Whitethorn Woods (2006)

Entertaining enough to keep your attention...a little sappy. ( )

Opening Sentence: “…Father Brian Flynn, the curate in St Augustine’s, Rossmore, hated the feast day of St Anne with a passion that was unusual for a Catholic priest…”

The story opens with the explanation that when a proposed highway is built to bypass the Irish town of Rossmore it will mean the destruction of Whitethorn woods that surrounds St. Ann’s well. The well is a well loved shrine as it is believed that St Ann answers prayers. The shrine resides in the parish of Father Brian Flynn, curate of St. Augustine’s, and he is unsure whether the shrine might not be pagan rather than spiritual so doesn’t know whether to oppose or support the potential destruction. Whitethorn woods are on Neddy Nolan’s property and he is torn between selling the land for more money than he can ever dream of, resulting in the destruction of the well, or refusing in his mother’s memory because she always maintained she lived for many more years than she should have after praying at the well.

A great start to the story, but that is where Whitethorn woods and St Ann’s shrine is left in any depth until the end. What happens next is story after story about a variety of people who either live near, use to live near, or have heard of, the well. Each story is very well written, and each story is written from two points of view, but few of the stories connect characters and virtually none of them have anything to do with the background story of the destruction of the well; some do have a character visit the shrine to say a prayer, but only a few.The stories cover gritty topics such as love, greed, infidelity, mental illness, loss, incest, dating, murder and kidnapping.

However, there is very little cohesiveness between the stories, in fact some of the stories only mention Rossmore and the well in passing, and other than that there is no link to the underlying story of the new road destroying a sacred spot. I kept waiting for all the characters to link up – and there are a few that do in a round-about way; and when they are linked, they are linked very well – but mostly there was no connection and I was disappointed.

If author, Maeve Binchy, had wanted to write a book of short stories that would have been fine, more than fine in fact, because to all intents and purposes that is what this was – a collection of superb character studies. However, for some strange reason she chose to do it as a novel and it just didn’t work for me that way.

I see what people like about her: this book was like curling up with a blanket and a hot cup of tea. Almost entirely forgettable, but a deeply pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

I have but one complaint: in all the dozens of people's lives described, there is one murderer, one wife-beater, and not a single gay person. I am quite sure that there are more gay people than murderers in rural towns in Ireland. ( )

I found this to be a very enjoyable read. Her characters really make the book, and I think the author wove them all into the overall story well. After reading the book, it has me looking forward to the next book by the author.

The book wasn't like the traditional novel. In fact I would classify it more as a collection of interconnected short stories, than a novel. As a novel, the book just doesn't work, there's just a bunch of threads pulling on the plot and not much else. But as a collection of short stories, it was a great story (or stories) of a cast of characters, and their individual stories, all with a common theme of Rossmore and Whitethorn Woods. Each short story, or chapter, where broken down in two parts, told by two characters connected to each other in some way (friends, lovers, mother/daughter). What I really liked was how the stories were told from two different perspectives, and the twists the story as a whole would take individually, and as a whole, once you read both perspectives. Some of the chapters took a rather surprising twist, which shocked me. Others highlighted the beauty of friendship and companionship. I also appreciated how the author linked the chapters together by subtle mentions, of previous characters and what happened to them. Chapters four, five and nine, were some of my favourites, for how the characters lives and stories were portrayed, along with some of the twists the author threw in. And for some the twists, they were really good.

The main story line was told in three parts which I also enjoyed. Neddy was an extremely well done, and underestimated character when you first meet him. He has a lot of heart to him, and I was beginning to enjoy him by the end, it was a shame his story (and the book) ended when it did.

One of the best aspects of Binchy, is her ability to create such complex characters, who even the more, unsavoury ones, you seem to really enjoy reading about, and this book was no exception.

Also found on my book review blog Jules' Book Reviews - Whitethorn Woods ( )

I love all of Maeve Binchy's books and will miss her writing dearly. ( )