages. I enjoyed this book just as much the second time. Still laughed out loud in places, still shed tears at the end, still had the warm satisfied feeling that only a really good book provides.I may go back and read September by this author again. I actually purchased it in digital and added it to my Kindle library. I was surprised to find this title on Kindle Unlimited, so it was an added bonus. Noel redeemed himself in September, set in Scotland and was the only character from the Shell Seekers to make an appearance. That alone is worth a second read. I recommend any novel written by this author. You will not be disappointed! 👏👏

I was skeptical about enjoying this read - I honestly had never heard of Rosamund Pilcher. I went in expecting not to want to read the whole book, but it is so engaging and lovely. I enjoyed it so much I am going to trial Acorn so I can watch the 2006 2-part movie with Vanessa Redgrave. There is also a late 80s movie with Angela Lansbury. They won't live up to the book, but I am not ready to be finished with this story.

It’s been decades since I read The Shell Seekers for the first time. I’m grateful to my book club for suggesting a re-read. The words flowed and the characters came alive. I couldn’t put the book down. I remembered why I loved the book so much the first time. Enjoy!

Ive read this books several times over the years and I always enjoy it! At different times I have identified with various characters as I’ve grown and matured. The characters will stay with you like old friends.

"The Shell Seekers" is a book I read a few months ago. And it still infuriates me. Truthfully, the plot of the book was good, and I enjoyed it in the beginning, but there was a very large problem that ruined the book for me. The two main characters, Penelope and her daughter Olivia, are completely despicable. This wouldn't be so bad, but as readers, Pilcher clearly wants us to like Penelope and Olivia. Well...I sure can't. I won't give a background on the plot, as other reviewers have done just that. Also I will say that this review is personal preference. While I may not like how Pilcher wrote her characters others may say that she is fleshing them out and giving something new in a genre that can be repetitive. But Pilcher seems to be misguided. Instead of painting these people in a neutral light, she gives preference to some and makes the other seem appalling. In the end, I end up sympathizing with the characters we are supposed to dislike.Penelope is the protagonist and as she enters the twilight of her life, questions arise between her family on what to do with her late fathers paintings. She wants to keep them, but her children think it's a good idea to sell, especially her eldest daughter Nancy and son Noel. This is were my dislike begins. Olivia is the middle child, and is also labeled as the "special" child early on. Why Olivia is special I have no idea, as I see her as cold and unsympathetic, even in the beginning. Early in the book, one of Olivia's old lovers passes away, and his daughter Antonia asks to stay in Olivia' London flat for a few days. Olivia doesn't initially want her to stay, and she also has an inner monologue about not wanting to comfort the poor girl. Really likable woman Olivia is. Also, the reason she breaks up with this lover is because she learns he doesn't really own his house in Ibiza, and he's renting it. So she breaks up with him for that solid reason. And she goes about it in a very cold and calculating manner. She is cold to everyone, except perhaps her mother. Again, why should I like Olivia? She has done nothing in this novel to warrant my affection. Why does Penelope even love Olivia the most anyway?SPOILERS AHOY.The reasons given is that Olivia reminds Penelope of Richard, the true love of Penelope's life. (A plot point in the book is that as old Penelope reminisces about her life, and she remembers Richard, a man whom she had an affair with while her husband was at war. ) Even though Olivia belongs to Ambrose like her other two children, Nancy and Noel, (Ambrose is Penelope's disliked husband.) She claim Olivia is the 'special one.' Nancy was the reason she had to get married in the first place, and Noel looks exactly like Ambrose. Penelope's preference is clear, especially to Nancy and Noel. However, the author prefers painting Noel and Nancy as the despicable ones. After all, how on earth can they be concerned with money? Now, Noel is a playboy, and Nancy is a bit selfish, but Penelope gossips about these facts to other people. It's one thing to acknowledge the flaws of your children but to go about it the way she does? If you think your son and daughter have any faults perhaps you should speak to them about it? Nancy also mentions that Penelope doesn't want to see her own grandchildren. Penelope later states that she doesn't like her grandchildren and finds them "appalling." Now, I don't have any children of my own, much less grandkids, but how can a person do such a thing? Penelope also acts like it isn't her fault Noel and Nancy behave the way they do, but does she realize that as a mother, she is very much to blame for preferring Olivia? That's a flaw of the book's structure. Pilcher goes into great detail about the affair between Penelope and Richard. (By the way, I'm not one that's opposed to reading about marital infedilety. Not that I would do it in real life, nor do I condone it, but I don't have a problem reading about it in novels like the reviews of others, who have given this book low ratings based upon that. This is not the reason this book gets a low rating.) However, Pilcher glances over the marriage between Penelope and Ambrose when the war is over. What happened here? I want to know why she has no love for Noel and Nancy. I wanted to see them grow up. Perhaps Penelope tried to love them as much as Olivia, but couldn't. I wanted to see it, and not have to scratch my head after the fact as Penelope wonders how her children turned out to be so despicable. News flash Penny. It's your fault.Late in the book, Nancy rightfully calls Penelope out about her behavior, saying no one tells her anything and Olivia is the favorite. Nancy is in the wrong here.This really rubbed me the wrong way, because Nancy in this situation is justified for saying what she did. In the midst of being a bad mother, Penelope develops a friendship with Antonia, as well as her gardener, Danus. She likes them because they aren't concerned with money, and unlike her icky son and daughter who are concerned with nasty socialite things like parties, Danus and Antonia like to garden.That's another problem with the book. Nancy and Noel, the so called "bad guys" are socialites, like money, and like to be in high society. Meanwhile, the "good guys" like Penelope, Danus, Antonia, and Olivia don't concern themselves with those matters and like art, gardening, and thrive on the bohemian lifestyle. Myself speaking would fall into the latter category, but the way Pilcher labels the good guys and the bad into these categories is ridiculous. Just because you like high society doesn't mean you're a bad person! And just because you like art and are quirky doesn't mean you're good! Penelope believes this though, and gives the paintings of her late father to Danus and Antonia so they can start a gardening business, and leaves her own flesh and blood in the dust.Oh, and the lover, Richard, is completely flat and boring. Penelope may think he's wonderful with his poetry recitation and cookie cutter love letters, but I call him stereotypical love interest number 101. Hell, Ambrose the disliked husband had more of a personality.I liked the way the story was told, and I liked seeing a setting that consisted of wartime Britain, but the characters and especially their actions rubbed me the wrong way, especially Olivia and Penelope. Olivia is cold and unfeeling to everyone, and Penelope treats her children unfairly. Noel and Nancy may not be angels, but they are her children, and Penelope doesn't seem to realize she is partially responsible for how they are. Nothing is worse than a book where no one is likable, and looks like I found the book for me. Really. Penelope and Olivia make me FUME. In literature, you don't have to like the main characters for the book to be enjoyable, but in those cases, the author clearly has a neutral light, and expects the reader to draw their own ideas from the text. Here, Pilcher highlights and showcases who is supposed to be liked and disliked, and the reasons we are supposed to like and dislike these people are very poor reasons. All in all, this book still angers me, even though I read it months ago. I guess Pilcher wins in the end, because cold Olivia and stupid Penelope are still on my mind.By the way, how can Penelope share the same name with Penelope from The Odyssey? How dare you Pilcher, use the name of such an awesome woman for your despicable protagonist?

Beautiful family dynamics played out over a lifetime of triumphs and sorrows. People will be people no matter the decades.

Maravilhoso, pra quem gosta do "clima" inglês uma delicia de se ler. Um dos meus favoritos de todo o sempre.

I bought this book because i'd seen the movie years ago and thought i would like to read it. I haven't read it yet but I already know it will be good!

Very easy and kept you interested

Relu sur mon Kindle près de 20 ans après la première lecture en version papier, et toujours la même émotion et le même plaisir a retrouver Pénélope et sa vie simple et pourtant si riche, une femme avec ses souvenirs et ses blessures. Je suis fan absolue de Rosamunde Pilcher dont j'ai lu tous les romans et c'est une joie et juste du bonheur de les relire sur ma liseuse.

Extremely tiny print. Unreadable.