Circle of Friends

Another great comfort read that I never get tired of from Maeve Binchy. This story is set in the sleepy little town of Knockglen and follows the loyal friendship between Eve Malone and Benny (Bernadette) Hogan. Two great friends since early childhood, who are as different as chalk and cheese, but their friendship stays true through thick and thin.
Both of these girls come from very different backgrounds. Eve, an orphan disowned by her once wealthy Westward family who still live in the area, is reared by Mother Francis in the local convent. Benny, the only daughter of the overprotective local tailor and his wife, does not want to be tied down to follow in the family business. Both girls are determined that they will go on to university show more in Dublin, and it is from here that the Circle of Friends opens up.
They are joined by Nan Mahon, a manipulative, beautiful young woman who uses her beauty to climb the social ladder only to fall flat at the end of the story. Benny soon falls for Jack Foley, a handsome rugby player studying medicine. She initially assumes she is not sophisticated or pretty enough for him, but after spending time together at the College Ball, they begin dating. However Benny has to return home to Knockglen every evening after studies while Eve boards in Dublin with a lady Mrs Kit Hegarthy who rents her rooms to students. Eve also begins a relationship with Jack's friend Aidan (who stays at the Hegarthy house, and hosts weekend parties for her university friends at her cottage, back in Knockglen. Nan becomes involved with Simon Westward, heir to the estate in Knockglen. They begin secretly visiting Eve's cottage (Eve inherited this from the Westward Estate) during the week to have sex and the ultimate happens, Nan becomes pregnant.
Woven within this story are so many predictable plots, but you just want to read. Benny's father dies, Benny suspends her studies to care for her mother and run the family shop. Sean (hired staff at Hogan’s Tailors), who had an ulterior motive from the time he arrived in Knockglen, attempts to woo Benny, although she finds him repulsive. Benny notices funds are missing from the business and suspects Sean is responsible, but lacks proof. Eve begins to suspect that someone has been going into her cottage while she is away. Nan suggests that the cottage might be haunted. The plots continue and make for a very enjoyable read. show less

What a wonderful old hardback with wildly colorful red poppy end papers echoing the cover!

And, what a different perspective from the dismal Country Girls!

Maeve Binchy creates the exact feelings and behaviors of living in a small Irish country town
and adds humor, as in Benny and Eve's Wise Woman predictions about the future of their townspeople
and with the unwelcome entrance of Fonzie and Clodagh.

Knockglen will be a place to visit again and again, a place where secrets do not dominate the story:
"But it's not a mystery or a crime or anything, is it?" Maybe all three...

Favorite characters were Clodagh, Heather, and Sister Mary Francis.

Plot stretches, which led to the book being overlong, include:
men not using simple birth control after show more all the women they had enjoyed in their lives
and Eve forgiving Jack for betrayals to her little home and her best friend.
He should have stayed as far away as Nan.

And, I could have lived without "fly cemeteries." blech. show less

Maeve Binchy just tells a good story, and Circle of Friends was no exception and possibly one of her best. Bernie and Eve become friends as young girls, and we follow their lives as they move into the world, finding love and joy and heartbreak. Through it all, the two girls support each other. Binchy creates complex characters navigating life's ups and downs while also giving us insight into how ancient social structures still continue to impact life in Ireland. We can usually anticipate a happy ending as well where the good guys triumph. Excellent read!

Fourth? Fifth time I've read it...

Read from July 06 to August 03, 2014

How do you write a review of one of your favorite novels without just gushing about how much you love it? I've loved this book for years & read it many times -- it was the first Maeve Binchy book I read( it definitely wasn't the last). I went on to read pretty much everything she wrote. (It was in the days of large mass market paperback selections at KMart and for whatever reason they had all of Ms. Binchy's novels.) I let someone borrow my much-read copy of that 1990s Circle of Friends mmp, but recently found this movie tie-in cover (ew!). Luckily the characters and their words are still the same. :-)

I still love Benny and Eve (and re-discovered that Benny thought show more she'd be a librarian -- did she inspire me?). I despise Nan and hate how stupid Jack is. I love the little town of Knockglen and the wonderfully, colorful characters that make this book sparkle.

Now I'm thinking it's time re-visit another early-Binchy novel...perhaps Light a Penny Candle next.

Reading Progress

07/16 marked as: currently-reading

08/02 page 396 70.0% "Wake up, Annabel! Smarmy Sean is being smarmy!"
08/03 page 507 90.0% "Don't be daft, Benny! Jack is really just as smarmy as Smarmy Sean...he just hides it with charm."
08/03 page 512 91.0% "Have I mentioned how much I despise Nan?!"
08/03 page 560 100.0% "After all these years still one of my favorite books."

08/14 marked as: read show less

Since 1995 I have read this book at least once a year, and it have never failed to entertain me. I love the sweet, naive Benny Hogan, and her friendship with Eve Malone. I especially love that throughout the entire book, this friendship was never really put to the test because there was no question of the two girls's loyalty to one another. It seems such a cliche these days to put two best friends on opposite ends, and this outlook was very refreshing.

At university, Benny and Eve's world expands to include a "circle of friends" that includes best-all-around Jack, the perfect and beautiful Nan Mahon, and Eve's own indomitable Aidan, a man after my own heart. Eve and Aidan's dynamics is what keeps the novel light, especially in the darker show more and difficult times in the novel which Benny has to face.

What's best is Maeve Binchy's lovable, kind characters that you ache to meet, in a place you'd love to visit (don't knock Knockglen), and the multitude of situations that personify the human strengths and frailties that we have all experienced one time or another.

Please read this. show less

Maeve Binchy is comfort food reading - her works are not great literature, and there are things I sometimes dislike about them. The characters are often rather simplistic - not so much in description or situation, but in their attitudes and conflicts, in ways that can sometimes seem unrealistic. But then, many people do go through life without questioning fundamental assumptions and without seeing things that seem obvious to others - there are people who are quite like Binchy's characters. But I don't read her books for depth or conflict, I read them because they tend to be charming books about Irish women, the kind I grew up with: women who have the responsibility for everything, and handle all disasters capably and mostly calmly. show more Women who suppress tears when there is no time for them, who are strong in friendship and fearless in the face of cruelty and injustice. I read these books from time to time when I need comfort and solace, and they never fail to provide it. show less

The charm of a Mave Binchy as a writer is her ability to draw the reader in with familiar characters and stories that are relatable and compelling and Circle of Friends is one of those books that has host of well imagined characters whose stories and dramas make for entertaining and easy reading.

I read this book when it first came out and really enjoyed it and when I happened upon it while doing a "Maria Condo" on my bookshelves I felt a strong pull for a cosy fireside read and this one sure did not disappoint second time around.

Childhood friends Benny and Eve, grew up together in the Irish village of Knockglen where the pace of life is slow and opportunitys for romance slim., and when they start University in the big city the girls show more make new friends, and enjoy romance and freedom that Universary life offers. While city life has its excitement they must return to the Village at the weekends. Benny the only child, yearning to break free from her adoring parents while Eve the orphaned offspring of a convent handyman and a rebellious blueblood, abandoned by her mother's wealthy family to be raised by nuns. Eve and Benny they knew the sins and secrets behind every villager's lace curtains...except their own

I really enjoyed the novel, it has a slow pace but perfectly rounded characters and a great plot. Binchy's prose is light and easy and you find yourself caring about the characters and what happens to them. I probably read this novel 25 years ago and it works as well today as it did back then. I love the sense of Irishness about this one too without it being too twee.

An easy and entertaining read and readers who enjoy novels by [a:Diane Chamberlain|93345|Diane Chamberlain|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1366490290p2/93345.jpg] or [a:Kristin Hannah|54493|Kristin Hannah|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517255843p2/54493.jpg] may well enjoy [a:Maeve Binchy|3532|Maeve Binchy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206566579p2/3532.jpg] novels tool. show less