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A Risk Worth Taking
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Product Description
After the dot-com bubble burst, Dan Porter is laid off from his job and must decide what is truly important. His wife of 20 years, Jackie, a beautiful and successful managing director for a clothing designer, no longer connects with him. His teenagers Josh, Nina and Millie are distant and confusing. Jackie is tempted by the attentions of a younger man at her office, and thanks to an opportunity suggested by a magazine article, Dan finds himself contemplating a drastic change in his life.A Risk Worth Taking is an engrossing, thought-provoking novel of a man who has to discover what he really values in his work, marriage, and life. Robin Pilcher writes fluidly, and is endlessly interested in the details of his characters’ lives. He has written a poignant and moving story about the real choices adults face when they start taking stock of their lives.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2154168 in Books
- Published on: 2004-02-07
- Formats: Abridged, Audiobook, CD
- Original language: English
- Binding: Audio CD
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Pilcher (An Ocean Apart; Starting Over) crafts another engaging, happy-ending tale in the tradition of his mother, beloved British novelist Rosamunde Pilcher. Dan Porter was a successful London investment banker until the dot-com bubble burst. Now his portfolio's crashed, he's lost his job, and his beautiful wife, Jackie, the managing director of a design firm, is giving him the cold shoulder. His son, Josh, has dropped out of college, and his daughters Millie and Nina are miserable in the public school that dwindling assets force them to attend. A fortuitous inquiry into the sale of a trendy trousers factory in bleak Fort Williams, Scotland (sparked by an article about owner Katie Trenchard, which Dan reads in Woman's Weekly), leads to interim employment at Seascape, the prosperous prawn sales business belonging to Katie's disabled husband, Patrick. As Dan's getting drenched in Scotland, Jackie starts spending more time with Stephen, the design firm's young financial director. Pilcher relies heavily on coincidence, but readers will probably forgive strains on narrative credibility in their eagerness to root for Dan. Dan, Katie and Patrick all get along beautifully (barring one desire-driven slip between the first two, which only proves them human); Josh, who went north with his father, swiftly discards his slacker past for industriousness and affection for a young Latina co-worker, and Dan's stereotypical teenage daughters show emerging admirable traits. Jackie, on the other hand, sins and isn't sorry, so contented readers don't care what happens to her. They will care about Dan, though, and his children and friends, and will approve of Dan's belief that risks are worth taking, and that life can be a great game.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From AudioFile
Robin Pilcher is a solid storyteller with a good ear for dialogue. Throw in some telling detail, and you have a pleasant listening experience. The story focuses on Dan Porter, a securities trader laid off in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He is becoming estranged from his wife and family. After reading an article about a potential business venture, he travels to Scotland and secures a temporary position managing a prawn processing plant. The owner suffers from multiple sclerosis, and Dan becomes involved in his family. Through that, he learns how to relate to his own family. The character change in Dan is not clearly drawn, but this is Pilcher, not Conrad. And the audio abridgment has a few jumps that leave the listener wondering how the characters moved from Point A to Point B. But overall, this is enjoyable. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
Dan Porter had it all: the nice house in suburban London, three children, a beautiful wife, and a great job in finance until the dot-com crash and 9/11 changed his outlook about life and making money. Dan lost a good friend in the tragedy, and is now content being a househusband focusing on his family, while his wife, Jackie, pursues her high-level job with a fashion designer, but changes in income have caused strife. His wife and daughters want their old life back, and Jackie perceives Dan and their son, Josh, as loafers because they seem content with less. Recognizing his wife's discontent, Dan takes action after reading an article in a women's magazine about a woman who started a clothing company in a remote area of Scotland and now wants to sell. Dan travels to Scotland with the hope of buying the company and expanding the business, but he finds something much more valuable. Pilcher offers a charming story about life in the new millennium and one man's pursuit of happiness, a tale that will appeal to both men and women. Patty Engelmann
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