From the Bookshelf of On The Same Page …

Winter Solstice

Rosamunde Pilcher

Start date: December 1, 2021

Finish date: December 30, 2021

Discussion: On The Same Page Monthly Reads

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On The Same Page Monthly Reads

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* What to read in December 2023
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last updated Nov 07, 2023 10:11AM

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What Members Thought

Dec 24, 2023 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: libby, ill-request, audio-avail-ill, interlibloan, favorite-authors, favorites, british, library, cozy-comforts, british-setting

What a perfect holiday (or really anytime) read! I loved this, and just like every book by this author, even though it was long, I’d have been happy with another 200 or so pages. I’m determined to read all of her work.

Elfrida Phipps was once on the London stage and is now retired at 62. This and other life changes lead her to move to the British countryside, and we find her at the beginning of the novel, having settled in for just over a year in her cozy village cottage in Hampshire.

A rather s What a perfect holiday (or really anytime) read! I loved this, and just like every book by this author, even though it was long, I’d have been happy with another 200 or so pages. I’m determined to read all of her work.

Elfrida Phipps was once on the London stage and is now retired at 62. This and other life changes lead her to move to the British countryside, and we find her at the beginning of the novel, having settled in for just over a year in her cozy village cottage in Hampshire.

A rather sudden, tragic event occurs, and in the aftermath, Elfrida and four other people (one 60-ish, a teen, and a couple of thirty-somethings) are drawn together at Christmastime. (The biggest part of the story takes place way before Christmas, but by the time of the winter solstice, they have all come together.)

I first found this author’s work with her novel, Coming Home. That book is around 1000 pages and the audiobook was upwards of forty hours. I never wanted it to end. How often does that happen?! Usually by the end of a long book, I’m glad to be finished.

This one is about half the size, but Pilcher has a way of creating such a wonderful community of people in some sort of picturesque setting, usually near the sea, and I just never want to leave. (We wind up in the north of Scotland near the sea by the close of this one, but not before spending some time in the Cotswolds.)

What a cozy, wonderful, feel-good read. It’s possible I enjoyed this one even more than Coming Home, and finishing it on the winter’s solstice was just perfect. I so wish she had written a sequel, as I would love to see how all of the characters’ lives turned out! The younger ones, especially, were at pivotal points. (Rosamunde, Resurrect! Please 🙏🏻)

There are at least two audio versions of this. I prefer Lisa Burgett’s version to Jilly Bond’s, which became a bit squeaky at times. Both are available on Libby, but Audible only has the Bond version, I believe.

If you’re in the mood for a cozy escape read where a group of people come together to help each other, this may be exactly the book you’ve been looking for. Apparently a bunch of ppl read this every year, and next year, I may be joining them. 😀

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

...more

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Feb 23, 2022 Laurel Bradshaw rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, scotland, chunky-plus-600, audible-purchased, contemporary-fiction, color-rating-pink, england, christmas, 2022-random-lists

3.5 pink stars. A predictable, though too good to be true, Hallmark-style, Christmas comfort read. I enjoy the long drawn-out descriptions of people doing fairly ordinary things. A bit dated perhaps - until Elfrida reveals her age you might think she was 82, not 62... I liked the mix of generations, although when the narration first switched from Elfrida's story to Sam's story, it was so abrupt, and no clue who this person was and how he was going to fit into the story. Nothing special here, but 3.5 pink stars. A predictable, though too good to be true, Hallmark-style, Christmas comfort read. I enjoy the long drawn-out descriptions of people doing fairly ordinary things. A bit dated perhaps - until Elfrida reveals her age you might think she was 82, not 62... I liked the mix of generations, although when the narration first switched from Elfrida's story to Sam's story, it was so abrupt, and no clue who this person was and how he was going to fit into the story. Nothing special here, but I would read more of this author.

Description from Publisher's Weekly: Colorful Elfrida Phipps, 60-ish and single, has retired from a lifetime on the stage to a country retreat in Hampshire, England. There, she is befriended by Oscar and Gloria Blundell and their 12-year-old daughter, Francesca. Oscar, an organist, is somewhat older than his wife and the Blundells live in Gloria's family house. When Gloria and Francesca die in an automobile accident, Gloria's sons from a previous marriage inform Oscar that they are selling the property and he must leave. Elfrida persuades the grief-stricken, penniless Oscar to return to his childhood haunt, Corrydale, in Creagan, Scotland. His grandmother's grand estate is now a hotel, but the former estate manager's house is vacant and still belongs to the family. With few ties herself, Elfrida moves with Oscar to Creagan, where he plans to escape the upcoming Christmas festivities and the sad memories they will arouse. A distant relative of Elfrida's is also looking for a quiet place to spend the holidays. Beautiful, stylish 30-year-old Carrie Sutton is escaping a painful love affair. She has rescued her 14-year-old niece, Lucy, from Lucy's neglectful mother and grandmother, and the two seek asylum with Elfrida and Oscar. When handsome, successful, separated Sam Howard knocks on their homey door in a snowstorm, there is nothing to be done but invite him to stay, and the five souls from three generations find Christmas isn't so sad, after all. ...more

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Nov 10, 2022 Lace rated it liked it

A warm and surprising tale of a solstice turning into a Christmas. Main characters from 70+ to 14. Can’t explain it without spoilers. Give it a try.

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Feb 01, 2025 Dana rated it liked it

So highly recommended in book groups, but this book is so slow. I thought it would be a snuggly winter book completely redemptive of the hurt souls within, but just a bit torturous to get to the point.

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Dec 20, 2015 Patricia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-it, reread

This was a great book to read during the Christmas season. An old familiar, and favorite, author with a story of how various characters came together, rather haphazardly, one Christmas in Scotland.

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