Whitethorn Woods (Vintage)
by Maeve Binchy
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Book Reviews of Whitethorn Woods (Vintage)
Book Review: Interesting, but not up to her usual storytelling
Summary: 3 Stars
Maeve Binchy is a great storyteller, but the problem here is that she hardly develops any of the character sketches in this book into a real story. Essentially, this is a collection of very short pieces (many published in other places) tied together with a very loose frame tale. None are developed to the point where you could call them a true story. This is unfortunate, since there is some great potential in many of these characters.
Consider the ostensibly unfiying scenario: a small town's cherished "holy" St Ann shrine is about to be torn down to make room for a new highway. The village preist, who is expected to defend the site, actually hates it, being logical enough to realize that there is no way that the mother of the Virgin Mary traveled from Palestine to Ireland and blessed this well. To him, it is paganism, but the townspeople love it. This could have made a great story, and certainly Father Brian Flynn - a modern preist who is expected to follow tradition - is one of Binchy's most interesting characters. Yet the cursory nature of his story feels more like it was tacked on to unite a bunch of character studies to rush this book into publication.
The bulk of the book is a series of two part narratives, very short in length. It was somewhat clever for the first few. She tells a the narrative from one character's perspective, then a second, and so on for each set. But after a few of these, it was clear they all stand on their own and are only loosely associated with the town of Rossmore and its shrine. In a few of the previously published ones, it really seems like a line about the shrine was just stuck into the narrative.
The rave reviews from major newspapers on the book's cover are a mystery. I really don't see how this is her "best book in a decade."
Book Review: Many Characters Make Light Work
Summary: 3 Stars
Not long ago my writer's group was discussing whether or not a novel needs a plot. It was rather accidental that I had just picked up "Whitethorn Woods" by Maeve Binchy. To me this book is strictly character driven. It is a series of very short vignettes about a variety of people. There is a central theme but it didn't seem to have a real plot per se.
In the first chapter, we are introduced to an Irish priest, Brian Flynn, in whose parish is a grotto and a well dedicated to the Catholic saint, Ann; said to be the grandmother of Jesus. The grotto and well is located behind the church in Whitehall Woods. There is talk in the village that a by-pass is to be built that will go directly through the woods destroying the grotto and the well.
Each of the very short character sketches that follow, involves people who have some connection with the village, and particularly with the well. They have all either heard about it or actually been there to make a request. But often their appearance doesn't give enough reason for the author to bring them into the story line.
It's well written with a dry sense of humour, and some of the characters are an absolute delight. And it does end the way one would want it to.
However, had there been less characters, more fully developed around the theme, it would have seemed more like a plot and less like a coincidence.
Book Review: A Very Good Read
Summary: 5 Stars
I have taken note of all the good reviews that "Whitethorn Woods" has received here and elsewhere and this is actually the first book by Maeve Binchy that I have read.
The story of a small town called Rossmore and the allegedly holy well together with the new bypass road threatening to destroy the well while potentially transforming the place form the background to the extraordinary way many people's interdependent lives and hopes are displayed. The author superbly addresses questions and themes like religiosity, trust, family, immigration, progress and much more, and does this brilliantly through characters you come across everyday and may even relate yourself.
I am of the opinion that therein lies the greatest strength of the book to have an appeal for a long time to come. This is a solid 5-star book I recommend to the avid reader without any reservations.
Book Review: A Fun Trip to Ireland
Summary: 5 Stars
Maeve Binchy is priceless, and this book reveals why. Her characters are displayed in at least four dimensions, and some in five. She playfully challenges the reader's memory for names and qualities. She nudges the reader toward disquieting topics with soothing style and poetic justice. She let's you stay in your place, while paradoxically transporting you to her Ireland.
I agree that this book might not be, technically speaking, a novel, but it won't matter to the reader; because, with St. Ann and Whitethorn Woods as purposeful characters, the plot doesn't need to be extant.
Here's (Hoist a pint of Murphy`s or Guinness, your preference) to Maeve Binchy, the Happy Existentialist, and a modern bard without living peer.
Book Review: traditions change, too
Summary: 5 Stars
Binchy's characters are so intensely real, it take a while to realize each person also represents a social layer and each person's choice also implies a political truth. The vivid personalities capture you as they gather into a community of individuals doing their work or committing their crime in the best way they know how. They tell their stories as oral histories, and when you are included in someone else's story, later on you get to have your own say. That's how it would have been in front of the Druid, in the old way. But now that everything from haircuts to wealth is turning modern, these stories show how hard it can be to decide whether the old ways still apply.