I don’t think I could rate this as less than 5 stars. It was one of my favorite reads when I was younger. It lives up to my memory pretty well, though I sympathized more with characters that I don’t think I understood well, that I thought were weak or selfish before. Judith is a lovely heroine. Cornwall is a charming locale. WWII caused plenty of heartbreak. I also now want to write and receive letters like the ones written between characters. An art we sadly have no need for any longer. .. it’s a book filled with nostalgia and the most lovely conversations from a time when people made time for each other and truly engaged in conversation and spending time with each other. Kate Morton is one of my favorite authors and so upon receiving an ARC, there was just no way that I was going to wait for one more second to give it a read. I've read this about six times, once out loud to my twelve-year-old daughter. Rosamunde Pilcher is always magic and this novel is her magnum opus. The epitome of British family sagas, of wartime in England, of family and love and friendship and boarding schools and English country manors. Basically everything I love. And, also, the ultimate in tea party descriptions, and for British food in general. The next longest piece in the main part, in the section "Eight Life Stories", is the novelette "The Visionary", which was published as a stand-alone story in Omni in 1984. [3] This part also includes history and legends, myths, plays, a chapter of a novel, and song lyrics and poetry. [a] Some editions of the book were accompanied by a tape of Kesh music and poetry.

Coming Home - Rosamunde Pilcher - Google Books

It's a big sweeping story set in Cornwall between 1935-1945 with a large cast of characters. It has a strong sense of place which I've come to expect (and appreciate) from Pilcher's writing. I've never been to Cornwall- but I can picture it clearly in my mind. The writing was heartfelt and comforting and refreshed my spirits. And the characters - I'm telling you now- they will make a home in your heart if you let them. I was happy to let them. I loved this book so so much. Ty Baldwin - The stable hand at Heartland, Ty dropped out of high school to pursue a permanent position at Heartland. He helps cure the horses. Ty is one of Amy's closest friends throughout the series, and eventually her boyfriend. He helps her through personal and professional challenges, and he often understands her when no one else can. Ty and Amy have a close relationship, and they become boyfriend & girlfriend later in the series. However, they break up when Amy leaves for college, but remain friends as of "A Winter's Gift". In addition to her vividly descriptive settings, Morton sure knows how to weave a story. In this case, a gripping narrative that is part multi-generational family saga, part cold case murder mystery.Coming Home follows the life of Judith Dunbar beginning in 1936, when she is a fourteen year old school girl. Born in Ceylon, Judith lives quietly with her mother Molly and her four year old sister Jess in a rented house in Cornwall, England. Now, Jess's father has written from Ceylon, telling his wife that he's been promoted, they'll be moving to Singapore and it's time she and Jess returned to him. Judith is left behind, at boarding school, and this is where her rather lonely life takes a turn for the better. Befriended by the wealthy, charming and willful Loveday Carey-Lewis, she becomes a part of Loveday's family, spending idyllic holidays at Nancherrow, the elegant Carey-Lewis estate. Le Guin, Ursula K.; Barton, Todd; Chodos-Irvine, Margaret; Hersh, George (1991). "The Making of Always Coming Home: A panel at Mythopoeic Conference XIX Berkeley, California, July 31, 1988". Mythlore. 17 (65): 56–63. ISSN 0146-9339. JSTOR 26812610. Amy Fleming - The main character of the series. After the death of her mother and the injuries of Amy in an accident during a storm when Amy and her mother went to rescue an abused horse they had named Spartan, Amy is challenged with both her runaway emotions and managing the equine sanctuary, Heartland, she calls home. With the help of her friends and family, she pulls through and decides to take over her mother's legacy. Her natural talent with horses helped her to cure and save many otherwise neglected animals, and despite the doubts of many, she stays strong to her beliefs. Over the years, her relationship with Ty, the stable hand, develops and they grow closer to each other. Amy faces hard challenges in her life, especially when it comes to deciding her future: college or Heartland. Amy has a brief cameo appearance in the Chestnut Hill series, also by Lauren Brooke. Samantha Louise "Lou" Fleming-Trewin - Amy's 23-year-old sister. Lou is organized and runs the business side of Heartland after her mother's death. Amy looks up to Lou; she is practical and brave, like Tim. Lou is very close to her dad and they were inseparable during her childhood, and eventually adulthood. She marries Scott and has a daughter, Holly Marion.

Review: Coming Home - Rosamunde Pilcher - The Literary Edit

In Partnership with St Martin-in-the-Fields. This series of nine lectures is inspired by the words of Martin Luther during the Reformation. Distinguished speakers investigate those things in which we believe deeply – and for which we would be prepared to make a costly stand. I didn't necessarily find all of the characters that connectable or likeable, however, I enjoyed the complex family dynamics at play. Polly was perhaps the most likeable of the three main women, however, we only start to get her viewpoint later on in the book. Whilst many of the characters were far from perfect, I think Morton depicted them well enough, that it was possible to appreciate where they were coming from, for the most part at least. Amy also uses behavioral techniques to help skittish or abused horses; for example, "join-up" or "hooking on", a technique utilized by many natural horsemanship trainers. I wanted to love this book with all my heart. But I didn't and I'm sad about it! Right from the beginning I was confused by the way the dates were written, New Years and Christmas Eve. The middle was long, long, long. Too long. Kate Morton's books are usually long, but it just seemed like there was a lot of information that could've been cut out. I didn't enjoy the book inside the book as well as I thought there were too many perspectives because of that. I had a hard time connecting to Jess, the main character. Polly's character really wasn't explored much until towards the end and that was too bad because I found her more interesting. The last 20% of the book definitely got more interesting, it was just a slog at times to get there. Told in a dual timeline, Homecoming contains a second book within it — As If They Were Asleep by journalist Daniel Miller — and a large cast of engaging characters.

IF ST MATTHEW’s Gospel had the only account of the nativity, it would be the natural starting point for Christian reflection on housing: Jesus, the carpenter’s son, was born in the house of his parents in Bethlehem, later settling in Nazareth. He was not born with “nowhere to lay his head”. That came later and was freely chosen. In turn, we might be “resident aliens” whose true home is to come, but we should be in no doubt about the need for roots and a roof over our heads. The writing style was a bit of a mess too… rapid jumps in time in the same paragraph. One minute we’re in the past, next it’s the present, oh suddenly it’s a dream… it was clunky and confusing. A story doesn’t need to be linear to be good, but there needs to be strong fluidity if it’s skipping around and this book just… wasn’t. Scott Trewin - The local vet for Heartland. Scott agrees with Heartland's alternative methods of treating horses. He is also Matt's older brother. He marries Lou and thus is Amy's brother-in-law, as well as a half-brother-in-law to Lily, Tim's daughter with Helena. He and Lou have a daughter named Holly Marion. The audiobook narration was perfection. It's 40 hrs. 37 minutes long, but I implore you to not be intimidated by the length. As soon as it ended (and let me tell you- it's an impeccable ending) I still wasn't ready to say goodbye to the characters. I still wanted more time.