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Tag der Entscheidung.
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Tag der Entscheidung.
by
Penny Vincenzi (Goodreads Author)
Vincenzi had written eight bestselling novels before America discovered her with the publication of "No Angel." Now, her entire backlist of books is being made available, beginning with her first novel "The Dilemma," which is noted for its vivid characters, urgent situations, and confident writing.
Mass Market Paperback
Published
January 1st 2003
by Scherz
(first published January 1st 1996)
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The prologue to this meaty, complex family drama puts the central conflict up front and center: The wealthy, charismatic entrepeuner Isambard Channing (3) is forced to ask his much younger third wife Francesca to provide an alibi for a particular night. If she will not, it is likely that Bard will be ruined and end up in jail. (1) Chapter one jumps backwards to Francesca as a young woman just starting out. Over the course of five years she and Bard Channing repeatedly meet and then separate desp...more
Ok. This is the second book I have read by this author and I love how she interweaves the characters in her stories. This book kept me up trying to see how it would end. I liked Sheer Abandon better but I enjoy the author's style and her way of bringing her characters to life.
I didn't like this one as much. Possibly, it started with the fact that there was no character list at the beginning...and with 600 or so pages, it's really kind of essential. Also, the characters weren't as fun as some in her other books. And, finally, I'm starting to see that she always has certain stock character types. It's not as obvious as Danielle Steele and her use of "my friend" as the expression for all occasions (and used so often you could play a drinking game with it and be unsafe t...more
This was another good book by Penny Vincenzi but not my favourite one of hers, by any stretch of the imagination. It was not one that kept me up all night reading until the small hours of the morning but enjoyable. I liked the characters although some of them were a bit one dimensional. I don't agree with the ending with respect to what Gray, the journalist, did. It didn't really make sense to me. The relationship between Liam and his wife was similarly unrealistic. But overall I enjoyed the boo...more
I fall into Vincenzi's very British doorstopper/pot boiler books but yes, sometimes they are a bit overlong. There is always a large cast of characters and multiple POVs. Family sagas, ususlly. A bit old-fashioned, perhaps a tad sopa-operish, yet often compelling. My favorite of the 3 I've read was Forbidden Places, a WW II era story. I can't read them one after another, but every once in awhile I seem to crave her big book style and dash.
Like a Danielle Steele novel, but I felt better about reading this because 1. I got it on clearance, and 2. It is filled with lovely English phrases and I am a total Anglophile. Basically a story of a pampered wife who thinks she has more to offer. Her husband is a business mogul in a lot of trouble with the law. Like all Penny Vincenzi books, this is far too long, but such a guilty pleasure that you do not mind.
I love Penny Vincenzi. Her books are so thick and long. And I quite enjoy reading them. It took me a while to get through this one. Usually it's still somewhat of a short read. But, I was away on the weekend and I haven't really been feeling well this week. But, again, I love her :)
Everything I've ready by this author who I happened to stumble upon, is good. There are quite a few characters in this book and they are all interesting in their own rights. If it had been a tv show, I would watch. A little melodramatic but a good, fun read.
Jul 23, 2011
Jo
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2011,
disappointments
I've really enjoyed some of her later books, but found this too long, too detailed, and therefore a bit dull. She creates realistically complex characters, but the problem with no character being all good or all bad is it becomes difficult to like any of them, and therefore care that much about what happens to them. The ""heroine"" is selfish and whiny and neurotic, although the main male characters do at least redeem themselves. I'd recommend it to big Vincenzi fans only.
This was a looong book but it was one of those can't put it down and what is going to happen next sort of story-line. Very british, very glamourous and my guilty pleasure as it was very soap opera-ish but sometimes one needs one of those kinds of books. One does get a good sense of who the characters are after 600 some pages and what did Francesca eventually do? Did she lie for her husband?
Vincenzi has the ability to weave incredibly complex storyline around each other and still manage to tie up all the loose ends very elegantly. I wish the cover didn't make this seem so romancey, because it's really not. Very great portrait of just how complex interactions are between people that somehow manage to interlink their fates, either voluntarily or through family ties.
Apr 12, 2013
Charlene Abdilla Muscat
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
penny-vincenzi
I could have easily given this book a 5 star rating, but it was really irritating how at one point I'm reading about 2 characters, and in the same line the characters/story changes. On the whole the story was ok. It somehow makes me grateful for not being in the investment/financial business, there's too much stress and not much of a life really. On the other hand it's an eye opener on business reality, what really goes on in most work places....and in the end, the truth has to come out.
A huge blockbuster of a novel, in the usual many layered style of Penny Vincenzi.Full of emotional twists and turns - I enjoyed it.
Great read. I am usually pretty godd at guessing where the ending is going but this one had me wondering right to the end.
Meh boring I didn't even make it to chapter 5 all the characters are boring and dull. Way to posh for me
Its a good book...but not my favorite Vincenzi book.
Easy read and keeps your attention.
Good book - well written with interesting characters, although I did feel like it went off on more tangents than necessary.
Good beach read/ semi-steamy & trashy!
A bit tedious.
great read, lovely Mothers' Day gift. thanks K.
I have really enjoyed everything else I've read by Penny Vincenzi, so this one has me puzzled. You can see it took me forever to read. I found the first 2/3 or so very slow-going, and normally her books are just about page-turners for me. The last 1/3 was definitely much better, but I wasn't thrilled with the ending. Oh well...
Apr 28, 2008
Linda
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who like Rosamund Pilcher novels
This is a very long book, quite English, which I like, and although it took me a while to get through it I did like it and want to read more by her. The people are not extremely likeable, but then, a lot of people aren't.
I liked the author's style, but I couldn't help feeling like the story went on entirely too long. It was nice to read a good novel set in London, though.
Lots of twists and turns and several little situations going on at once. hard to put down and enjoyable to read after lately reading just good fluff.
Not a bad read, but too much like a Payton Place sort of book. Not something that I enjoy, but I DID finish it!
Too many unnecessary words and I really never cared about the characters.
Not a great read. Love the author, didn't care for the subject matter.
My least favorite of all the Vincenzi novels I have read . . .
I'm excited to read this book because I ABSOLUTELY love her books!
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I'm currently taking part in a Q&A Group here on Goodreads to discuss my latest novel, Sheer Abandon . To post questions, please visit: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/4.... I look forward to an active discussion together.
I was nine years old when I embarked on my storytelling career. I wrote my own magazine called “Stories”, which I copied out three times on carbon paper and sold for two...more
More about Penny Vincenzi...
I was nine years old when I embarked on my storytelling career. I wrote my own magazine called “Stories”, which I copied out three times on carbon paper and sold for two...more
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