A Risk Worth Taking

I didnt think that I would enjoy this book when I picked it up. And while reading it, I was amazed at how much I was getting into the story. I say this because it really lacks a driving plot. Maybe because I have read way to many mysteries and thrillers where its almost impossible to break the mold of tradition where you start in point x and end in point y that it was very enjoyable to be swept up in a story where you truly do not know what was going to happen next. The author, Pilcher also does a great job of second hand story telling. By this I mean he will have a character sit down say in a pub and tell an engrossing tale to another character which allows for the reader to be swept off on a tangent. I found that Pilcher really knows what he is doing when it comes to moving a story along and it was hard to put down this title because of that. Lastly, the only fault that I found here was that besides the main character Dan the Man, the supporting cast was not fleshed out very well. I liked Dan and found him to be very human as he was undergoing a life transforming change. But the others in the book (his children, mother, wife, and acquaintances) were not pushed as far as they could have been. They change, but the change is too simple. I would highly recommend this book.

I enjoyed the audio book [full-text]. The writing was clear and interesting, and most of the characters likable and their motives believable. The outcome was satisfying, with a hint of something even better. Did Dan take the risk referred to or did Patrick? My answer may not be yours.

Like many of Robin Pilchers readers, I tried a second book by him (the first was Starting Over) in a vain attempt to find something similar to the books written by the authors far more talented mother, Rosamunde Pilcher, who, sadly, has stopped writing. Again -- a complete disappointment. Robin Pilcher has learned some of his mothers narrative skills but has never managed to make any of his characters into someone most of us actually want to read about: Dan Porter is another obtuse, unlikeable man, whose wife I wholeheartedly symphathize with -- Id leave him too. Pilchers characters are shallow and uninteresting, with ridiculous motivations (for example, why would Dan Porter decide to stay home for his family, turning down all job offers and knowingly causing chaos in the process; but neglect to tell his family about his reasons for doing so?). I have trudged through two Robin Pilcher novels and I wont try another one. For those who think they might like to read this book, I strongly urge them to start with the Rosamunde Pilcher novels instead.

Pilcher introduces us to a man who at a prime time in his life decides there must be more. From prestigious home in the suburbs of London he travels to a frigid region in northern Scotland to explore a new job opportunity there. Something that would give more meaning to his life. Yearning for change and examining our life is a task that most of us experience several times during a lifetime. Finding the courage to make the changes was a primary point Pilcher was striving to get across. A thought provoking read.

I took a risk on reading a new book by a new Author I have not had the pleasure of reading and let me say; it was a risk worth taking. I will be purshasing more Robin Pilcher books. It doesnt hurt that his Mum is one of my favorites.

Robin Pilcher is the son of a famous female novelist, but despite laboring under that burden, he seems to have developed into a good writer. I ve only read one of his books, but A Risk Worth Taking is a good novel about the fork in the road we can find ourselves in in middle age. Dan Porter is a victim of the Dot Com bubble bursting and taking his job and most of his money with it. So at age 50 he finds himself jobless, on the dole so to speak while his beautiful wife of 20 years, Jackie, keeps her upper crust job and has to become the supprt of the family. In a common scenario, Dan is blind to whats going on around him. He doesnt see Jackies increasing contempt for the failure whos lying around the house while she becomes the man of the house. He doesnt notice that she has no time for him anymore, no time or interest in sex and not much in their three children. She is just plain unhappy at home. She is happy only at work where she labors beside a good looking young man who has become her partner and emotional support, a young man who has wanted her for more than sex for years and is just biding his time until the cracks develop in her dying marriage. And then one day Dan sees a story in a magazine about a little company that is producing a wildly popular clothing line in the wilds of Scotland and decides to take a chance on buying it and revitalizing his life and his marriage. That falls through, but in the process of traveling to the North, he meets a dying man who runs a seafood business about which Dan knows absolutely nothing. But the owner likes Dan, sees a kindred spirit, and invites him to work for him for four months while hes short handed. Having not much better to do, he tells his wife hell be staying in Scotland for four months. Dans son joins him and develops an interest in and talent for the new business, as well as finding a new girlfriend. And for the first time, Dan has a chance to get to know his son and the kind of man he is becoming. While most readers can see whats coming, Pilcher does a good job of making the pieces come together into a picture of what Dans life could be, if he could persuade Jackie and their children to join him in the wilds of Scotland. Dan is an attractive and likeable character and the reader is rooting for him to make a new life, and for his eyes to be opened to who and what Jackie has become while he wasnt paying attention. I liked the book, but I only gave it four stars because it isnt the book it could have been, or should have been. This is an era when readers are supposed to like short, easily read novels. Pilcher develops a great linchpin character in Dan, and some other likeable characters like the owner who gives him a new chance at life. But nobody else really comes to life. Theyre sketchy characters designed to take up space around Dan. And, worst of all, Jackie is a cliched zero. She is THE BITCH. Thats basically her function. In a movie, viewers would hiss when she comes on screen. This is a woman who has been Dans partner in life for 20 years, the mother of his children. Dan loved her at one time.There must have been a reason. And he hasnt fought for her because he never even knew there was a fight to be waged. Im sure this happens a million times a day around the globe, but a story about two people who loved each needs to have SOME conflict. There needs to be even a hint of what the two of them had at one time. But its basically just ho hum. I lost my wife. Too bad. I think Ill go up to Scotland and see if I can find another woman. What Im saying, I guess in my long winded way, is that this is a good novel, with a very, very crappy ending.

This is a delightfully, well written story. The characters feel like friends and caring about their lives is easy and thought provoking. Thanks for a great book. Didnt want it to end.

A Risk worth Taking follows the adventures of Dan Porter, unemployed, unsuccessful house husband of career-driven wife, and father of three. Dan impulsively goes to Scotland, gets himself involved with a woman running a mail-order business, and changes his life completely. Trouble is that Dan and the other characters are entirely two-dimensional, the plot dreadfully contrived, and the whole tale boringly predictable. All Robin Pilchers male characters are somewhat similar - selfish, irresponsible and foolish. The women are all sex objects, with the occasional career thrown in to make it PC. The kids are cardboard cut-outs from a choose your own problem child handbook. Throw in the odd Type A, B, or C businessman/politician, etc., and there you have it. This level of writing and story-telling is acceptable if you want something like a Womans Own story. If you want something a little more creative and challenging, more of a meal than a gooey doughnut with your cup of tea, look elsewhere.