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An Ocean Apart: A Novel
by Robin Pilcher
Product Group: Book
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (1999-11-15)
ISBN: 0312971842
EAN: 9780312971847
Dewy Decimal #: 823.914
Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
Edition: 1st
SKU: 04292
Condition: Collectible: Very Go
Comments: first edition book, in great condition
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
For six dreadful months, David Corstorphine has tried to come to terms with his young wife's death, while caring for his three motherless children. Try as he may, David is unable to return to work, and his only form of solace comes from working in the garden of his parents' estate in the Scottish countryside.
Dispatched unexpectedly to New York, David's family hopes that the impromptu business trip will help him get back on his feet. But the journey proves both disastrous and heartening. David finds himself settling in comfortably among the strangers of a seaside Long Island town, and takes a job as a gardener. But it is the people he meets, the pain he confronts, and the joy he is able to once again experience that prove to be magically transformative-- and as David learns to accept his enormous loss, he is able to open his heart to love once again.
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Customer Reviews
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An ordinary romance
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-01-03
It's not Robin Pilcher's fault that his was the first Pilcher I could lay my hands on after finishing his mother Rosamunde's Winter Solstice. An Ocean Apart is a perfectly good romance, but not in the class of Winter Solstice.
David Costorphine is the son of a Scottish lord who has just lost his beloved wife Rachel to ovarian cancer. Devastated, he grabs an opportunity to stay in America where no one knows him or his sorrow. He ends up as the gardener for a high-powered woman on Long Island, NY. Her husband is away on business all the time and her son is basically being raised by the maid. Meanwhile, back in Scotland, corporate maneuvering is afoot to wrestle control of the family-owned whisky distillery into the hands of an evil conglomerate.
If this synopsis sounds appealing, you will enjoy this book. It's Long Island rather than Scotland that shines as a setting, which may disconcert an American reader, but David is a well-drawn character whose grief is well depicted. The author introduces him in a roundabout way, but once the action is underway the story finds its pace.
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ANOTHER KEEPER BY A PILCHER
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-06-27
1 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I have enjoyed Rosamunde Pilcher for a long, long time and recently finished
Winter Solstice which is now in my "Keeper Library" and "An Ocean Apart" will also be there as I intend to read it again........slowly the next time. Read this one fast as I was so anxious to find out what would happen next. Truly a good story and one of the few that is not filled with sex and violence. Makes one feel
good to know there are still writers out there who do not need to use profanity for every other word and to realize there are still good people around us. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, ROBIN.
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I thoroughly enjoy the writing of Pilcher
Rating  (4)
Date: 2005-05-02
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I first found Pilcher when I picked up 'A Risk Worth Taking.' This book was enchanting in the way it built up characters and hurried the reader effortlessly along without the crutch of an overall plot for the first half of the book. Which is quite an achievement if you think about it. And because I enjoyed 'Risk' so much I decided to read the rest of Pilcher's work as well.
As I read 'An Ocean Apart' I found myself comparing it to 'A Risk Worth Taking' quite often. Five or six years of time lay between the two and the growth of Pilcher's ability as an author during this time is apparent. First of all 'Risk' is overflowing with sentimentality and syrup. At times the lives portrayed were so idyllic and content (even though they were undergoing conflict) that it was difficult to take. 'Risk' on the other hand has dampened this exuberance if just a bit and by doing so allowed for the penultimate moments to become ever more vivid. Also the plot of 'Ocean' is quite predictable even if Pilcher adds in several curves that muddy expectations over the details. 'Ocean' follows a very traditional linear plot line that you will have encountered countless times be it in another book or the TV movie of the week. 'Risk' however is very unusual and I would recommend that title as a starting point to any who are looking for something new and enticing plot wise.
Pilcher writes about the upper class. And it is evident that he harbors deep feelings even if subconscious on his part over class structure and its place in the world, which is fascinating unto itself, watching these aspects pop out in unexpected places. I am envious of the world Robin Pilcher must live in. He has such a positive view on life. When you read one of his books you will find yourself saying again and again, 'Ahhh, this is the way the world should be.' I look forwards to many more books by Pilcher in the future. I hope that he continues to grow as an author and continues the trend away from the traditional plot line that is so engrossing in 'Risk.' I think that he could end up as a shining light in literature if he does so. And 'Ocean' is not only an enjoyable read put forwards by an author just finding his own legs, but a beacon showing a precursor of promise that I hope is realized in the years to come.
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What were you thinking??
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-03-29
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I just finished Pilcher's An Ocean Apart and loved it!! I have also read A Risk Worth Taking and Starting Over and loved both of them as well. The son can certainly implant a character into the story just as strongly or more so than mom. I loved the flashback in the beginning where he hears a song on the radio and it takes you back to his university days where he meets Rachel.
What the other reader was thinking or reading to give such a negative review I have no idea. But obviously he/she knows not "good read".
If you like the writing styles of Pilcher, Binchy, Belva Plain and the likes, you will enjoy this book.
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Thoroughly Enjoyable!!!
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-03-06
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
The book was given to me by my daughter to read. We both love Rosemunde Pilcher and thought it worth a try. We loved the book. It was a little slow in the beginning but then I hated to put it down. It is a great "feel good" book. Never having lost a mate but having had trials that at times has made me want to run away, I can see wanting to live where no one knows you. Remember he did keep in touch with his family and children, and he did NOT know about the underhanded work of Duncan, I found the book believable. I loved it!
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