Download PDF Echoes Maeve Binchy 9780451225108 Books

Product details Paperback 496 pages Publisher Berkley; Reprint edition (November 4, 2008) Language English ISBN-10 0451225104

Echoes Maeve Binchy 9780451225108 Books Reviews

• I'm rounding this book up to 4 stars despite the fact that there are some themes that I hate. I started this fairly lengthy book yesterday morning and finished it in the early hours of this morning. It is one of those stories that stay with you and I was still thinking about it when I woke up. The setting (Castlebay, Ireland) is different and there are no familiar secondary characters from other books except for Father Flynn. We are introduced to various characters back in the 1950's. We watch them grow up and follow them up until the sixties. We have Angela, a very dedicated teacher, who has an interest in helping Clare, a young girl from a poor family. Clare is the only bright one in her family and she will need scholarships to go further with her education. Angela was the same when she was younger. Clare works incredibly hard and manages to get a scholarship to secondary school. David is the son of the local doctor and he lives a privileged life. His mother is a very unlikeable character throughout the book. Gerrie is the son of the local photographer and he is the local playboy, no girl can resist him except for Clare. There are a host of other people but these characters are the ones to watch. We follow their lives and loves and know that things aren't going to necessarily turn out well. I read some of the negative reviews and I agree that the ending was pretty abrupt and not particularly satisfying. That's what had me still thinking about it this morning.
  
  +++Spoilers+++
  I'm not a fan of cheating and I disliked the fact that David was so easily able to begin an affair with another character. We know that he and his wife (I won't spoil that) were each other's firsts so it felt like a huge betrayal.
• If you have read other books by Maeve Binchy this one is similar to her story telling style with nothing earth shattering or exciting. It is a good nostalgic ramble when the world was a quieter place. Having read a few of her books I knew what I was buying and thouroughly enjoyed the book it is based on a way of life in a comminity in times past and as such does not really have a beginning middle or end. However I will buy more of her work when I just feel like a slow nostalgic trip down memory lane even if it is some one e;ses lane.
• Sorry, This is the last M.B. book I will read. Her plots drag on and on. A lot of unnecessary info. The last third of the book was somewhat enjoyable,
  but the first two thirds of the book was very slow. A friend who was reading it at the same time, finally gave up on it. Read this book only if you want to be put to sleep by its slowness.
• I always have enjoyed Maeve's books set in 1950s Ireland, and this one is no exception. Plot lines are not Maeve's strong point and, as often is true of her work, about 75% of the way through, the lack of discernible plot leads her to try to tie up the ends with improbable melodrama. Until then, it is an engrossing book, showing Maeve's gifts for depicting characters, relationships, and a good deal of depth about the realities of life. Her characters have wisdom and insight most of us would envy.
  
  I especially liked the characters of Angela and Clare, which were developed very well. Most of the men who are part of the action do not fare so well and have fewer dimensions.
  
  Overall, it is a highly enjoyable book - the sort which I'd like to have in my bag during a train or bus ride (which, indeed, is just where I gobbled it down.)
• I love Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy, and I have read a few others. I feel like this book lacks full character continuity and plot development. We hit the falling action, but alas....no resolution. I was disappointed, and I felt like she just got tired of writing and stopped the book.
• Maeve Binchy was one of the most creative writers ever. She would produce a cast of interesting characters who she would use in several other her other books. How she did it still amazed me. I never tired of reading her novels. I've read every one of them, and some twice. again. How fortunate we were to have her.
• Another great book by a great author. She brings you in with every page. I never can put a book of hers down and this is another one. Her characters are real and the surroundings with their vivid description make me living with each and every one of them. So many authors as the pump out more and more books they get away from what they are known for. Not Mauve at this point she has never let me down. Book contains dreamers and for those who's dream don't come true you find out how they deal with their lost dreams.
• I read this book years ago. I always enjoy reading books again after time has passed. Although I think I have read all of Maeve Binchy's books. this is far the best I have ever read. My grandparents came from Ireland and I can see how their Irish thoughts impacted on my mother greatly. I know I will read it again and again as I do other of her books, just for the pleasure of it. Ireland lost a great author when Maeve died - she was a treasure.