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From Publishers Weekly
A proposed highway near the Irish town of Rossmore will mean the destruction of St. Ann's Well, a shrine in Whitethorn Woods thought to deliver healing, husbands and other miracles. The shrine resides in the parish of Fr. Brian Flynn, curate of St. Augustine's. As a fracas erupts between shrine skeptics who want the highway and shrine believers who want the shrine preserved, Flynn, unsure of where he stands on the issue and questioning his place in an increasingly secular Ireland, goes to the shrine and prays that he might "hear the voices that have come to you and know who these people are." Binchy (Tara Road) goes on to deliver just that: a panoply of prosaic but richly drawn first-person characters, such as Neddy Nolan, a not-so-simple simpleton; 60-something Vera, who finds love on a singles trip meant for those much younger; and unassuming antiques magnate James, whose wife of 26 years is dying. Stories of greed, infidelity, mental illness, incest, the joys of being single, the struggles of modern career women, alcoholism, and the heartbreak of parenting span generations, simply and poignantly. Binchy takes it all in and orchestrates the whole masterfully. 400,000 announced first printing. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Nestled outside the once sleepy Irish village of Rossmore in a copse known as Whitethorn Woods is the shrine of St. Ann's Well, which attracts so many of the faithful and hopeful that the little town overflows with visitors. This prompts a controversial proposal to construct a bypass highway that would divert traffic, ironically, right through the Woods, thus destroying the source of the town's popularity. Worried that the shrine's days are numbered, villagers flock to the Well, where they plead for everything from the restoration of a faltering love affair to the recognition of an ancestor's legacy. Foregoing her trademark plot-driven narrative for a tale in which the outcome is predictable (will the shrine be saved? duh!), Binchy instead focuses her prodigious talent on a robust assemblage of characters embroiled in romantic and domestic crises. Inventively and intricately weaving a series of linked vignettes, Binchy astounds with the versatility of the supplicants' voices, from the diabolical machinations of a mother whose daughter has committed murder to the sad serenity of another whose child was kidnapped decades earlier. Binchy is at her best in this tender yet potent tale of a traditional land and people threatened and challenged by the forces of change. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as her novels,
This review is from: The Whitethorn Woods (Paperback)
The town of Rossmore, Ireland has been growing and a new highway is proposed which will alleviate some traffic problems. But as in all development something else has to go. St Ann's Well, a local shrine, may be the casualty. St Ann's Well has been the place where troubled people go to ask for cures, husbands and solutions to other problems.This book is a collection of short stories about the people who are connected to the well. Father Flynn is the local priest who does not believe in the well but wants to cover all angles and goes to the well to ask for a sign. There is amiable Neddy Nolan who is billed as a simpleton but is smart where it counts and Dr. Dermot,an old doctor who wants to keep his patients at any cost and Lilly Ryan whose first child was abducted 22 years earlier. These are only a few of the people in Rossmore who have a tale to tell and a lesson to teach. I am not too much into short stories but some of these were very good and the following story was the same story from a different viewpoint which made it very interesting. I love Binchy's novels but find her collections a little wanting.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
what a fun read!,
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This review is from: Whitethorn Woods (Paperback)
I too have read all of Maeve's books, and eagerly anticipate her new releases. This one, I thought, was better than the last few new ones, and I got lots of chuckles and not a few tears from it. Her characters are so human and she gets right inside of them. It seems to me that her insight of human foibles is spot on.I love the way she pokes gentle fun at the main religion of her homeland, and the way it still influences the lives of the Irish, but perhaps with less painful consequences and outcomes. I read this while on vacation in Italy, a vacation that was inspired by reading another one of her books: "Evening Class" I would love to meet Maeve Binchy one day, she feels like a kindred spirit to me...
5.0 out of 5 stars
Whithorn Woods - a study of a small Irish town,
By
This review is from: Whitethorn Woods (Paperback)
I am really enjoying this book. It is written in the first person narrative yet each chapter is narrated by a different character. It's great because you "get to know" the people that reside in the town of Rossmore and it's surrounding area. I especially like that it resembles a collection of short stories that are connected to tell one large story. I also like the underlying messages that each chapter has has - a little food for thought!
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