The Peacock Emporium: A Novel

I liked the lady finally figured out who she was and what she wanted out of life.

I really enjoyed the richness and color of this book, the descriptions of the countryside and the people and the times they were living in. I did find it difficult to empathize with the main characters, finding them self-absorbed and seemingly unaware of others around them and their needs. That made it a slow read at time, but the author did succeed in creating a real struggle for the reader to accept the unhappiness both Susanna and Arturo carried with them. Of course, I guess this was necessary for us to see how they were judged by their families and other around them. Jessie was the counterpoint against them, strongly caring about them both but also not buying into the entitlement both main characters seemed to feel. After all, THEY were disappointed in life, THEY had been treated unkindly by fate. However, Jessie had many more real problems with her abusive husband, and yet she was happy; fulfilled in her small part in Susanna’s small shop. While Susanna opened the shop in an effort to avoid having a baby she didn’t want with a kind husband whose only desire was to make her happy, although he had little idea of how to do that, Jessie loved working there and loved the people who visited there. She contrasts with the self-centered pity Susanna feels and is sometimes the only bright spot in the story. Vivi, Susanna’s stepmother, also has a difficult life, catering to an ungrateful mother-in-law and family. She, like Susanna, is quite sorry for herself, but finally has an epiphany and breaks out of her self-fulfilling unhappiness.Finally, there is a resolution to all this unhappiness, a tragedy that realigns everyone’s priorities, and the happy but real-life ending is able to occur. Life will never be perfect, but by knowing themselves better each of the characters is able to choose the things in life that really matter to them in the end.

Loved these characters. Each flawed and limited and how they come shining thru, each in their own way, in spite of many obstacles. A fascinating story.

I have read alot of her books, she us ve=y entertaining and always keeps the reader in the book. This book jumps around with different characters without warning finding it hard to keep reading, but I spent the money so I want to finish. But I do not recommend this book. Confusion, not sure what the goal is, finding myself looking back to see if I have missed something in precious chapters.

I can't say this is my favorite Jojo Moyes book but it never the less entertained me. She always writes about the most interesting of circumstances and her characters are always truly loveable .

This book was written in 2004, by Jojo Moyes, but was re-released currently. There were many problems with the plot it felt disjointed, the pacing was off, and the characters were not very interesting and somewhat flat. It was hard to say who the main characters were until half way through the book. The character, Suzanna, did not garner much sympathy from me, making it hard to care about the outcome of her situation and continue reading the book.

Jojo has another winner! I recommend readding all her books. Easy, fast reads because she keeps the readers interest!

As others have mentioned, Suzanne Peacock is not the most likeable character. It also took me a bit to straighten everyone out during the first part of the novel as it jumps back and forth between time and countries. There is a lot going on in a short period of time and of course a family secret that comes out.

First of all, don't be taken in by the cover illustration, which is totally wrong for the book. It gives the impression that this is lighthearted, quirky 'chick-lit', which it certainly isn't. That doesn't make it a bad book, just don't read it if you want an easy read which will cheer you up. The same goes for the lighthearted title. Although there are some laugh out loud moments, this is a fairly uncomfortable read.Even a 'lesser' JoJo Moyes book is better than most others' best efforts, so in a way it is difficult to criticise. It is intelligently written and like most of her other books is complex and multi-layered, requiring total concentration from the reader and even going back and re-reading bits to make sure you didn't miss something somewhere. The main problem is that most of the characters, with the exception of Vivi and to some extent Jessie, are so unlikeable and dysfunctional that you want to slap them. Vivi you want to shake rather than slap, but at least you have some sympathy for her. By the end of the book and following the arc of development of the characters, you can understand why they are like they are, but it means a long wait and a lot of annoyance and exasperation on the part of the reader before you come to this understanding, and I'm not sure if it's worth the hours spent disliking almost everybody just to get to the end. Having said that, it must take a good deal of talent and confidence to write a book where the characters are mostly so unlikeable and annoying that there's a fair chance of alienating most of your readers. I can't say I enjoyed the book exactly, but I recognise that Ms Moyes is a very good writer. On balance I would rather have a book that is well written to the point where it makes me genuinely dislike most of the characters, than one where they are one dimensional and shallow and the writing is poor. But it is rather heavy going.PS Edit. Thinking about it, there are some minor characters who are rather poignant and even likeable. The writer does poignant very well and it would have been good to hear more about those characters.

An incredibly good read, her books are so dense with observations, plots and sub plots they take over until you're at the end.

Loved the book as usual Jo Jo Moynes didn’t disappointStarted a bit slow but just got better.

you know what’s going to happen, but its worth going with the flow,characters arewell drawn, and can be easily identified.

Hello,I have now read 7of you books and have already downloaded my next two,this Peacock Emporium bi have just read has been the only one so far I have really struggled to get through sadly.I still say your other books make you one of the best authors I have read .This book seem to be all over the place for me and has taken several days to finish unlike all your others I read a new book every dayI am not going to give up,I will read the other two and leave my honest feedback.after Al I am only one person..I live in hopes...