Lesley Pearse, Never Look Back

People have described 'Never Look Back' as one of the best intriguing novels Lesley Pearce has written. I contend she is the most lazy author I have ever read, and if anything, should have put this particular story in seven books and not one. She has the amazing gift of skipping to the end, wilfully overlooking what would be the more interesting story and preferring to refer back to the alleged incident in one or two sentences. Example: Matilda is ready to embark on a dangerous journey with her baby on her back in a canoe in troubled waters with a native American guide, gets in the boat and suddenly in the story it's two weeks later and nothing more than a quick blurb after the fact said! Thanks for that. For a book entitled 'Never Look Back' this author breaks this rule consistently.

One should be warned of the quality of the book by the simple fact Lesley fantastically has the sun, like a huge orange fireball (page 113, 2000 edition, Penguin softback) sinking into the sea on the Eastern seaboard!

I am grateful that my father in law found this in a skip and I didn't have any regrets to purchase it. That said, like mocking a terrible movie, I have enjoyed a laugh and a shock about many issues this book has and how angry her stereotypes and cliche have made me. According to Lesley Pearce (and the anti-male protagonist, Matilda) all men, except the main good characters, are evil, callous, swarthy, rough looking, insolent, drunk and sex-crazed. Matilda contradicts herself often, for example, she is shocked when she arrives in San Francisco about the above said debauchery by the men there yet she soon embarks on making an entertainment hall which serves drink and has dancing girls! She is so shocked by the drunkenness and dead animals in the streets, she won't allow her own daughter to move there, presuming the poor sod Cissie left behind will do the drudgery, and then when San Francisco finally cleans up, produces ladies of finery, schools of education, respectable churches, etc. Matilda seems to forget about that objective and even that she had a child. When Matilda visits her daughter and family back in Oregon, absolutely nothing is said of the visit until after the visit, some weeks or months later, in a kind of 'looking back' or retrospective way. (*SPOILER ALERT* and then we are expected to believe Matilda had any relationship with her young daughter at all and that she actually cared when she died of cholera at age six.)

And true to Lesley Pearce's nature (if her regular writing style is similar to that of this book) *SPOILER ALERT* Everyone dies in childbirth. And if not that, it's death by trees, random gunshots, and cholera. I am sure that people died a lot quite often in that time, but you grow to get an uncomfortable tingling sensation when everything is going okay and people are happy and reconciled, because just around the corner, somebody really important to the plot dies.

In addition to unjust murder of key characters, Lesley Pearce should be ashamed of her old fashioned stereotypes of people who are not white like herself. Mexican men are all described as having droopy mustaches. The banker is Jewish with a clearly Jewish name (Jacob Weinburg) and has a prominent nose and is ugly, a point which the main characters go out of their way to comment on. (Even though he was nice enough to lend money to them.) And to top it off, she even describes a maid entering the room as a NEGRESS, and this isn't even from the main character's point of view (perhaps forgiven due to the era) but is an author's narration. Shameful. All the black characters are described as black, negro, dark skinned, etc, and never simply as a character. They also all have wide grins, thick lips and wide, splayed out noses. Yeah, we know. But you might want to grind it in a bit more and have Delores 'done make a mess of chicken.'

It has been said that Lesley Pearce has done some research to these novels but got the Mormon leader's name wrong (it's Brigham Young, not Brigham Jones) A simple internet search would have given you that. Generally stallions are not intermingled with mares when marching along and riding in company as they cause trouble fighting with other horses and continually look for mares in heat. (Her Captain Russell rode a stallion whilst Matilda rode a mare in one scene.) When the mare gets out of hand and runs away, the author believes the mare has run for a couple of miles (does she have any idea how far a couple of miles is?) before our hero could take it in hand, on his stallion, to stop her. Matilda hasn't got any idea how to stop the mare in flight even though she was part of a wagon train amongst people riding in a society where all transportation was by horse. It would be akin to not knowing the common knowledge that to turn a car right or left you turn the steering wheel either way.

The author claims that simple farmers who travel in the wagon train wouldn't have had experience with a firearm and only she, who has had a few weeks target practice, was able to bring down a deer. How insulting to the men on this trip who, unless they are all dolts, would have had time to practice themselves, considering their chief source of food would be from what they shot...and what farmer doesn't know how to use a shotgun anyway?

Captain Russell forgets that he did find his wife Evelyn interesting, describing her as being accomplished, pretty, and amusing company and that the marriage was based on a firm foundation of compatibility and perhaps love would grow from it. Then very soon after this was said, after he had sexed Matilda, he described Evelyn as being 'so empty-headed that an hour or two alone with her seemed endless.' Which is it? It is convenient to make the wife who is cheated on into a monster to justify the adultery, but it would have been far more refreshing and less overdone to portray the wife as normal, and Matilda just a tad more sexy and the reason why he strayed was simply a basic need. It would be nice if people were honest about such things.

Matilda names her dancing girls entertainment saloon (classy) London Lil's after the poor dear Lily, the preacher's wife who would have fainted dead away if she weren't dead already at the honour of her name on the board. She went out of her way as a minister's wife to avoid the appearance of all evil. What an insult to her name and memory!

I am beginning chapter 24, roughly a hundred pages to the end and I have made a prediction which I wrote in the book, that Captain Russell will die very shortly after he legally divorces Evelyn and is finally free either from the military or his wife to be with Matilda again to spend out the rest of their days in love and peace. Do you think she will get her wish? Me neither!

One star for entertainment value and late night discussions in bed with my husband about the absurdity of this novel and its so-called popularity!!!

I have read many of Lesley Pearse books & usually found them hard to put down, however 'never look back' was too dragged out in parts & not nearly as good as her others.

Also on page 728 Tabitha states that in 25 years of marriage they had not had a cross word & next paragraph her son Giles being 26 years of age! & yet there was never any mention of them 'having to get married'? Was this a slip of the writers pen?

I shall of course continue to read her books

I have just finished the book as of a few days ago and have bought another thats being delieverd, i got the book from my fiancees mother, and she wont be getting it back, its took top place as thee most precious novel i own. I have had the book for about 3 weeks, kinda gives you the impression i read it 24/7 which apart from looking after my 1 yr old daughter is the truth. For those of you wondering if its for you id like to ask if you like, unpredictable, gut wrenching, heart warming storys as thats excctly what this is. I disagree that its too long, as if it wasnt as detailed and discriptive you'd might not find yourself understanding the slightly more dark parts of the story, no stone was left uncovered you could feel yourself being in the story.

The first Lesley Pearse novel I read was Hope and eventhough I read three more of her novels and thoroughly enjoyed each one of them, Hope stayed my favourite. I started reading Never look back with some doubt in my mind. The back info didn't seem interesting and even the first few pages didn't really hold my attention, but I kept on reading and by the second chapter I was hooked. It's really such an amazing journey to read about Maddy's life and you never know what to expect. I really enjoyed this novel and its taking its rightfull place as one of my alltime favourites.

I have just finished, Never Look Back and oh my God it is absolutely fantastic. I have read alot of Lesley Pearse's books and never thought anything could beat Hope as I think this was an absolutely fantastic book which I have shared with all my friends and family and everyone of them have come back with the same conclusion best book they have ever read but I now think that I have just read a better book than Hope in Never Look Back. I read so many books it is ridiculous and normally read one a week however this is a big book and it took two weeks to read but it was worth every minute of it. I normally go to bed late and read for about an hour but I found myself rushing to bed early and reading for three hours a night just to find out what happens to Matty and all the other characters in this fantastic book. I will tell you, I cried an awful lot during this book so make sure you have the Kleenex on hand but it is a fantastic novel :D

I have just finished reading Never Look Back by Lesley Pearse. I cannot believe anyone person could bear so much death and sadness in one life time. I love the way Lesley writes but I don't think I will be reading another book of hers as it left me so depressed. I have also read Hope. I can't say I enjoyed reading Hope because again there was so much sadness. I guess that is what goes with that period if one has no money. She is a great writer but too sad for me.

Never Look Back was amazing and i strongly recomend this book!

I have now read 7 of lesley pearse bookes including this one and i love them, i cant put her books down. i was never a big reader but with lesley pearses books as soon as iv finished one i have to go out and buy another! this is a story you can truly get lost in and never want it to end , wich is the sign of a good book. excellent book !!

I love Lesley pearce books and this one was as good as any other. I love the characters and you really go on an emotional journey with them

Sadness, humour, you name it Lesley makes you feel it. A rollercoaster of a book

Lesley Pearse, Never Look Back - To be honest, I've now been reading this book for three months! I read a few pages every night. I sometimes wonder if it will ever end!

It's a good enough story and one I won't stop reading till I've reached the end, but I feel Lesley tends to go on a bit and repeats herself unnecesarily.

It's the first book I've read of hers and unfortunately, it will be the last.