An Ocean Apart (by Robin Pilcher)

I discovered Robin Pilcher over twenty years ago; his mother was the better-known late Rosamunde Pilcher, so I was intrigued - and absolutely loved his first novel ‘An Ocean Apart’.  I re-read it in 2017, and have just finished reading it for the third time. Happily I had forgotten most of the storyline (other than the bare bones of the plot) and quickly found myself engrossed once more.

It’s quite a long novel, and it features a man called David who must be around forty. He is quite depressed at the start of the novel, having recently lost his wife of 18 years. He is staying with his parents - who are Scottish - and his three children are at boarding school: their choice, not his. He’s been off work since he nursed his wife through her final illness, and has been doing some gardening. 

Then a crisis happens at the office and David is told he’s the only person available to visit the United States for an important meeting. His parents think it might be good for him to get away for a few days, but jet-lag and too much drinking get the better of him, and the meeting is a disaster. David falls into an even deeper depression, not helped by having caught the flu… 

But he’s a strong character. I liked David very much indeed; Robin Pilcher has a gift of characterisation resembling that of his mother, and all the people in the book seem three-dimensional. David stays longer in the United States than he was planning to, and makes friends there; as an unknown person, doing some gardening as a temporary job, he feels safer than he was back in Scotland where everyone kept expressing sympathy and asking how he was doing. 

As well as the story of David’s gradual healing from the worst of his depression, there’s a business thread involving some shady dealings at his father’s company. Some of this went a bit over my head, but it didn’t much matter; it runs alongside the main plot, and provides another dramatic incentive for David to finally pack up and return home. 

There’s a low-key romantic thread which doesn’t get resolved until the last few pages; there are some lovely friendships made, there’s a terrific housekeeper character called Jasmine, and some very poignant scenes. The writing is excellent, the plot well-crafted (even if there’s just a tad of coincidence in the final couple of chapters - again a little reminiscent of Rosamunde Pilcher), and the people so well-drawn that I found myself wondering how they were all doing a couple of hours after I finished the book.

Very highly recommended; it’s in the genre of women’s fiction but I don’t see why men wouldn’t like it too, if they want some light character-based reading with nothing too stressful. It would make ideal holiday reading. 

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews