Pauline Barclay

This was a lovely, snuggly novel. And Pauline illustrates how a novel can be a page-turner without having to be action-packed. Magnolia House was, however, absolutely bursting at the seams with emotions—from those that come with the grief of death to those that come with the joy of birth and everything in between. All poignantly and skilfully intertwined in this very enjoyable book.

Having signed over half her house to her son, Ben, widowed Jane Leonard suddenly finds herself with no option but to sell her beloved Magnolia House—her home for many years—when Ben’s wife insists on claiming the value of his share. It’s a home where Jane has experienced love and happiness and, sadly, more than a human being’s fair share of tragedy. Her efforts to put prospective buyers off comes to an abrupt end when Sally and Steve Bingley fall in love with the property and are determined to be undeterred by Jane’s tactics in order to pursue their desire to open their very own B&B in this perfect house.

Misunderstandings, coincidences, kindness, and fate all play an important role in the future of the wonderful cast of characters: some pathetic ones, some tragic ones, some infuriating ones, some amusing ones—all varied and very credible. It’s said that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person through a chain of six people, and Pauline brings this into play in this book—albeit in the same little village!

I love Pauline’s style. This is a delightful book that’s wonderfully easy and effortless to read, straightforward, yet expressive and heartfelt. It brings a smile to your face and not just because of the sometimes gentle humour. I liked that the ending was not in the slightest bit predictable; Pauline instils a clever and compelling element of ‘I wonder how this is going to end’ right to the very end.… (más)

I really enjoyed this...my second outing with the author, Pauline Barclay. It’s quite a story, spanning forty-four years, starting just before the end of the second world war.

If ever there was a nasty, power-hungry, vicious, egotistic character, then Henry Bryant-Smythe was one. What a vile man. You can imagine, then, that when his young only daughter finds herself ‘in the family way’, the lengths he goes to are extreme, to the point of inhuman, to make sure she understands the consequences of such disgrace for a family of such standing. There isn’t a soul who doesn’t fear this hideous man…his own wife included. But he never entertains the possibility that he could be underestimating her. His domineering, vulgarity and bullying are as unbearable as are endearing her quiet sagacity, forbearance and gentleness. But pay he must for ruining the lives of those nearest to him.

Barclay overdoses us, wrings us out with oceans of wide-ranging emotions in this book. She does it skilfully, subtly, poignantly. The story is utterly compelling.

This is a book which has been loitering around my Kindle for a while now and after reading it, I understand why. Every time I saw the title, it just didn’t scream ‘read me’. It’s not about Satchfield Hall at all: that’s just an address and really doesn’t play a part of any importance. The title of the book written by one of the characters is what screams at me as the perfect title. I was also a little at sea with the dates. The story is divided into two parts, but with untitled chapters it was hard to know exactly where we were.

For those reasons, I can’t elevate it into the five-star category, not least because of the bad editing (no editing?). So many spelling/grammatical errors was annoying.

However, I did manage to overlook those faults and ultimately, am glad I finally answered the book’s call to ‘read me, already!’… (más)

You can also read my review here: http://bookbybookreview.blogspot.com/2011/07/review-sometimes-it-happens.html

Never have I won a free ticket in the lottery, let alone the whole shebang! It was a breath of fresh air to see what happens to 'real' people, who live 'real' lives, and work 'real' jobs, when they win the lottery. For Doreen Wilkinson, it was like diving into the deep end of a pool and never really coming up for a full-breath.

From the get-go, I enjoyed the eclectic mix of characters. Even though they all lived different lives outside the Villa, once inside, they became like a dysfunctional family. There were characters that you would expect to see at any resort (Bob, Carmen, Frau Heck), some that you would cross the street to avoid (Sheila, Jack), and some that you would pull up a stool beside at the bar (Doreen, Pat, Antonio).

The one character that grated on my nerves from her first word was Doreen. While I completely understand that she was from a 'poor' upbringing, her accent - or the way her accent was written - made it really hard to read. It may have been a cross-border translation (me being in Canada, the author from the UK) but having to stop on every single word made the flow of conversation very hard to follow. I also couldn't understand why her daughter, who came from the same up-bringing, didn't have the same dialect?!?

Overall, the story was very well written. I enjoyed each of the storylines and how, at the end, everything was brought together into one, neat, little package. It has made me wish that, after a little speech therapy, Doreen will be back in a second novel.

Pauline Barclay is definitely one to keep an eye on!… (más)