Maeve Binchy (1940–2012)

What can I say. It's a Maeve Binchy short story and I devour these things like chocolate. Anytime I am feeling under the weather I will bust out one of her books or short story collections and read for a bit. Since her death, I have found that I don't have every one of her books in my possession. So I decided this year I was going to make sure I got around to reading all of her works this year.

For long time fans of Maeve Binchy this is a great short story. We get some glimpses of prior show more characters we met in older Binchy works (Scarlet Feather, Heart and Soul, Minding Frankie) and we get some insight into a family that we have never heard of before.

Dee Nolan loves her three adult children, but is getting a bit tired of being expected to cook and clean up after them. Returning home one day to find out her husband Liam is about to be laid off, she finally decides to do something about the fact that she and her husband have managed to raise three oblivious and at times thoughtless children.

I don't know how Maeve Binchy is able to instill such life into the characters we meet in this short story. Right off the bat I felt for Dee and Liam. I can't imagine how happy I would be if I was always running around after my adult kids who seem to expect it. I mean we get one scene where Dee is telling the children about their father being laid off and they all just want to know about supper. I would have been smacking some heads with a frying pan, that's just me though.

We hear more about Rosie, Helen, and Anthony through a series of texts they send to each other and some more scenes we get when they start to realize that their mother is not going to clean/cook for them anymore and also decides to let their rooms in order to bring in extra income.

The writing is typical Binchy which to me is it's excellent. There is one scene that stood out in my mind. Dee the mother is getting extra work in order to provide for the household. The job is at the same place that her daughter Rosie works in, and Rosie tells her mother to not speak to her while she's there. I mean, can you imagine?

The flow works really well, and man oh man I wish that this had been longer. I was enjoying the story a lot.

The ending made me shake my head, because in typical Binchy fashion you get the sense the children still don't get what the big deal was and that they still feel outrage towards their mother who decided she wasn't going to be their unpaid servant anymore. show less

When I've read too many gruesome mysteries, or too many books that have left me really questioning the goodness of human nature, I turn to a Maeve Binchy to renew my love of sitting down with a good book. Think of it like a bowl of chocolate ice cream after an unusually difficult day. Her simple Irish novels are always character driven and the characters are people you can imagine meeting in your own life, not to mention, there is never a sociopath in the group. A Week in Winter is more a show more collection of related short stories, all based around a small bed and breakfast overlooking the ocean in a small Irish town. People are coming to the resort to relax, have an adventure, or get away from their lives. Not all the stories have that happily-ever-after resolution, but they are well told and make me pause and think about people I know and aspects of my own life. I'm sad that Maeve Binchy died in 2012 and that this is one of her last books. show less

3.5***

From the book jacket: Is it possible to tell the story of a generation and a city through the history of a restaurant? Ella Brady thinks so. She wants to film a documentary about Quentins that will capture the spirit of Dublin from the 1970s to the present day. After all, the restaurant … has a thousand stories to tell: tales of love, and betrayal, of revenge; of times when it looked ready for success and of times when it seemed as if it must close in failure.

My reactions
I came show more late to the Binchy fan club, but better late than never. I really like her style of every-day drama – the kinds of ups and downs we all experience in life. Reading a Binchy novel is a bit like visiting with old friends. Many of her books feature the same ensemble cast of characters, but they don’t have to be read in any particular order.

In this story Ella Brady takes the central role, supported by Brenda and Patrick who run Quentins, her best friend Deirdre, her parents Tom and Barbara, and filmmakers Nick and Sandy. I loved Maude and Simon, who’s grandparents hire Ella to tutor them in math; every scene they are in made me chuckle.

The main plot focuses on Ella and her lover, Don Richardson – a snake if ever there was one. I confess that I was very frustrated with Ella and wanted to slap her silly more than once. Deirdre was the epitome of a supportive friend, never judging or chastising, but simply being there for Ella through all her bad choices and delusional thinking re this “great love.” Made me doubly glad for the many other stories being highlighted for inclusion in the documentary, which gave me a break from this relationship.

I definitely got the feeling of being in Dublin during this period: the economic struggles which led many Irish to seek employment elsewhere, or had them working multiple small jobs to make ends meet. show less

"The Glass Lake" by Maeve Binchy is the first novel that I have read by this author, and what a novel it was! At first, I was a bit taken aback by the 757 pages. My thought, will a novel that has this many pages hold my interest? Ms. Binchy has a magical touch with her writing style. The plot, characters, and settings of "The Glass Lake" held my attention from the first page to the last. The plot kept moving along, not once did I skim pages due to boring dialogue and/or a stand still plot. show more Even though this is a fictional novel, I loved that the characters were believable. If you are looking for an entertaining, well written novel, I would definitely recommend adding this amazing story to your tbr list. I'm looking forward to reading additional novels by this wonderful author! show less