The plot of the novel, such as it is, wanders about, changing its point of view, always coming back to Penelope. Actually, the oldest daughter, Nancy, and the son, Noel, are more concerned about how Penelope will be able to take care of her financial assets, which include a painting by her famous artist father called The Shell Seekers. Her two daughters and her son are worried to varying degrees about how she will take care of herself and whether she will continue to be able to live alone. The central character is Penelope Keeling, an elderly widow who has just been released from the hospital after a near-heart attack. The Shell Seekers is set in about the time it was published, 1987, with flashbacks to WW2 and its aftermath. I hate to disagree with any of my esteemed readers, but I found it not comforting, but disturbing. Someone wrote in a comment that she used this book as “comfort food”, not too challenging, but comfortable and easy reading.
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