5 comments about Three Wishes Cassette.

1. The title and the town intreagued me, but the storyline was poor and way too much misery for an escapism novel. Think Nicholas Sparks, then take away his straight forward manner and add some purple prose and you have Three Wishes.



2. I went into this book wondering if the tragedies hinted at on the summary would be physical disabilities or something she would encounter after her accident. I was pleasantly surprised to find her doing so well and returning to a "normal" life. The interaction between her and Tom was really great and the descriptions of her near death experience were very interesting. Part of me had a feeling that this book would end in a bad way, but after she had the baby things seemed to be okay.
   
   I was absolutely appalled to turn the page and read that she'd died - it was all I could do to finish it with the hope that somewhere it'd be a mistake and she'd come back. The book and not to mention my several days after reading it were ruined for me. I still can't get over this. It just feels like a cop out to end it that way - the wishes could have been worded better and it had the potential to be this really amazing uplifting story, but instead it failed miserably and I am still so bothered by the whole thing. I have 2 other Delinsky books that I am now avoiding because I can't take anything else of hers if I am going to feel this same way.
   
   While I would give this 1 star to represent the anger and upset I am feeling towards this book, I only give it an additional star for the fact that the rest of the book was enjoyable.



3. I must agree with B. Allen, I was very disappointed with the ending of this book. I would be very careful who I gave this book to. The ending is very sad (and might depress anyone, especially if they are pregnant or in the hospital). And not only sad, but I felt very cheated by it. I would like to think that if a "being of light" gave anyone three wishes, the outcome of those gifts from something so wonderful would turn out a lot better. But they were a rip off, and frankly, so is the book. Shame on you, Ms. Delinsky. You could have done a lot better with this book's premise.



4. I loved this book very much. The story was grabbing and intriguing and I felt drawn and connected to the characters. While the ending is very sad and I didn't understand why it happened was affected really deeply, even though it was just a book, I felt that it was a really powerful ending. I understand how many people could dislike the book because of this, but I enjoyed the book so much. Any book that can make me cry that much obviously is well written.
   
   And I think it's not very cool that B. Allen told everyone reading the reviews the ending. It was one of the biggest plot turns, and what is the point of anyone reading it now? You should at least write SPOILER on it.
   
   Also, this was my first Barbara Delinksy book, and it did NOT turn me away from her. I'd love to read more.



5. This tearjerker will draw you in and make you feel connected to the characters. You'll need the Kleenex while reading this book!

5 comments about Heart of the Night.

1. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It has it all...romance, mystery, suspense. I am a huge fan of Barbara Delinsky and have never been unhappy with any of her books. You will not want to put this one down. Good for yourself or as a gift.



2. I like Barbara Delinsky's books mostly because she has such a gift in making her characters come to life on each page. "Heart of the Night" definitely has a lot of heart in it. Love, lust, friendship, conflicted loyalties, fraternal twins' jealousies, insecurities, duplicity, real men with you know whats, kidnapping, frame ups and death, and of course the jerks who are bosses and coworkers. The main treat is the pulsating, throbbing voice of Jared Snow the DJ who keeps the ladies in R.I. drooling and doing other things all night long.
   
   I can recall having had a "crush" on an all night DJ's voice that was like smooth, creamy, luscious (fill in the blank with your choice) orgasmic-like delight. Mine? - melt in your mouth chocolates! Mmmmm.

   Well, anyway, although this book was written back in the 80s, it has an aura of timelessness that the author comments upon herself. I agree. And, in my opinion, of all Delinsky's books this one will remain my favorite. It is a wonderful, thoughtful tale filled with deeply drawn characters who remain in your heart and mind long after the last page. Buy it, enjoy it, and have some luscious Godiva or Sees while you read.




3. I stumbled on this book in a used book store before its re-release, and fell in love with it.
   I love the characters and their complexity.
   I'm not a great fan of Barbara Delinsky, but I wish she would write another one like this.



4. I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE THIS BOOK! I THINK EVERY WOMAN HAS IMAGINED WHAT A SEXY SOUNDING DJ LOOKS LIKE. WE HAVE A REAL SMOOTH TALKER HERE IN AUSTIN ON MAIGC 95.5; BARBARA DELINSKY MUST HAVE HEAR HIM WHILE SHE WAS HERE ON TOUR AND CREATED JARED! JARED SNOW IS A WONDERFUL CHARACTER. IF ONLY REAL MEN WERE MORE LIKE HIM! YOU FORGET THAT SAVANNAH AND JARED HAVE ONLY KNOWN EACH OTHER SUCH A SHORT TIME BEFORE BECOMING DEEPLY INVOLVED WITH ONE ANOTHER. IT ISN'T HARD TO BUY. TO ME, IT WAS HEART WARMING!
   THE SISTER RELATIONSHIP IS AWESOME AND THEIR FRIENDSHIP WITH MEAGAN IS COMPLEX. SAM CRAIG IS "REAL" AND FUNNY!
   THIS IS AN AWESOME READ. ONCE I PICKED IT UP, I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. I AM NEW TO DELINSKY, HAVING ONLY READ FOUR OF HER NOVELS, BUT I AM HOOKED! I LOVE HER STYLE OF WRITING AND ALL OF THE BOOKS HAVE VERY GOOD FLOW. ONCE YOU START...IT IS HARD TO STOP. I'M ON LINE SNATCHING UP EVERYTHING SHE HAS WRITTEN NOW! I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE HAS WRITTEN SINCE THIS, BUT IF IT IS ANYTHING CLOSE TO HEART OF THE NIGHT, I AM SOLD!



5. A bland and sluggish 1988 effort from the usually dependable Delinsky.
   I found the main characters to be very one dimensional.
   One character in particular is extremely annoying and highly unlikable. I don't think
   it was meant to come across that way.
   The plot had promise but in my reading experience it just didn't quite come together.
   Another character is a sexy-voiced disc jockey.
   If Heart of the Night was a radio station, you would be reaching for the knob well before the end of this song.
   I don't like to be negative about authors I admire strongly, but the powerful narrative of
   Delinsky is painfully missing here.
   Buy it half-price if you are a completist and must have all
   the Delinsky's.

5 comments about For My Daughters Low Price.

1. These three daughters spend much of this novel complaining about their Mother. This story is very similar to "Bridges of Madison County" but with 3 spoiled and whining daughters who have no business interrogating their 70-year-old mother about her life before they were even born.

   What business is it of theirs what "Ginny" the mother did before the daughters were around? Delinsky is very repetitive here, constantly reminding the reader that mother "Ginny" was emotionally unavailable, (cry me a river) yet the St. Clair sisters never wanted for material goods and grew up quite wealthy. We are supposed to feel sorry for these spoiled kids?

   There are some very poignant chapters, here, though, as Delinsky writes about Ginny's (the 70-year-old mothers) death. There's very little about the daughters mourning their mother's death, though. How typical of these 3 Ingrates. Delinsky does add variety to her writing by switching from 1st and 3rd person in some of the chapters.

   There's also a couple of "inter-chapters" about some of the old townsfolk sitting on their porch reminiscing about the way the small town in Maine, where the three daughters reunite.....used to be. These are interspersed with the story chapters. These "interchapters" don't seem to have any connection to the story at hand, though. I was confused about who these old townspeople were and how they were related to the daughters and their dying mother.

   I'm taking one star off for this confusion, and one star off for the insufferable grown children who have a major chip on their shoulders.

   Many readers who are familiar with Delinsky know that her characters have "mother" problems and the charcters always call their mothers by the mother's first name. But, usually there is some major reason or gripe for the mother-daughter conflict in a Barbara Delinsky novel.

   I just don't see it, here, in this novel.

   I just don't see what the conflict was, here, though. The daughters all grew up to be very accomplished and well-off. So what was all the complaining and squabbling about?




2. This book by Barbara Delinsky is a moving, charming fast read about the coming together of three daughters under false pretenses.
   The Mother they all thought had treated them poorly redeems herself in a very interesting and thoughtful way.
   There is so much that anyone reading this can relate to.
   Ms Delinsky writes very well and is a wonderful story teller.
   I recommend this book.



3. Barbara Delinsky knows women. She is one of the best modern writers for revealing the emotions involved in relationships. The women in this story could be your mother and sisters. They display the underside of sibling rivalry and the misunderstanding of mothers. The layers of the family are peeled away like an onion. The surprises in the plot are page-turners. This is Delinsky at her best.



4. As daughters, we tend to forget that our parents, mother in this case, was young once and had passionate feelings just like us. Three daughters are brought together, by their mother, to learn about her youth and lost love. Also, once the secret is brought into the light, their childhood makes much more sense. They had felt their mother was cold to them and their father. They didn't know how marriages were handled when her parents were young and what was expected of young women in a different time. All in all, a good read. I enjoyed it very much.



5. This is a very good book. I'm almost done reading it, and I'm enjoying the sister's interaction, and the surprises along the way. I'd recommend it.

5 comments about Coast Road.

1. In this story, Jack McGill, who has choosen his career over his family numerous times gets a wake up call when he discovers that his ex-wife Rachel is in a coma after a car accident. Jack never stopped loving Rachel, and for the first time in his life he puts his career on hold and goes to Rachels bedside, and to his two daughters. He discovers both his daughter and his wife are not the people he always thought them to be and that he somehow "missed the forest for the trees". With verbal abuse as well as a lot of guidance from Rachel's new friends, and his own daughters, Jack begins to reevaluate his life.

   Coast Road touches on many different topics, such as miscarriage, divorce, traveling husbands, breast cancer, as well as what it is like for those around a coma patient, but don't let that deter you. This is a well written rewarding read.




2. COAST ROAD being the 6th novel I'd read of BD's work, I had begun to notice that her fiction creates a state of mind similar to what one of my readers (a US Marine) described about my work, "I was reading and reading, and all of a sudden I realized I had forgotten I was reading and felt I was just thinking my own thoughts."
   
   Delinsky's fiction is so naturally and seamlessly real that I had, with COAST ROAD, decided to quit trying to pick out what works about her writing techniques, and to allow myself to just "be there," ironically slipping into a peaceful dream-like luxury similar to that of resting in a coma along with Rachael, receiving rather than responding, while her family and friends shower her with the balming presence of every variety of perfect love.
   
   Almost as cathartic as the regeneration of the soul-link between Jack and Rachael was the beautiful, believable transformation of 15-year-old Samantha from a highly annoying super brat into a sensitive, appealingly gutsy young woman. What I admire most about this novel, though, is that it is told from a man's point-of-view, exposing simply and gently how tremendous emotional growth could occur in even the most Macho Male.
   
   Even shored up by 5 previous Delinsky novels, I was concerned that a story about a woman in a coma would have to be sad and depressing, possibly even boring at times. This book was anything but. Sensitive, yes, sad but redeeming, and intensely engrossing in a way of deep, pensive satisfaction. It's another landmark winner of a book.



3. Although I don't read romance, I gave this a try at the advice of friends. While there is a plot with some merit, the characters are all caricatures - one person, one personality trait. One daughter is sweet; one is rebellious. Rachel is beautiful; Jack is selfish. Even the grandmothers are one-dimensional; one is a frump, one is a shallow socialite.
   
   Their actions are not believable. Rachel couldn't find a single friend or anything to do in the city, but in the middle of nowhere she's the center of the whole community? She loved her husband so much but she couldn't even tell him about his own child? Jack is so clueless about teenagers that he couldn't see trouble in his daughter's plans to spend the night with a bunch of kids he didn't know? Katherine is so "open" that she needs to rudely lecture Jack the first ten times they meet? And he takes it - obviously feeling that he deserves this rude behavior?This is a male-bashing female fantasy in which the evil man needs to be redeemed by becoming, essentially, female. The fact that so many reviews are positive about this book makes me think that a lot of women think people should act this way, or do in real life. Come on, sisters! Men are different than women. Let's look for some more dimensional characters in our entertainment.



4. Delinsky has a way of making normal/ordinary life occurances extraordinary! She has "painted" her characters so well that I could relate to them as if I had known them all my life. The issues the characters face are common. But their reactions are not! Emotional, passionate, and redemptive... a great read!



5. I happened to read this book because it was at the beach house we rented for vacation last week. The description made the book seem interesting, but it was very one-dimensional & the characters were so stereotyped that they are not believable.
   
   For Rachel to have loved (still love) Jack so much, she found it very easy to suddenly pack up & leave him. Also, the writer should have thought out a better way to communicate for Rachel - Katherine seemed very harsh & abrasive. I also found it hard to believe that Rachel was such a loner in the city, but quite the joiner since moving to Big Sur. Nothing really flowed together right to make the story believable.
   
   If you don't have anything else to read, give it a try, but don't buy it.

5 comments about Flirting with Pete.

1. Some of Delinsky's books are the best I've read. This one didn't hold water. Maybe her publisher rushed her? I do look forward for more books from her. Not all can be the best.



2. Great two stories in one. Typical love and drama. Great reading



3. What do you get when you have a psychologist, a deputy, a gardener, a maid, a sexually and emotionally abused girl; a mother in a comatose state, a father you never knew that just died, a townhouse given to you by this father and a manuscript that you believe to be true? You get a wonderful and intriguing story that is hard to stop listening to.
   
   Casey Ellis is the psychologist and she has inherited her father's townhouse worth $3 million. With her mother in a coma from a tragic accident, Casey tries to come to terms with her life. Finding a manuscript among her father's papers, Casey believes the story to be true and begins a search to discover if she is right.
   
   The townhouse comes with a gardener, Jordan, and a maid, Meg, both of which her father's will asks her to keep on. Jordan keeps the garden alive with blooms and also triggers a bloom in Casey's heart. Meg is a wonderful cook and fills Casey's body with good food. Between them, they ground Casey and help her settle in the townhouse.
   
   Ms Delinsky writes with twists and turns that keep you wanting to listen to more. Just when you think you have things figured out, Barbara throws another idea in. This keeps your interest high and the story alive. The tragedies she writes of are all too true in today's society which makes them all the more real and alive.
   
   The reader, Linda Emond, is easy to listen to. She doesn't use a really deep voice to represent the men in the story, yet you know who is talking. The female voices are easier to tell who is talking as she gives them more distinctive inflections which would be easier as she is female herself.
   
   I highly recommend picking up a copy of FLIRTING WITH PETE and settle in for a good evening of listening enjoyment.



4. Flirting with Pete is definitely one of the most memorable books I've ever read. Lent to me by a friend, I was sort of reluctant to pick it up. It looked like a fluff romance novel, and I'd never heard of Barbara Delinsky. But I picked it up one night, and wasn't able to put it down again until I'd turned the last page! This is a fantastic story of discovery, loss, pain, and sharing. I'm so glad I began my acquaintance with Delinsky's work over this book. I highly recommend it (yes guys, you can read it too, it's not a fluffy romance novel).
   
   I've since read several more Delinsky novels. This is the best one, by a long shot!



5. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. It drew me into the story from the beginning. The characters are very believable.
   
   Jenny/MaryBeth - A troubled woman who had been physically abused by her mother and mentally and sexually abused by her father. Her struggles of day to day life make you empathize with her. Even when she becomes delusional and commits suicide... Or did it happen at all?
   
   Casey - Her mother was hit by a car 3 years ago and was in a comatose state. Her father died and she never got a chance to know him, much less even speak to him in person. So why after his death did he leave her his townhouse?
   
   Connie - The father Casey never knew while he was alive. Though he is dead, he is a major character in this book. The relationship between him and Casey forms beautifully proceeding his death. Why didn't he reach out to her when he was alive?
   
   Caroline - Casey's mother. Casey visits her often in the care facility and in her mind has conversations with her. Most of them make her feel guilt... Or is it Casey refusing to let go of the guilt?
   
   Jordan - The mysterious and sexy gardener. Bet you can figure out what part he plays in the story?! Well, he does actually... But so much more also.
   
   Meg - The upbeat house keeper. Always full of questions, always full of spirit. Is it a facade though?
   
   Pete - The man so perfect that you wonder right from meeting him whether he's real or not. Is he too good to be true?
   
   I read the prologue and was a little disappointed that I did. As I began reading the book, I was still wondering about the characters in the prologue. When I was introduced to the characters, I immediately started trying to figure the book out. I knew instantly the mysteries that were being questioned as well as who it was. I was a little disappointed about that.
   
   The story did have some pleasantly unexpected twists though. I kept turning page after page and wasn't disappointed for the most part. I will say that I felt a little let down at the end. I wanted to know more. I originally came on Amazon to see if there was a second book to this. But there's not as far as I can tell. So I'm left wondering what about Meg? I feel a bit as if the story started focused on one character, but ended focused on another. Although that isn't the case, I can't help but feel a little cheated nonetheless.
   
   I do recommend reading Flirting with Pete. It was a good story and an easy read.

5 comments about An Accidental Woman.

1. AN ACCIDENTAL WOMAN offers multiple means of dealing with potentially debilitating emotional stress. Characters work through romancing the wheelchair, and having a close friend/mother/wife/caring-woman railroaded and wrongly arrested in the middle of the night; they grow themselves into functional intimacy, and still take time for healthy fun, both private and social.
   
   Tragedy has no dominion in Lake Henry; it's hammered out and transformed. Stress is everywhere. Yet, everyone deals, and wheels right along, following maple sugar production into the sweet parts of life. Full time therapy at $$$/hour couldn't do more to show how to LIVE through trauma better than the mood management "seminar" in this sensitive, delightful novel.
   
   Self-help books move over. Delinsky's fiction does it better, with pleasure (and a never ending supply of enlightened common sense). This writer wins against all odds. Her readers win even more



2. I read this book a while back and it was one of the first Barbara Delinsky novels I had ever read. The story was slow to build, which is usually the case for Barbara Delinsky novels, the characters were all unique and unforgettable, the way most characters are in small town romances, and the writing itself is good. Barbara Delinsky allows us(the readers)to project ourselves in Lake Henry almost unconsciously, I worried about Heather's fate, and the humongous chip on Poppy's shoulder; I sympathized with Griffin and felt sorrow for Micah. The characters in this book are not very deep, and yet, not terribly cliché, 'The accidental woman' is pretty good read.
   
   RECOMMENDED



3. Even though the pity party was a little much. I had a mother who was confined to a wheelchaire and she never indulged in self pity. And she didn't have a house to herself or every convinience a phisically disabled person could want! The character Poppy, a returnee from Lake News, was originally painted as upbeat and cheerful so I was really excited for the arrival of this book. It left a little something wanting.
   
   I appreciate all the difficulties that the characters went through, and the quaint setting was rewarding in itself. Overall a good read, but it could have been better.



4. Normally Barbara Delinsky writes mostly better than average,unfortunately I believe that she hasa missed the mark with this title "An Accidental Woman".I found the story uninteresting and preditable.However this may be just a flash in the pan and I will continue to buy and read her books.



5. Enoyed this follow up to Lake News (my first Delisky book). Look forward to more as interesting as this one.

5 comments about The Woman Next Door: A Novel.

1. I admit it. When I read a novel I tend to read from
   a vantage point that is perhaps different from
   the norm.
   
   Retreat, rest and diving into the characters is
   always satisfying, especially when you grow
   to like the characters... but I tend to look for
   a spiritual growth dimension as well and I
   found exactly that in this book by best selling
   author, Barbara Delinsky.
   
   Yes, it is about well - off families in a cul-de-sac
   and it is also about you and me.
   
   It is about trusting the one you love, trusting your
   judgment and continuing to stand in love even
   when you feel yourself waffling -
   
   It is about the characters allowing themselves
   to be strongly THEMSELVES, in Amanda's case,
   to be fully herself in spite of her mother's voice
   echoing negatively in her mind or her mother-in-law's
   lack of love richocheting into the home she
   shares with her husband, Graham.
   
   It is about Karen learning to not be afraid, to
   stand up for herself - and teaching her son
   Jordie to do the same in the process.
   
   It is about accepting someone who is different
   and not leaping to conclusions.
   
   It is mostly about deep love and affection -
   and the beauty of life.
   
   A great read - I would recommend it to
   anyone looking for some joyful (and growth
   inducing!) escapism.



2. After finishing THE VINEYARD, I dutifully read the excerpt included at the end, a preview of THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR. I hadn't planned to read that novel because, to me, infidelity stories too often have a Limburger aroma without the payment of flavor.
   
   However. As usual, BD had settled her own tantalizing twist into a sore, slithery subject and given it a too effective, "come hither" freshness. After reading only a few preview pages, I wanted to know "who done it" and why, and was baited to get behind the mystery of the widow. A love mystery. Huh. Ya hooked me again, Delinsky. Can't say I'm sorry you did.
   
   It was a lift to buy the paperback of THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR, with its gorgeously cooling, quietly inviting cover. Based on the title and elegantly feminine cover art, I was prepared to hate Gretchen, since she appeared to be a high-class-call-girl in neighbor's clothing. I was rewarded with a twist of irony, living with Gretchen's neighbors as they gradually and seamlessly expanded their narrow viewpoints, discovering Gretchen's secrets under the slithering silk skin. The reading experience was warming and lifting, party due to the genuine growth of awareness in this neighborhood cluster of characters, of what, in real life, goes on under the covers in most households.
   
   Is the Big Bad Wolf really bad, Little Red Riding Hood?
   
   Finishing the novel with anticipation satisfied absolutely, I was again amazed with how BD takes sorely over-treated issues (in-law interference, infertility, and teen angst in this book) and breathes renewing, healing sparks into these anxiety traps, with her startlingly sensible slants on achieving personal growth. It's a delight to feel how simply the characters, little-by-little slip contentment into intimate relationships. They work at it, yes, but they get there, or move on.
   
   When I'm rolling in millions from my novels' royalties, I'm thinking to buy the hardback of THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR, to display it as a classy decorator item, with its gorgeous cover advertising a story which lives up to the promise of Art. (If I still have a house and a body when my ship slips into shore.) Of course I wouldn't need a million bucks to buy a hardback; good novels are an anormous value at any price.



3. Did I find out Marc Cherry's secret? This book reminds me so much of the show Desperate Housewives, I had to come and write a review! It's all about a group of 3 couples, living on the same street that have a mystery on their hands. This mystery is who got the sexy widow pregnant--was it one of their husbands or a neighborhood handyman? A good, fast read that I really enjoyed. The side stories build each character and will keep you interested until the very end.



4. I loved this story. Definately a page turner.. just to find out who the mystery father is!



5. This was the first book by this author I have read. Her style of writing flowed easy enough however the content is what bothered me. I found everytime I read the book I would have an arguement with my husband. Every page I turned became more and more annoying. I guess I don't like reading about couples that fight, couples that cheat, couples that don't trust, mean spirited women, and all those other petty things. It was a total downer of a book. If you like that sort of thing, this book might be for you...

5 comments about The Passions of Chelsea Kane.

1. Of course, author Barbara Delinsky, started her writing career with Harlequin; so, obviously there are going to be sex scenes in her novels. This was one of the older novels, which came out in 1992 as a paperback, perhaps before she began writing mainstream hard-cover fiction. For this reason, I can make some allowances, owing to the genre of that time, and the title of course, "Passions of Chelsea Kane" is certainly not going to be about a nun in a convent.

   However, it gets irritating after awhile. Central character Chelsea Kane casually sleeps with her childhood friend, just to see if they are compatible. They are not. Oh well. Chelsea then moves to a small town in New England where the whole rest of the novel seems to be pre-occupied with Chelsea's lusty thoughts for one of the granite workers at the town quarry she has just bought. Scene after scene of gratuitous sex, even during Chelsea's pregnancy, yuck. And, even hints at sex during her breast-feeding, double yuck. Chelsea had arrived in the small New England town pregnant, and doesn't even bother having her new lover take an AIDs test, which could have injured her unborn child, I would think. There was AIDs in 1992, so I feel author, Barbara Delinsky was very irresponsible making pregnant Chelsea Kane so promiscuous, whether it serves the plot or not.

   Why did Chelsea purchase a granite factory in a small-town of New England? Chelsea was adopted as a child and she is now looking for her birth-parents who came out of that town. She is an architect and granite gives her a reason to get involved with the small town to see if she can find her parents amongst the townspeople.

   All the quarrying for granite stuff is about as interesting as the maple-sugaring stuff in Delinsky's "Accidental Woman" novel. The problem with writing so technical about these crafts is that if the reader is simply not interested in maple syrup, gardening, grape-growing, or quarrying........the whole novel will be a big bore.

   Delinsky is not so great at suspense and mystery either. The reader can easily guess who Chelsea's surprise parents will be. The ending of this long-drawn out novel is pretty lackluster as too many clues were handed out long before and there really aren't much surprises.

   What is good here is the narrow-mindedness of the small-town attitudes. Delinsky is an expert at capturing the feel of small New England towns and the petty and small attitudes of the townspeople towards urbane Chelsea Kane. There are some great scenes of the long-time denizens of small-town Norwitch Notch arguing with city-dweller, Chelsea, as the townspeople simply do not want her there and try to run her out of town. In fact, I would go so far as to say that author Barbara Delinsky's small town "Norwich Notch" in this novel, which she custom-created, is about as expertly defined as "Empire Falls" was in Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Richard Russo's "Empire Falls" novel----which won the Pulitzer in 2001.

   Both Richard Russo "Empire Falls" and Barbara Delinsky are perhaps the best in all of fiction at creating accurate New England small towns.

   However, I'm still going to take one star off for the bizarre sex scenes. And, one star off for all the boring stuff about granite and quarrying.




2. What a wonderful story of an adoptee and her struggle to find her birth heritage. When her adoptive mother dies, Chelsea Kane begins to commute between her position as a partner in a lucrative Baltimore architectural firm and her new position as a partner in a granite company in the small New Hampshire town of Norwich Notch where she was born. Her adoptive father strains against her doing this. He cannot understand her need to find her heritage.

   Trying to please her father, she has a one-night stand with her long time friend and business partner which her father also wants her to marry. Unfortunately, they are better friends than lovers but Chelsea becomes pregnant. The day she plans to tell him is the day she finds out he is going to marry a former girlfriend.

   Without telling him she is pregnant, she throws herself into the granite business and renovates a farmhouse in her birth town. But all is not well. There are those who don't want an outsider in their town. But Chelsea is determined to find her heritage. In the process, she finds a half of her she never knew existed and a man who is willing to stand beside her through it all.




3. Chelsea Kane always realizes that she was adopted but her family didn't want her to know anything about her biological parents. They destroyed all the records. When her mother dies, her lawyer gives to Chelsea an envelope postmarked Norwich Notch, New Hampshire. Before she makes the decision to go to the town of her birth, she makes love with her best friend and business partner Carl Harper.

   She becomes pregnant but before she can tell Carl, he informs her he is marrying the woman who is carrying his twins. Needing a place to escape to and wanting to find out about her biological roots, Chelsea moves to the small conservative village of her birth, buys into a business and meets Judd Streeter who is Chelsea's foreman on the quarry site. While the two fight their growing feelings for one another, someone in town attempts to scare her into leaving, going so far as to trying to run her over and burning down her home.

   It has been over eleven years since THE PASSIONS OF CHELSEA KANE was published but classics such as this stand the test of time and remain a strong read when reprinted. The relationship between the heroine and her love is so dynamic and explosive, sparks fly off the pages. The townsfolk are an interesting group who give color and atmosphere to the plot and demonstrate that even in a small hamlet, there remains a huge gap between the classes.

   Harriet Klausner




4. I was quite upset after receiving this book to find I have had read it years before. This should be stated in the ad about the book. Although , I love Mrs. Delinsky's books, I have found her and her publishers to make this a habit! Plus I was charged to return it......



5. One of the only books I truly love, I have read my copy so much it is falling apart and I have to buy a new one. I have read other books by Barbara Delinsky, but this one, in my opinion, is one of her best.

5 comments about Looking for Peyton Place: A Novel.

1. Delinsky's writing style unfailingly provides immediate, engrossing reading. This unique novel continued that legacy. The first paragraphs of the prologue warmed me into the book, and I looked forward to each parenthesis in time during which I'd be able to return to the read.
   
   Before I began reading LOOKING FOR PEYTON PLACE, I was confused about where to place the fulcrum between what appeared to be a balance of autobiography & fiction. A quick check of the title page showed that the book was categorized as fiction. Reading into the prologue, I was able to discriminate how the deceased Grace Metalious was woven through Annie Bank's reality (this novel's fictional character), as opposed to being woven through Barbara Delinsky's reality. Part of the confusion (and the appeal) had to do with Delinsky's photo on the hardcover book jacket relating uncannily to the one of Grace, and to the artistic representation of Annie.
   
   The reality Vs. fiction questions played out as a unique type of intrigue, which continued percolating even after I had settled into accepting the story as fiction. I couldn't help speculating how Annie's feelings and actions might have been lifted from Barbara's younger life/career, and blended into her current seasoning as an author. Contemplating Annie and Barbara's similarities and differences added to the story's charisma. I, and probably many other readers, was also mesmerized by a First Person Narrative of a writer dramatizing how she thinks through, and goes about writing a book.
   
   Throughout this plot, Annie was repeatedly asked (in essence), "Are you going to write our shames and shambles into a book?" The interjections of that question, posed in various words and ways, continued to feed my curiosity about "would she" ... or, "did she" write that book (in this one). I imagine that this draw of curiosity was Delinsky's intent, which, in my case, worked.
   
   Parallel situations from my life to Annie's also worked to enhance my enjoyment of this exquisitely designed plot and writing style, which was subtly and sensually different from any of Delinsky's other novels. Yet, initially (my reason for avoiding reading this novel sooner) I was put off by the environmental ploy of mercury poisoning of local residents by a small town mill. My life has run a course on a somewhat reverse-flip of good/evil of Delinsky's redeemed Norman Rockwell photo of small town life in Middle River, presented as a parallel to "Peyton Place," as the 50's novel was re-vamped, modernized, and cleaned up in Delinsky's "upgrade."
   
   My husband has worked his lifetime in coal mines. We are loyal friends of industry, and have been blessed to be repeatedly employed by what we see as heroic "good guys" in charge of and in ownership of the several mines at which Tom has worked. It was very rare that anyone we knew came anywhere near the type of villainy dramatized through Sandy and Aidan Meade; most of our cohorts in the industry were of the James Meade character type.
   
   As I continued into the story, with the welcome background of having reviewed many previous Delinsky novels, I was hoping for this one to have applied this author's honed talent of accurately separating good from evil, in the currently slimed (by media and terrorism) industrial arenas of milling and mining. Delinsky accomplished more than I would have thought possible, given our pervasive cultural climate of anti-capitalism, anti-industry; she successfully exposed how easy it can be to hurriedly mark something as evil, then blindly bully through a lumped-together package, with no motivation or effort to discriminate nuances, to accurately focus boarders between light and dark, value and corruption.
   
   What held my reading most strongly, though, was the easy flowing, colloquial-narrative-style, enhanced by the bright duality of "voice" of Grace Metalious communicating with Annie from "beyond the grave."
   
   This novel was a courageous evolution of not only Barbara Delinsky's writing talent and natural psychological wisdom; it was a courageous exposure of what appeared to be Barbara's (as well as Annie's) personal foibles given with endearing self-awareness of personality flaws and sparks.
   
   I'm speculating that LOOKING FOR PEYTON PLACE may be too solid of a literary offering to be recognized widely and immediately for its subtle glamor in nuance of worth. This is a slow-simmer winner. Some of the rest of Delinsky's fine repertoire might fade slightly over millenniums of time. This one, though, could slide through each barrier between alternate ages and endure, mostly because it's a warm, unadulterated look into the mind of a healthy author (Barbara Delinsky), accompanied by the tortured but redeemed soul of yet another author (Grace Metalious) who was ahead of her time and fell into sorrow and separation instead of rising with her contribution to literary annals.
   
   I'm almost chilled with an enormous sense of loss, when I think that this novel might not have been written or published exactly as is. Prior to reading this novel, I wouldn't have believed I could enjoy it as I did, and come away healed in the areas the story addressed. Whatever a reader's reservations are about being enthusiastically entertained by this novel, he should set them aside and dive in.
   
   Yet, I'm haunted by the awareness that in reality and with real people it's not this easy (and it wasn't easy at all in the novel!) to separate good from evil in business and industry (or anywhere). It's too commonly automatic to allow anger, spite, and past wounds to run the shows and pursuits in life, as I believe is too often the case with environmental terrorism, possibly any type of terrorism, and with many causes which become so heated by pseudo self-righteousness, and compulsions to act as avenging (dark) angels, that evil begets evil, in the name of good. The result is that innocent, hard working people suffer most from the heart-wrenching rabble left from rousers (especially from those who've made a career of rousing).
   
   In the case of my small town history based on the coal mining industry, our current plight (blight) swirls around a few wealthy new-settlers who retired to our area, combined with (or agitated by) career activists who are not from our area, who do not intend to reside there, yet who desire to rid our area of an industry which is far cleaner than the activists' motives or methods, driven by seething hatred which they "see" as self-righteous honor (from my vantage point, it's a sick type of "honor" which can be seen clearly only when looking through a glass darkly).
   
   My plea to our species is to please be careful, maybe even compassionate, prior to pushing ways and beliefs onto others, especially when that force desecrates a people's history, along with its means of living and surviving.
   
   Is jumping to conclusions our greatest habitual evil?
   
   Might this be especially so when that (lack of) thought pattern results in acting upon "facts" which are not facts, and implementing destructive means to control life, to the ultimate point of human de-evolution?
   
   In this novel the author has at least attempted to show how important it can be to take time to gain a true perspective cleared of personal vendettas, prior to methodically working to destroy someone else's way of life or economic structure of well-being. Sometimes perspective gained means mad motivation lost.
   
   Delinsky has my appreciation for what she's accomplished and exposed in LOOKING FOR PEYTON PLACE. The exposure of which I'm speaking has nothing to do with Mercury poisoning or similar issues (though the alternative cure was interesting). It has to do with exposing how personal motivations can so easily seat-in to drive causes and cloud issues with a blindly horrifying force for destruction.
   
   With those issues attended, I can conclude in good conscience that this was a moving piece of literature, an engrossing, entertaining read laced with an appealingly unique literary style.
   
   Speaking of literary style, I should note that novels which use First Person Narrative can be too easily flawed by an irritatingly disruptive reading rhythm, when they're laced with interjected segments of Third Person Narrative. This novel accomplishes this difficult type of transition from differing points-of-view much better than most I've read. The narrative style here has light whiffs of similarity to Sue Grafton's "S" is for SILENCE and James A. Michener's THE NOVEL (both of which I've reviewed). My favorite use of narrative style is either an uninterrupted First Person, which has been generally mastered by the detective novel genre as a common choice of narrative. My personal favorite of that style (used without alternate-view-interjections) has been mastered absolutely by Robert B. Parker in his Spenser series.
   
   What Delinsky has done in the First Person segments in this novel has edged beyond mastery, and has exquisitely captured the narrator's personality through her naturally-spiced speech patterns. The result is that Annie Banks' voice and spirit lives through the words of this story.
   
   In an interesting Afterword, the publisher provided a short history of Grace Metalious and PEYTON PLACE, including a summary of that novel's plot, which was helpful to me since I've not read PEYTON PLACE. Each time I've approached the book I've felt overwhelmed by a sense of artful hollowness. Yet, I know that Grace was a rare and highly skilled author of uncanny talent. I know I would drool over the literary luxury in her words. But I'm rarely in the mood to willingly depress myself, which is why I'm thankful to have read Delinsky's book, including the Acknowledgments and Afterword.
   
   I recommend this novel for its reading appeal, as well as its value as an offering of good literature traversing multiple layers, levels, and ages.
   
   Linda Shelnutt



2. Some of the main character's experiences may have you wondering if any of this novel is autobiographical. The relational dynamics make a real-life backdrop for this boy meets girl story.



3. It was like drinking decaffeinated coffee...it lacks that ...oomphh. Didn't think the plot was that compelling. An editor should've chiseled it down by 200 pages.



4. This novel isn't a copy of Peyton Place, but takes the essence of Metalious' novel and adds a suspensful twist. A woman uncovers the truth behind her mother's death and about what's been causing all of her hometown's inhabitants to become ill. A well crafted supense novel with some romance-- and a very telling story about small factory towns. I give it 3 1/2 stars.



5. I don't understand the negative reviews of this book. I only gave it four stars because Annie (the main character)got so darned whiney about her past that I felt like yelling, "Get over it!", on several occasions, but the story was good. Barbara Delinsky writes descriptions of the scenes with her usual talent, the secondary characters are quite good, I loved the love interest/boyfriend character (although not the unprotected sex they have on their first encounter--anybody ever heard of an STD? HIV?). Overall, it was a good read, although I could have survived without the mental conversations with Grace--didn't really fit in with the story and made you question Annie's mental health at times, also just kind of popped up out of nowhere without any prior mention. Good book, overall with just a few weaknesses.

5 comments about The Vineyard: A Novel.

1. I struggled through this book - my first Delinsky book. I read it because my book club wanted to read it. I almost didn't make it through the entire book and I wonder what the other book club members will have to say. For me, it was like sitting in front of the TV watching a bad daytime soap opera. I found it to be a waste of time and I was happy that the length of the book was the only real challenge for me. I thought Olivia's character - she sleeps with Simon after only a month of staring at one another from across the lawn - was weak and uninteresting, sappy and whiny. To top it off, she and Simon sleep in the same bed with the 10 year old daughter in the next room and this is considered a great romance!! Pullease. I can't think of a single thing other than perhaps the discussion of how the grape vines ripen that was interesting to me. Yuck. I'm on to The Da Vinci Code - THANK GOD!
   DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME - READ A GOOD BOOK.



2. THE VINEYARD by Barbara Delinsky
   November 8, 2004
   
   I've read a number of books by Barbara Delinsky, most of which I enjoyed a lot. THE VINEYARD is not going to be one of my favorites, but I think I'm going to remember it mainly because I had a hard time liking the main character.
   
   Olivia Jones restores old photographs for a living. She's a single mother, with a daughter (Tess) who has a learning disability. The reader will discover that Olivia is a person that deals with a rough reality by hiding behind daydreams. She in particular finds herself dreaming about the people in the photographs she restores, including a series of them sent to her boss, Otis, by a woman who runs a vineyard.
   
   Natalie Seebring is Otis' client, a woman who is in her twilight years and needs an assistant to help write her life story. Olivia accidentally comes across this request for Otis to recommend someone to fulfill this task, and soon she is dreaming of being that assistant, imagining what each person in those photographs is like. Believe it or not, she soon finds herself working for the matriarch of this family, and she and Tess move to the vineyard to spend the summer there.
   
   The story takes on two main plots. While the story of Natalie's life is being told, the reader will learn about her childhood, how she meets her deceased husband Alexander, as well as how she met her current fiancé, Carl. The second plot involves Olivia, and a man she meets at the vineyard, Simon, who also happens to be Carl's son. Simon and Olivia seem to have something in common, and that is, they are both afraid to venture forth into a relationship with the opposite sex. But both are obviously attracted to each other, and their romance evolves slowly as the story moves on.
   
   Other characters come into play, in particular the grown children of Natalie, Susanne and Greg, and a third child, Brad, who remains a mystery throughout most of the book. His story comes out at the very end, and although I had suspected some of what was to be revealed, I was still somewhat shocked, just as the characters in the book were, too.
   
   While I don't recommend this book as a first time reader to Barbara Delinsky's books, I believe that those who enjoyed her more recent books may enjoy this one. The irritating characters of Olivia and Tess, however, may grate on some nerves, as it did mine. Olivia is a very weak, naive, type of person, and I found it very difficult to feel sorry for a woman that dealt with reality by hiding in daydreams and believing them to be true. Her daughter was a bratty young girl who unfortunately got picked on a lot by her peers, mostly because of her attitude and inability to make friends with others, and not by her disability as mother and daughter are led to believe.
   
   On the other hand, I think an author is doing a good job if a reader can feel intense dislike or like for an invented character. I had no problems with the writing. And I looked forward to reading each chapter as I read about Natalie's life story. Overall, I enjoyed THE VINEYARD and as always, look forward to reading more by Barbara Delinksy.



3. After enjoying FLIRTING WITH PETE and LAKE NEWS I wasn't planning to read more Barbara Delinsky novels right away, since I believed I had already read the ones with themes related to my pursuits or interests.
   
   Then I read THE VINEYARD excerpt at the end of my LAKE NEWS paperback.
   
   I was captured with the ingenious way each main character was introduced by his/her reaction to a wedding invitation from a couple in their 70's and 80's. Of course I wanted to read more; curiosity was precisely stirred from the contrast of negative and positive reactions to this unusual situation.
   
   I bought and read THE VINEYARD, becoming fully involved and pleasantly satisfied with the story, even though I hadn't known I would be so thoroughly engrossed in a family owned vineyard. Was concerned that I might find the history interjections boring and the writing style of an older generation focus a bit too forced (not many writers can capture the beauty and graceful vitality of age until they've arrived there and developed the graciousness).
   
   But, BD handled all with just the right amount of detail, genuine warmth, and ingeniously natural intrusion techniques. For me this book was a reader kidnap, from the first page on.
   
   I have mountains of positive input on this exquisite novel, but I'm testing the effect of short and sweet, instead of writing my typical epistle on a novel. Since I've already slipped on a banana peel heading smack into too long and savory, I'll ...



4. So far, every book I've read by Delinsky (Coast Road, Three Wishes and Lake News) has been one I've had a hard time putting down. And one well worth the read.
   
   There is something about the stories and characters that Delinsky weaves....they instantly pull you in, you care about what will happen to them and you enjoy the journey.
   
   The Vineyard is mainly about family, those that have family and those that don't. It shows that even though you may have family, you may not get along with them, but perhaps it's better to be grateful, since some people don't have any family at all! It's also about courage and strength that people manage to find within themselves to carry them through out the obstacles and tough times in their lives. It's about opening up to other people and finding a good friend. It's about the old saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover"- as each of the characters prove of themselves.
   
   Good read- recommended!



5. The Seebring family appears to be the perfect family. Mother Natalie oversees a successful winery in Rhode Island, with a beautiful residence and gracious style. Daughter Suzanne is married to a successful businessman and has raised two children, doesn't have to work and busies herself with gourmet cooking. Son Greg has built his own successful business and is married to a smart, lively woman. But when daydreamer Olivia Jones comes to the winery to be Natalie's assistant and write her life history, she learns that nothing is as she imagined it. Recently widowed Natalie is marrying not another wealthy man of property, but a vineyard employee. Greg and Suzanne are so angry they are boycotting the wedding. Just like in real life, it's not black and white, right and wrong. The reader has a privileged view of the past through Natalie's memories, but there are a few surprises along the way.
   
   The Vineyard was such an unexpected pleasure that I am afraid to read Barbara Delinsky's other books in case they aren't as good. The Vineyard is a story about a family and the struggle of the adult children to acknowledge their parents as people. This important transition is an under-discussed phase of maturity that Delinsky handles with grace. The Vineyard is most like the best works of Rosamond Pilcher - yes there's a romance and a happy ending, but in a social context of a family and a community.
   
   Readers who enjoy well-rounded characters in a detailed setting with a touch of romance will love The Vineyard. It's not a family saga, just a story about a summer that brings changes to the Seebring family. I'm crossing my fingers to find more gems among Delinsky's work.