awful

A bit slow to start with, and rather a lot of characters... however they all converge in the Edinburgh Fringe, and once the story gets going, it's very much a page-turner.

A brilliant young French violinist, an elderly film maker, a comedienne from Yorkshire and a neglected teenager who's an expert car thief are four of the main characters in this memorable and sometimes moving book.

Definitely recommended.

Latest longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/03/starburst-by-robin-pilcher.html ( )

I really liked this book because the characters were well developed, the backdrop of the Edinburgh Festival brought the various pieces together and the characters acted and reacted like normal people.

The various characters are all in Edinburgh in August to take part in the Festival in some way or another. Some are performers, some do work related to the Festival or just happen to live in Edinburgh. They all get intertwined while the book plays out the story of their individual lives. ( )

This is the first time I have read this book, but I did listen to it as an audiobook a few years ago. It is a relatively long book and an interesting story. It is above a beach read, but not Jane Austen in the spectrum of fiction. I like the way Pilcher writes: good descriptions, lots of interesting characters, little gratuitious violence.

The story hinges around the Edinburgh Festival, which is, apparently, held in July/August each year. The various characters all have a part in the Festival. There are some characters' stories that are more well developed than others. I thought that about the work Leonard Hartson is doing at the Festival, but think, perhaps, that Leonard is a supporting player in T.K.'s story.

I was impatient with the story until Angelique has her accident. Then I really started to enjoy it. I thought about whether or not [a:Robin Pilcher|44557|Robin Pilcher|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] could have skipped the parts leading up to that event and realized that the background really helped me enjoy the rest of the story.

I hope Pilcher writes a sequel, because I am interested in knowing what happens to the various characters. ( )

I listened to the audio version of this novel read by John Lee who is a wonderful reader no matter what book he is interpreting, but his accents representing all the various brogues of Great Britain as well as his French inflection really made the story come alive. It is really a "feel good" type of novel with in depth character development, and having been in Edinburgh during "The Fringe" several years ago, it was especially enjoyable. ( )