The Builders (Open Door)
by Maeve Binchy
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Original short fiction by a beloved best-selling author on her best topic relationships. Charming novella from a masterful writer on the power of family secrets. Nan Ryan lives by herself at 14 Chestnut Road. When builders arrive to fix a deserted house next door, everyone expects the worst. But when the handsome workman looks to Nan to help unravel the mystery of the previous residents' disappearance, a strange relationship develops. With family dynamics and crooked developers in the wings, show more things are about to get very messy.... show less
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Member Reviews
Maeve Binchey's small novella packs a powerful punch. Sixty year old Nan Ryan begins to resist her role as family doormat and amazing things soon follow. Told in Binchey's straightforward, amusing style, The Builders is a sweet story about taking a chance on what your heart desires.
Nan has been separated from her husband for 20 years and has raised her children alone. Her appreciation of her life and her children’s behavior change when builders arrive to work on her deceased neighbors’ home.
Nice and fast read, predictable but full of sweet humor.
Nice and fast read, predictable but full of sweet humor.
An appetizer-sized dose of mild fiction, perfect to savor in less than two hours. With all the narrative taking place in one setting and between just a few characters, "The Builders" could be easily adapted for the stage.
Nice quick easy read, that still has plenty of punch. Short and simply a coming of age story about an older separated single mother of three grown up children, who after their initial shock and disbelief, come to really appreciate their new mum.
Nobody weaves such rich stories with such depth of characters as Maeve Binchy...
A short story from the library. Somewhat predictable.
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Author Information
120+ Works 49,877 Members
Maeve Binchy was born in Dublin, Ireland on May 28, 1940. She received a B.A. from University College in Dublin in 1960. After teaching at a school for girls, she became a journalist, columnist and editor at the Irish Times. By 1979, she was writing plays, a successful television script, and several short story collections. Her first novel, Light show more a Penny Candle, was published in 1982. During her lifetime, she wrote more than 20 books including Silver Wedding, Scarlet Feather, Heart and Soul, Minding Frankie, and A Week in Winter. The Lilac Bus and Echoes were made into TV movies, while Circle of Friends, Tara Road and How About You were made into feature films. Her title Chestnut Street is a New York Times Best Seller. She died after a brief illness on July 30, 2012 at the age of 72. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2009-10
- People/Characters
- Nan Ryan; Jo; Bobby Ryan; Pat Ryan; Derek Doyle
- Dedication
- For Gordon
with all my love - First words
- Nan at Number Fourteen Chestnut Road heard about the builders from Mr O'Brien, the fussy man at Number Twenty-eight.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But they knew a lot of it.
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Statistics
- Members
- 96
- Popularity
- 336,630
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.59)
- Languages
- English, Irish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 1
