Winter Solstice

This is one of my favourite books of all time. The writing is fantastic, the characters so well penned that I came to care about them, and when I put the book down, I wanted to continue to know these people, which to me is a good indication that the book is top notch. Scotland came to life for me here, and I really wanted to go there at christmas time and experience Scotland at that period. I have read it several times and will continue to pick it up on occasions.

I just finished listening to this book again. I have it on my iPod. I bet I listen to it at least once a year. Probably more than that. I adore Rosamunde Pilcher's world, and I think this is her very best book. I could go on and on about Pilcher. I have read everything she's written. At least, that I know about. I mourned when I found out that she doesn't intend to write another book. This is my favorite author. She is full of warmth. She writes of the comforts of home. A warm fire, comfy chairs [...]

This fluctuates between heartwarming and trashy. A group of loosely connected people wind up together at an estate house in some small Highland town, where they make friends and heal their wounded souls, all in time for Christmas. Parts of it are very sweet, and I’m yearning now to spend a Christmas in the snowy north of Scotland, but the author’s lack of moral clarity was so off-putting that it spoiled the book. It’s as though she couldn’t possibly be so judgmental as to condemn the stu [...]

I love Rosamunde Pilcher. I love everything she's written. Most people rave about The Shell Seekers, and while I love that book as well, it's not my most favorite. Winter Solstice is delightful and thought-provoking. Pilcher's narratives are pure prose. You find yourself immersed in the world of Scottish tweeds and cottages and hospitality. She captures the intense feelings of grief, and the hope that comes when you learn to love again.

This is probably my all time favorite Pilcher book. I love her writing and regularly return to reread old favorites, but Winter Solstice had become a yearly ritual for me. Like most of Pilcher's other novels, this is not an action packed book, but instead is a sweetly told story of people who come together to form an unlikely family.

This is the third Pilcher book I have read. I very begrudgingly read the first one (Coming Home) at recommendation of a good friend. All the covers of Pilcher's books are so hokey and romance novel looking - I was definitely (negatively) judging a book by it's cover and was rather appalled that my friend had thought I would like a book apparently written for my grandmother.But I read it & greatly enjoyed it. Now whenever I need a break from non-fiction or bloody murder mysteries or arty inte [...]

Second read 2018: Found the ending much more emotionally sweet than the first time I read it. Seemed a little redundant in places this time but didn't affect how much I enjoyed Elfrida's and Oscar's lovely story. Note: Pilcher paints these two people as very old. They're 62 and 68. That's my age. That's not old!First read 2011: I must give Rosamund Pilcher's books a 5 star rating. They are set in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland) so that immediately makes it a favorite read. Having been to [...]

I read this shortly after it was published and don't really remember the story so am so glad I decided to re-read. It was absolutely delightful and the perfect time to pick it up! I could see where this was headed early on but it was the slow ride to get there that made it so special. The cast of characters, mis-matched and thrown together, works so well that I really would enjoy a sequel but know that is not going to happen.

Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. A brief time, when darkness predominates. Yet in this brief time, Rosamund Pilcher has set a story filled with light and warmth.The book is classic Pilcher, full of detail and texture, housed in quirky old buildings and peopled with obliging neighbors, wet dogs, unexpected guests and a cast of characters we can grow to love.This is not a book to be rushed through. Don't read it in bits and pieces, wedged into stolen moments during lunch breaks or wh [...]

I needed a go-to book, and I remembered that my GR friend Claude had recently read a few books by Rosamunde Pilcher, and had enjoyed them very much. Since our reading tastes are usually very similar, I thought I would try one. I’m glad I did!I love how all of these characters treated each other with such civility. I miss such courtesy in this day and age. This was a feel-good story all the way. It would be an excellent choice to read at Christmastime… or any other time for that matter. Thank [...]

I was a little impatient with this slow-moving story at first, but in the end was glad that I stayed with it. It’s a warm, comfortable story of people who adrift at the end of a relationship, who find one another and begin anew. It’s not a Romance, but it is a story of love in its many forms. It was a little like a book form of those sweet, staid BBC and PBS shows that seem to mostly feature nice people sitting and talking, or walking and talking, with just enough offscreen drama to keep it [...]

This is basically a great big warm hug of a book! It gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside. I read it every year on the run up to Christmas and every time I open it's pages it's like revisiting old friends. It just gets better and better. Oscar Blundell tragically loses his wife and young daughter in a car crash and retreats to a house in Scotland that he owns half of, intending to spend a subdued Christmas with the support of his dear friend Elfrida. However it just so happens that there are [...]

This was the PERFECT book to read during the holiday season. It was cozy and heartfelt and poignant! To me it felt like Kate Morton without the mystery. It was atmospheric and the descriptions of place and time (and food!) were so rich. And I fell in love with the characters (perhaps minus Carrie who I did not find to be as sympathetic as she was meant to be). I felt like I was spending my Christmas with this group of battered, but big-hearted people. It was a wonderful Christmas-time story.

There is a limited number of books that I have read and reread many times. Re-reading this book as the Christmas Season begins every year has become part of My Christmas Traditions. Love the locations chosen and the images they stir up in my mind. Scotland, trains, older heroine. Have it on my iPhone and iPad. Want to know it is always at my fingertips,

What a lovely, feel-good book to read during the holiday season!

I am only 2 months late in my annual re-read. Worst part is, their will never be a follow-up to the story.This time I read my hard back with my tablet beside me. Googling up places, people, paintings and of course playing Ode to Joy which was the hymn I requested at my wedding. Dh's Aunt played the organ at funeral dirge speed in their Anglican church and my Mennonite relatives sang it at full speed and in 4 part harmony. She had to keep up.Will put it away for next year.

Το διάβασα πριν χρόνια και μου άρεσε πολύ!Τώρα ήρθε η ώρα να ταξιδέψει σε άλλη βιβλιοθήκη.Να τα μοιράζετε τα βιβλία σας, να ταξιδεύουν.Μην τα κρατάτε αιχμάλωτα

Pilcher definitely has a formula, but the cosy and 'heart-warming' qualities of her novels are undeniable. The formula: a disparate set of characters (all suffering from some kind of hurt or loneliness) come together in a welcoming house with delicious food and plenty of whisky. There is healing, some romance, friendship and an overall rapprochement- and it just all very effective. I read this one over the Christmas week, and it really was ideal. I think that The Shell Seekers is still my favour [...]

Opening: Before Elfrida Phipps left London for good, and moved to the country, she made a trip to Battersea Dogs Home, and returned with a canine companion.At 598 pages in hardback this would appear to be a doorstop however it moves along at a quick lick.3* September (high 3)3* Winter Solstice (low 3)-------------------------------------AB A Week in DecemberCR December3* Winter Solstice--------------------------------------2* A Country ChristmasTR A Killer's Christmas in Wales 5* A Child's Chris [...]

This book really disappointed me. While the writing was fun and entertaining and did feel like a holiday (all the cozy cottages and teas and twinkling things), I felt icky inside when I was done with it. The author seems to glorify adultery, divorce and sex outside marriage as long as there's an "understandable" excuse (ie: done in the name of "love"). If you've read the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - this, to me, is Turkish Delight.

I love the settings & the characters in Pilcher's book. She has a knack for making the rather ordinary (Oscar, the church organist who remained a bachelor until late mid-life) seem unique & the rather non-conventional (Elfrida, the London actress) seem cozy, warm & motherly. Set mostly in Scotland, w/ an assortment of extended family members.

This is a charming, albeit long at nearly 600 pages, novel full of lovable odd characters, a freezing Scottish winter, and lots of friendship and love. There is tragedy and loss, but there is also rebirth and recovery. Life goes on. Circumstances change and much like in real life these characters keep going and try to find their place in things. Others have criticized Pilcher's moral code with the drunk-driving and infidelity threads in this novel, but I think Pilcher probably feels much like I [...]

Pilcher is a master craftsman in this novel. Each chapter shifts to the perspective of another character and rotates this way throughout. Actually this is quite brilliant. Often the same scenario is repeated through the eyes of a different character. I found it fascinating to see the different perspectives of the same event. It was also interesting to see the main character through the eyes of each of the other players in the story. First I pictured her as a frumpy old eccentric has-been, then s [...]

This is one of those stories you read when you just want to curl up and be cozy. There's no grand point to it. People don't get robbed or murdered, there's no grasping for power. Just ordinary people in a cozy setting doing cozy things. There were several points when I thought I'd just set the book aside to read something a bit more actiony. But honestly, it was very _restful_ and a great read for a rainy week in early spring. It was nice to just read the details of a few people having a Christm [...]

My words are inadequate in describing what a beautiful story this book represents! This book is just perfect for the Christmas season and it is set in Scotland. And even if you don't agree with all of the characters' actions, the story, as a whole, is about grieving and healing, hope, forgiveness, faith, beauty, and the power of love and friendship. The characters are represented very realistically and it is almost as if you were part of the story itself, and in some ways, I wish I was. I highly [...]

DNF at 24%. This reminded me a lot of Kate Morton but with ultra-traditional gender roles, characters without flaw and no mystery plotline. I didn't understand the characters very well - psychological insight isn't the way Pilcher does characterization. I just didn't want to pick this book up after I put it down, so I didn't.

My all-time favourite Christmas story. This is how Christmas should be: surrounded by those you love and kept simple. Rosamunde Pilcher can create a scene without flowery descriptions or imagery. Her language is simple but draws you right in to the story. I've read all her books that I know of. I read this book every year and have done for probably the last 5 years.

This was a delight. When I told my MIL that I was reading Rosamunde Pilcher she said, "oh I love her! I read all her books in the '70's!" A perfect Christmas read and I'm quite sure I'll find more of her books.

Enjoyable feel-good Christmas read.

хороша така різдвяна книга з теплим новорічним настроєм 💞 Дарує лише позитивні емоції і віру в чудо, адже нічого не стається випадково, особливо перед Різдвом. Рекомендую до прочитання перед святами - вона наповнить вас світлом 😊