A Risk Worth Taking

"A Risk Worth Taking" by Robin Pilcher, is the first book that I have read by this author. I found the novel to be well-written with a good plot, interesting characters, and settings that were very well described. The settings take place between England and Scotland, which I enjoyed. At first, I wasn't a fan of Dan, the main character. However, as I continued reading, I felt that he was perhaps a little depressed. His character does grow on you. His wife, Jackie, wasn't the warmest character, but I believe her frustrations led her to act the way she did. Overall, a good read. My only negative comment is that the ending was too abrupt.

"A Risk Worth Taking" by Robin Pilcher, is the first book that I have read by this author. I found the novel to be well-written with a good plot, interesting characters, and settings that were very well described. The settings take place between England and Scotland, which I enjoyed. At first, I wasn't a fan of Dan, the main character. However, as I continued reading, I felt that he was perhaps a little depressed. His character does grow on you. His wife, Jackie, wasn't the warmest character, but I believe her frustrations led her to act the way she did. Overall, a good read. My only negative comment is that the ending was too abrupt.

Dan Porter lives in suburban London with his wife and three children. As a two-income family, Dan and his wife Rebecca were basically living in the dream world they expected to create for themselves. But Dan lost his job months ago and now the initial welcome felt by a wife and children in having a stay-at-home husband and father while he looked for work has worn off. As Dan begins to sort through his own feelings of guilt in not finding employment he also begins to question what type of work he really wants to pursue. Rebecca’s feelings change as her resentment builds as the responsibility of being the sole breadwinner begins to overpower any other emotions. As the children have changes in their lives, Dan's encouragement to them is show more over-shadowed by the change they see in his confidence and they begin to see his part in their lives as intrusion.

This story is not an action-packed, suspenseful thriller. But it is a page-turning novel as an intimate portrayal of the changes in a family as the dynamics of a two-income family that has always had a level of financial security changes to multiple unknowns. The initial setting of London could be any major city around the world. However, as the job opportunity for Dan changes there could only be one location that could be so lovingly portrayed and so unique to the outcome of the story as in the corner of the world in Scotland portrayed by Robin Pilcher.

It is a story about a family "in crisis" that is thoughtfully written with care to express all of the human emotions of family dynamics (i.e. husband/wife, wife/husband, parent/child, mother/children, father/children, husband/son, husband/mother, wife/mother-in-law). The story also portrays how easily a man and a woman in the same relationship and having the same daily experiences can and sometimes do view things so very differently. It is a story of parental love, the nurturing love between parent and child and from child to parent. It is also a story of resilience and the daily choices that each individual faces on their life journey. show less

This is Robin Pilcher's third novel. I thoroughly enjoyed his first two; he's Rosamunde Pilcher's son, and while his writing is sometimes cruder than hers, and the endings tend to be left rather open, I still find the style eminently readable and his characters likeable. Perhaps it's typical of a male author that the men seem mostly real and the women rather caricatured.

It's the story of a marriage with problems that aren't likely to be resolved. I didn't like it as much as the others to start with, partly because there were no female characters I could empathise with and partly because there seemed to be a lot of digs (at the church, for instance) and assumptions (eg that private schools are better than state ones) that weren't show more explored. There was also a fair amount of business talk in the middle of the book, which I skimmed.

But still, I got drawn into the main character's life and those of people he met in the second half of the book, and by the last few chapters could hardly put it down. Enjoyed again 18 years after first reading, but found the ending rather unsatisfactory.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-risk-worth-taking-by-robin-pilche... show less

Dan had a perfect life with his wife and family and a high-powered job in the city when he is made redundant and for the first time in his life doesn't know what to do. His wife is too busy with her job which includes foreign travel to notice how hard it is for him. His mother gives him a magazine for the recipe and he reads and article which will change everything.

I enjoyed this book which is a quick light read and the scenes in Scotland are written well giving you the feeling that you are really there. I also loved the character of Battersea Gran.

The ending however was very abrupt and it really needs a sequel.

This is a "what if" book: what if Dan Porter hadn't grown up in a working class neighborhood, what if he decided he wanted to get out and did, what if he then hadn't been a money-making success, what if he then hadn't lost this fantastic job and what if he hadn't come to realize that maybe life isn't really about making money after all. All these "what ifs" lead to a heart-warming tale of kindness, friendship, humor, and a family's dissolving and build-up. This family's relationship to one another is extremely interesting and one would hope that this could somehow be the positive outcome for people in a similar situation. Dan Porter's relationship to his mother is an outstanding example- were all parents so blessed.

The main character in this novel is Dan Porter, a middle-aged Londoner working for an American based investment company. He loses his job during the dot.com bust and then watches as many of his American co-workers die in the 9/11 attack. Forced to look at his career, marriage and life direction, he makes some decisions for change. As the story unfolds and his life takes unforeseen directions, he has to look at how his decisions affect his wife and children and decide if his decisions are really for the benefit of his family or just self-indulgent. A few pages into the book I thought it might develop into a totally cliched novel best suited to a Lifetime TV channel movie. But I was pleased to see it develop into an interesting character show more study. I enjoyed it very much. This is the first book I have read by Robin Pilcher who is the son of novelist Rosamund Pilcher. show less