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| The Vineyard: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Barbara Delinsky
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $24.99 (100%)
New (45) Used (323) Collectible (13) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  50 reviews
Sales Rank: 1097108
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 0684864843
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780684864846
ASIN: 0684864843
Publication Date: June 6, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 No Social Issues Here September 6, 2008
The Vineyard is a delightful, intimate story about women and their families. This is a book of anger, grief, love and affection that will really make you care for the characters.
Simply put, Delinsky is one of the best women's fiction writers out there.
Rich and wonderful story about family and community July 21, 2008
The Seebring family appears to be the perfect family. Mother Natalie oversees a successful winery in Rhode Island, with a beautiful residence and gracious style. Daughter Suzanne is married to a successful businessman and has raised two children, doesn't have to work and busies herself with gourmet cooking. Son Greg has built his own successful business and is married to a smart, lively woman. But when daydreamer Olivia Jones comes to the winery to be Natalie's assistant and write her life history, she learns that nothing is as she imagined it. Recently widowed Natalie is marrying not another wealthy man of property, but a vineyard employee. Greg and Suzanne are so angry they are boycotting the wedding. Just like in real life, it's not black and white, right and wrong. The reader has a privileged view of the past through Natalie's memories, but there are a few surprises along the way.
The Vineyard was such an unexpected pleasure that I am afraid to read Barbara Delinsky's other books in case they aren't as good. The Vineyard is a story about a family and the struggle of the adult children to acknowledge their parents as people. This important transition is an under-discussed phase of maturity that Delinsky handles with grace. The Vineyard is most like the best works of Rosamond Pilcher - yes there's a romance and a happy ending, but in a social context of a family and a community.
Readers who enjoy well-rounded characters in a detailed setting with a touch of romance will love The Vineyard. It's not a family saga, just a story about a summer that brings changes to the Seebring family. I'm crossing my fingers to find more gems among Delinsky's work.
Delinsky does not fail to provide another good read May 7, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
So far, every book I've read by Delinsky (Coast Road, Three Wishes and Lake News) has been one I've had a hard time putting down. And one well worth the read.
There is something about the stories and characters that Delinsky weaves....they instantly pull you in, you care about what will happen to them and you enjoy the journey.
The Vineyard is mainly about family, those that have family and those that don't. It shows that even though you may have family, you may not get along with them, but perhaps it's better to be grateful, since some people don't have any family at all! It's also about courage and strength that people manage to find within themselves to carry them through out the obstacles and tough times in their lives. It's about opening up to other people and finding a good friend. It's about the old saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover"- as each of the characters prove of themselves.
Good read- recommended!
Vintage Violets; Wine At Its Best March 10, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After enjoying FLIRTING WITH PETE and LAKE NEWS I wasn't planning to read more Barbara Delinsky novels right away, since I believed I had already read the ones with themes related to my pursuits or interests.
Then I read THE VINEYARD excerpt at the end of my LAKE NEWS paperback.
I was captured with the ingenious way each main character was introduced by his/her reaction to a wedding invitation from a couple in their 70's and 80's. Of course I wanted to read more; curiosity was precisely stirred from the contrast of negative and positive reactions to this unusual situation.
I bought and read THE VINEYARD, becoming fully involved and pleasantly satisfied with the story, even though I hadn't known I would be so thoroughly engrossed in a family owned vineyard. Was concerned that I might find the history interjections boring and the writing style of an older generation focus a bit too forced (not many writers can capture the beauty and graceful vitality of age until they've arrived there and developed the graciousness).
But, BD handled all with just the right amount of detail, genuine warmth, and ingeniously natural intrusion techniques. For me this book was a reader kidnap, from the first page on.
I have mountains of positive input on this exquisite novel, but I'm testing the effect of short and sweet, instead of writing my typical epistle on a novel. Since I've already slipped on a banana peel heading smack into too long and savory, I'll ...
Another enjoyable book by Barbara Delinsky November 9, 2004
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
THE VINEYARD by Barbara Delinsky
November 8, 2004
I've read a number of books by Barbara Delinsky, most of which I enjoyed a lot. THE VINEYARD is not going to be one of my favorites, but I think I'm going to remember it mainly because I had a hard time liking the main character.
Olivia Jones restores old photographs for a living. She's a single mother, with a daughter (Tess) who has a learning disability. The reader will discover that Olivia is a person that deals with a rough reality by hiding behind daydreams. She in particular finds herself dreaming about the people in the photographs she restores, including a series of them sent to her boss, Otis, by a woman who runs a vineyard.
Natalie Seebring is Otis' client, a woman who is in her twilight years and needs an assistant to help write her life story. Olivia accidentally comes across this request for Otis to recommend someone to fulfill this task, and soon she is dreaming of being that assistant, imagining what each person in those photographs is like. Believe it or not, she soon finds herself working for the matriarch of this family, and she and Tess move to the vineyard to spend the summer there.
The story takes on two main plots. While the story of Natalie's life is being told, the reader will learn about her childhood, how she meets her deceased husband Alexander, as well as how she met her current fiance, Carl. The second plot involves Olivia, and a man she meets at the vineyard, Simon, who also happens to be Carl's son. Simon and Olivia seem to have something in common, and that is, they are both afraid to venture forth into a relationship with the opposite sex. But both are obviously attracted to each other, and their romance evolves slowly as the story moves on.
Other characters come into play, in particular the grown children of Natalie, Susanne and Greg, and a third child, Brad, who remains a mystery throughout most of the book. His story comes out at the very end, and although I had suspected some of what was to be revealed, I was still somewhat shocked, just as the characters in the book were, too.
While I don't recommend this book as a first time reader to Barbara Delinsky's books, I believe that those who enjoyed her more recent books may enjoy this one. The irritating characters of Olivia and Tess, however, may grate on some nerves, as it did mine. Olivia is a very weak, naive, type of person, and I found it very difficult to feel sorry for a woman that dealt with reality by hiding in daydreams and believing them to be true. Her daughter was a bratty young girl who unfortunately got picked on a lot by her peers, mostly because of her attitude and inability to make friends with others, and not by her disability as mother and daughter are led to believe.
On the other hand, I think an author is doing a good job if a reader can feel intense dislike or like for an invented character. I had no problems with the writing. And I looked forward to reading each chapter as I read about Natalie's life story. Overall, I enjoyed THE VINEYARD and as always, look forward to reading more by Barbara Delinksy.
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