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29th out of 54 books
—
7 voters
Peacock Emporium
by
Jojo Moyes
In the Sixties, Athene Forster is the most glamorous girl of her generation. Nicknamed the Last Deb, she is also beautiful, spoilt and out of control. When she agrees to marry dashing young heir Douglas Fairley-Hulme her parents breathe a sigh of relief. But within two years rumours have begun to circulate about Athene's affair with a young salesman. Thirty five years on,...more
Published
(first published February 28th 2005)
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This book is an excellent description of how we are all affected by our upbringing. Suzanne has never felt she belonged with her family having always known that her Fathers love for the Mother who died when giving birth to her has made him resent her. His second wife who raised her and her brother and sister is her real Mother, but still she cannot understand how anyone can love her. Everything changes when she decides to make a go at doing something for herself- without the help of anyone in he...more
Time Taken To Read - 2.5 days
Blurb From Goodreads
In the Sixties, Athene Forster is the most glamorous girl of her generation. Nicknamed the Last Deb, she is also beautiful, spoilt and out of control. When she agrees to marry dashing young heir Douglas Fairley-Hulme her parents breathe a sigh of relief. But within two years rumours have begun to circulate about Athene's affair with a young salesman. Thirty five years on, Suzanna Peacock is struggling with her glamorous mother's legacy. At odds wi...more
Blurb From Goodreads
In the Sixties, Athene Forster is the most glamorous girl of her generation. Nicknamed the Last Deb, she is also beautiful, spoilt and out of control. When she agrees to marry dashing young heir Douglas Fairley-Hulme her parents breathe a sigh of relief. But within two years rumours have begun to circulate about Athene's affair with a young salesman. Thirty five years on, Suzanna Peacock is struggling with her glamorous mother's legacy. At odds wi...more
Another amazing story from Jojo Moyes. Ms Moyes injects life into her characters in a way that no other author manages. Suzzana, a flawed and unhappy young woman, is haunted and moulded by her past despite the fact that she knows little about it. In searching for a way to live an authentic and happy life she opens her shop and stubbornly styles it following her heart. The shop becomes the catalyst for a new life and a new confidence for Suzzana. Be prepared to squirm a little as you see facets o...more
The Peacock Emporium is the story of Suzanna Peacock, a young woman whose troubled mother passed away at childbirth. Suzanna, who has always been hunted by this fact, moves from London to her small hometown with her husband, Neil. To occupy herself, she opens a shop called The Peacock Emporium, selling all kinds of second-hand things that catch her interest. But the book does not deal only with Suzanna's story – there are a few other interesting characters, like Suzanna's glamourous and rebellio...more
The Peacock Emporium tells of a woman in her 30s, with a troubled marriage, who returns to live in the small town of her origin. She and her husband are trying to come to terms with what they really want in life. And the decision to return home and live near Suzanna's family isnt an answer that gives her much confidence. Opening a small-town coffee and gift shop, The Peacock Emporium, is an attempt by Suzanna to make something she will be proud of.
Suzanna Peacock's life is also shadowed by a mot...more
Suzanna Peacock's life is also shadowed by a mot...more
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This author has an interesting knack of telling a convincing comprehensible story which skips to and fro between various time frames in the lives of the characters. As each chapter commences the reader is initially mystified about who is the subject and which era the events are taking place. However as the tale evolves, the mystery solves itself and the jigsaw of the lives of the characters takes shape.
The book is not unusual in its plot involving a multitude of human emotions and scarred relati...more
The book is not unusual in its plot involving a multitude of human emotions and scarred relati...more
I did enjoy this eventually; it took for me an exceptionally long time to read, over a week. I found it very slow and it took me ages to feel involved enough in the story to want to read much more than a chapter at a time. The first few chapters are important as they introduce the reader to the history of the heroine’s family background. At the time this may seem irrelevant but persevere and read beyond this and it will all click into place.
The protagonist is Suzanna Peacock who with her husband...more
The protagonist is Suzanna Peacock who with her husband...more
Jojo Moyes is a really good story teller.
There is a lot going on in this book and it deals with a lot of life's realities - family relationships, marriage issues, class, money issues, farming, domestic violence, racism, romance, loyalty... but Jojo Moyes writes about her characters and their situations in such a way that it makes you feel like you really know and understand them.
I got pretty absorbed in this book and although there was quite a lot of different people in it and the plot jumps ar...more
There is a lot going on in this book and it deals with a lot of life's realities - family relationships, marriage issues, class, money issues, farming, domestic violence, racism, romance, loyalty... but Jojo Moyes writes about her characters and their situations in such a way that it makes you feel like you really know and understand them.
I got pretty absorbed in this book and although there was quite a lot of different people in it and the plot jumps ar...more
Boy was I disappointed with this one! I read two other Moyes books and they were both great! Her topics and time periods are generally interesting and complex, her characters develop and her stories are just good. This was one big disappointment. I didn't come to care about any of the characters, they were dull or stereptypical or whiny. the story Could have been interesting but ended up BORING and I just didn't care what happened. A Very under developed book. Two stars because I did actually fi...more
In the Sixties, Athene Forster is the most glamorous girl of her generation., she is also beautiful, spoilt and out of control. When she agrees to marry dashing young heir Douglas Fairley-Hulme her parents breathe a sigh of relief. But within two years rumours have begun to circulate about Athene's affair with a young salesman. Thirty five years on, Suzanna Peacock is struggling with her glamorous mother's legacy. The only place she finds comfort is in her shop, The Peacock Emporium, a coffee sh...more
The book opens in 2001 with a midwife in Buenos Aires involved in a delivery which leaves a bittersweet taste. The next chapter takes us back almost forty years, when Vivi is going to a dance with her friend Douglas. That story continues for a few chapters, as we get to know Douglas and his family rather better... then suddenly we're back to 2001, and a young woman called Suzanna Peacock who is feeling frustrated in life in general, and plans to open a shop - the Peacock Emporium of the book's t...more
I found this book slightly confusing as it jumps between different times. The story is mainly about Suzanna Peacock who seems to be at odds with the world in general. Her marriage is not what it should be, and her husband Neil is pressing for them to have a baby which Suzanna is not convinced about. They've had financial problems and have returned to where Suzanna grew up - which she is not entirely happy about - and they live close to her father, step mother and half siblings. The story of her...more
I'm sorry but after reading "The Last Letter from Your Lover," by Jojo Moyes I had high hopes for this book. I'm afraid I was disappointed.
I absolutely could not stand the main character. I found her annoying and depressing. Through out the entire book all you want to do is meet this main character just so you can tell her to grow up and stop complaining. Every time I would finish a chapter I felt like my life was just as crappy's as the main character. While Jojo Moyes does a great job in gett...more
I absolutely could not stand the main character. I found her annoying and depressing. Through out the entire book all you want to do is meet this main character just so you can tell her to grow up and stop complaining. Every time I would finish a chapter I felt like my life was just as crappy's as the main character. While Jojo Moyes does a great job in gett...more
I enjoyed this book after all but I found it confusing at times because I did not know who the author was writing about sometimes from chapter to chapter. One in particular I am not sure who it referred to. This is my second book by this author and one of her earlier works. I read it very quickly as I wanted to know the ending.
A charming story of Suzanna Peacock who to escape the troubles of her life and marriage opens a shop in her old home town after moving from London.
It helps with the tedium of her day to day life but she is always yearning for something more and along the way meets a host of new friends and loves and comes up against past family secrets that have a bearing on the present.
A great read.
It helps with the tedium of her day to day life but she is always yearning for something more and along the way meets a host of new friends and loves and comes up against past family secrets that have a bearing on the present.
A great read.
I really enjoyed this book! At first, felt I may have issues keeping up with how the author tied in chapters, time and events but then would be brought smoothly through easily able to follow :-) Was well done, just the right mix of "cliche" and unique story lines. The charcters were good, and not often does a book make my eyes well, but this one did at one point.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, my take was a woman trying to find her space in life which is invaded by very likeable characters who make her view life differently. I felt she was still searching for her place at the end of the book but but was now doing so with more confidence.
There are lots of themes in this book; I like this about the author's writing. It's a very easy read but Jojo Moyes books are always hard to put down after a certain point when you like the character(s) and want to know what will happen.The Ship of Brides is my favourite still, so far.
It took me a while to get into this story, but once I did it was an enjoyable read. I cared about Jessie, Vivi, and even Suzanna towards the end!
Jo Jo has the ability to endear you to the main characters, which is, in my opinion, her biggest strength. However, I did find in this book again some rather pointless 'sub' stories going on. This book really didn't need anything 'extra'.
A simple, pleasant read.
Jo Jo has the ability to endear you to the main characters, which is, in my opinion, her biggest strength. However, I did find in this book again some rather pointless 'sub' stories going on. This book really didn't need anything 'extra'.
A simple, pleasant read.
It took me a little while to get into this one. I wasn't sure which decade we were in at times! I loved the idea of the shop the Peacock Emporium and could really visualise it. The different threads of the story started to make sense and my sympathies for Suzanne grew by the end.
I really didn't like this book at first, but as I read more of it, it started to grow on me. I just didn't like the way the story was written, but in the end I am glad that I finished it, as the plot all makes sense at the end of the book.
The book drew me in at the beginning but then it seemed to lag a bit in the middle, making me feel that the author could have moved things along a bit faster. I will try other books by this author.
Interesting characters but the plot was fairly predictable. I didn't have any empathy for the main character. Somehow that made me want to read it even more! Everything seemed to go her way. Surely Alejandro would have had better things to do than hang around a bric a brac shop! Nevertheless I enjoyed reading it.
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A good holiday read. Interesting structure with a clever way of introducing new mini stories into the mix. Read it in aday in the sun with aglass of wine!
Slightly disorientated by the structure and viewpoint jumps, but enjoyed it very much on the whole. My current fav author...or one of them!
It had one really good twist about two-thirds of the way through but other parts seemed to drag on a bit. I would have liked a little more background detail to have been woven in, in respect of some of the peripheral characters.
I love the way JoJo Moyes writes. She always keeps me interested till the end. I love her characters and details. A good story!
I didn't enjoy this as much as The Ship of Brides - mainly because the central character was so self-absorbed, but I persisted and as the story unfolded it became more interesting.
For me, this was an enjoyable light read. I enjoyed the description of the shop, countryside and characters.
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Jojo Moyes (born 1969) is a British novelist.
Moyes studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. She won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to study journalism at City University and subsequently worked for The Independent for 10 years. In 2001 she became a full time novelist.
Moyes' novel Foreign Fruit won the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) Romantic Novel of the Year in 200...more
More about Jojo Moyes...
Moyes studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. She won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to study journalism at City University and subsequently worked for The Independent for 10 years. In 2001 she became a full time novelist.
Moyes' novel Foreign Fruit won the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) Romantic Novel of the Year in 200...more
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Sep 05, 2012 03:09pm