This novel was set up in an interesting way, devoting chapters to Penelope and individual members of her family, but also to more secondary characters such as Antonia and Dannus (the bright spots). Each snapshot gives characters their own unique voice.
The Shell Seekers by Rosamonde Pilcher is written with a dual timeline, WWII and present day which was 1987. Penelope Keeling had a heart attack at the age of 64, this caused her to reflect on her life. Penelope’s three children were a bit hard to take. Olivia seemed the most sensible, although loaded with the “I am woman hear me roar” vibe, at least she was not greedy like her siblings. Nancy and Noel were unlikeable and self-absorbed, I waited and waited for their characters to grow and develop, I’m still waiting.
Pilcher’s writing was unique in that she used the senses extremely well. Her ability to make readers hear the ticking clock, smell the food being served, hear bird’s song, and even feel the importance of plants as a symbol of growth highlight the best parts of the book. Growth from the plants was the only growth Penelope saw. Her husband’s self absorbed character seemed to have been passed on to the kids. He left Penelope and ran off with his secretary leaving a young mother to raise the kids alone and pay off his gambling debts.
Penelope grew up in a loving and welcoming home with a famous artist for a father. Nancy and Noel are eager to sell the beloved painting of Lawrence Stern called The Shell Seekers.
Penelope thinks, “perhaps she had not expected enough of them.” “I have given them all I can and they always want more.”The first sentence of Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina is: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This explains the book in a nutshell. People wrapped up in themselves make small packages. This book did not bring God into the equation at all and that seems to create quite an emptiness. God has a purpose for each of us and it is not to indulge oneself. Growth is needed to move forward. The Shell Seekers shows the tension families have when will collide. Won’t you join us for the ride?