BOOK REVIEW: Starburst by Robin Pilcher

This is a story about seven people and how their lives touch each other during the annual Edinburgh Festival. Tess, the recently married young woman who works for the Festival, Roger who does the fireworks for the closing of the Festival, Angélique, the young French violinist who performs at the Festival, Albert, Angélique 's manager who has kept tight reins on her, Rene, the mom turned comedienne who performs at the Festival Fringe, Leonard, the retired cameraman who ends up financing a film made at the Festival, T.K., Leonard's apprentice, who fights to stay out of jail for stealing cars, and Jamie, the young owner of the boarding house in Edinburgh who brings most of the other characters together.

This book came out in 2007, but I just got around to reading it last month. I've read other Robin Pilcher books as well as books written by his mother Rosamunde Pilcher and have enjoyed them all.

Actually, I listened to the first half of Starburst, from CDs checked out at the public library while on a road trip. However, we got home before the finishing the book, so the last half was read on a Kindle.

The book uses English and Scottish dialogue so I'm glad I had a chance to listen to it first. The reader, John Lee, did an excellent job with the accents. So, by the time I started reading the Kindle, I could still hear the accents of the various characters.

This is a good, entertaining story with some suspense and some romance. It's not quite what I usually review for my Christian Bookmobile blog, but I would recommend it to anyone. There are some emotional parts that will bring tears to your eyes, but you'll also laugh out loud in places. I love the type of story were good things happen to good people, and I wasn't disappointed.

I've been to Edinburgh several times so I had a good feel for the locale which was the background for the story. However, I've never been there for the Festival and now I would like to go. This year it is being held as I write this review, August 13 to September 5, 2010.

Audible Books -- Great for Long Road Trips

Celeste and I attended the Berkshire Choral Festival this year, and decided to drive to Sheffield, Massachusetts so we could visit friends and family on the way. We had a wonderful time at the Festival, met some new friends, enjoyed learning new music, and participated in a powerful performance.

The visiting was great, too. I saw where she lived and met more of her friends, revisited with family. She met or revisited my friends and family. We stayed with friends and family most of the way.

I wondered if sitting next to each other in the confines of an automobile for 4,400 plus miles could take its toll on a marriage of four months.

But we made it.

Just before we left, my dentist suggested books on CD. She said it saved her marriage. I wasn't really worried about my marriage, but it sounded like a great idea. To be able to "read" while driving intrigued me. I bought two books, John Grisham's Playing for Pizza and Lis Wiehl's Hand of Fate, before Celeste mentioned CD books were probably available at the library.

So, I went to the Georgetown Library and found two more books, Marley and Me, by John Grogan and Starburst: A Novel by Robin Pilcher.

When we got home, we had only the second half of Pilcher's book remaining. So, I bought it in the Kindle edition to read the rest. We donated the purchased books to the library.

What I learned is that it is fun to listen to books on the road and it definitely makes the time go by faster. You have to be careful driving and be willing to hit the off button when driving requires your full attention.

Another thing I learned was that the readers are quite talented. I could feel gender, ethnicity, dialect, and mood all from a single person reading the book. By the time I started reading Pilcher's book on the Kindle, I could still hear the Scottish accents vs. the English and French accents of characters. It was amazing.

However, I also learned I don't want to listen to a book on CD at home or during short trips in the car. I need at least an hour to listen and then I can't wait too long before the next part.

How about you? Have you ever listened to a book?

For more information, see:

http://audible.com/
http://www.audiobookstand.com/
http://www.weread4you.com/
http://www.bookrix.com/