A nice change of pace
|
|
After reading three current best sellers - all overhyped garbage - this was a pleasant change of pace. Interesting characters that you care about, a good, solid story, and well-written. A bit long, I might have shaved it a little, but not a big issue. And my personal holy grail: no cuss words!!!!! Nice read.
|
|
|
A good read, but...
|
I admit I really enjoyed this book and I definitely like Maeve Binchy's style of writing. But I could not help noticing that it was very much like "Tara Road", another of Maeve Binchy's great books. There is the plain, but nice girl who gets a man too good to be true, the "too-good-to-be-true" guy who starts out decently but ends up cheating on the nice plain girl, and then there is the smart, beautiful blond who is a friend of the nice girl and aspires to become great. In fact, Nan bore such a likeness to Rosemary in "Tara Road" in that she comes from a humble background but uses her good looks and seemingly effortless charm to make her way in the world, that they almost seemed like one person.
I plan to continue reading Maeve Binchy books, but I hope to see a little more creativity when conjuring up characters.
|
|
|
A Good Book for a Rainy Day
|
|
I had heard a lot about this book and finally checked it out of my library for a rainy weekend. I grew up at the same time as this story is set in, the 1950's, so a lot of it brought back memories. However, my small town in the Midwest wasn't quite so provincial as Knockglen. There were no Catholics and we didn't worry about class. There were too many references to Benny's large frame. Once or twice would have been enough. I felt sorry for her as the over-protected only child of a very boring couple. Thank goodness she escaped to Dublin. Simon was a real rat, but so I'm not surprised at the way he treated Nan. He obviously intended to marry money and she didn't have any. I liked all of the different characters, except Sean. All types seemed to be there. Mother Francis was very kind to Eve and everyone. I don't plan on seeing the movie after other reviewers have said what characters were left out and that the ending was different. I liked the way it ended.
|
|
One of my all-time favorites...
|
|
Having seen the film long before I read the book, I was excited. Circle of Friends had long been a favorite movie of mine. However, after reading the novel, I changed my point-of-view on the film. The film pales in comparison with the magnitude of this novel. There is much more to the novel than the film ever lets on. It is much more thorough, the characters are even more fully developed---generally, it's a masterpiece. It quickly became one of my favorite books of all time after reading it. Binchy's talent for writing about Ireland and the Irish people is unmatched. Her understanding of the Catholic faith, and the Catholic guilt that comes hand-in-hand with it is pure. The novel is a wonderful exploration of young people in Ireland, and it is exceedingly successful. The characters in this book will never leave my heart. The sights of Ireland, have been ingrained in my mind. The tales Binchy has woven to create this exquisite novel are unmatched. Having traveled to Ireland, and experienced the culture and sights, I can say with first-hand experience that Maeve Binchy is accurate, and weaves a beautiful tale that anyone who loves Ireland will enjoy.
|
|
|
a real gem by Binchy
|
|
As much as I loved the movie starring Minnie Driver and Chris O'Donnell, I loved this book far more. The movie skimmed the lives of everyone except Jack and Bernadette, nicknamed Benny. But the book shows exactly how large the circle of friends actually is. It delves more deeply into the lives of Eve, raised by nuns who love her as a daughter, and Nan, the beautiful friend from a wretched family. Eve is also a shunned relative of the rich family with whom Nan is attempting to affiliate herself. Benny's relationships with her parents are also more thoroughly examined, as is her growth from child to woman in the face of her father's death, going to college and meeting her first love -- and getting her heart broken. Also - Jack (O'Donnell in the movie) is not the golden good guy that Hollywood paints him out to be. He willingly and knowingly cheats on Benny with Nan, which is far more realistic than the film version where he is liquored up by Nan who then uses him. Again, Binchy's lilting writing style brings the little Irish vilage of Knockglen and the bustling city of Dublin to life, and she succeeds in keeping her myriad characters (more than in the movie!) on track, believable and interesting. I think every woman in the world can identify with Benny when she meets Jack --- can't quite believe such a great guy would look at her, much less make her his girlfriend. And you will feel for her and root for her.
|
|
|
