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Firefly Summer [Large Print] (Hardcover)

by Maeve Binchy (Author)

4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

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1 used from CDN$ 163.60

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Product Details

Hardcover
Publisher: G K Hall & Co; Lrg edition (June 1989)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0816147507
ISBN-13: 978-0816147502

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Binchy's latest novel (after Light a Penny Candle ) is set in the tiny Irish backwater of Mountfern, home to a handful of families and typical of hundreds of similar hamlets in the British Isles where life is lived to the rhythm of the seasons. Mountfern is the ancestral home of Patrick O'Neill, a rough, rich American whose wealth comes from bars and restaurants, and whose dream is to build a grand hotel in Mountfern. The consequences of Patrick's arrival there early in the '60s are often hilarious: the local aristocracyespecially the widows and spinstersvies for his attentions, while the villagers are beguiled by his largesse and by thoughts of the prosperity the hotel will bring. But tragedy strikes when a bulldozer working on the hotel site crushes Kate Ryan's spine; her adaptation to life in a wheelchair is brave and touching. Kate (Binchy's most splendid character) and her husband own a pub that is bound to suffer when the hotel opens. Other charactersall memorably portrayedcome to be resentful of the "Yank's" money while they reveal their own cupidity. Patrick's joy at his homecoming is slowly eroded, and his teenage son Kerry breaks hearts, including his father's. Binchy's lyrical prose has a lilt and musicality that makes it a joy to read. With a strong narrative drive that never flags, the story engages all the reader's emotions.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When American millionaire Patrick O'Neill returns to his ancestral home in Ireland, his intent is to bring prosperity to Montfern in the form of a luxury hotel built from the ruins of an old estate. Instead, the villagers see their lifestyles irrevocably changed and the town's inner harmonies disrupted in the four years it takes to build O'Neill's hotel. Binchy ( Light a Penny Candle , LJ 2/15/83) offers vital, complex characters, from John and Kate Ryan, whose pub will be threatened by the new hotel, to Miss Barry, the canon's alcoholic housekeeper. These people live in all their quirky individualism and will remain with the reader long after the book is completed. Accolades. Andrea Caron Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, Kan.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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	46% buy the item featured on this page: Firefly Summer 4.0 out of 5 stars (27)
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Customer Reviews

27 Reviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars another winner by Maeve!, Mar 12 2002

By	Saima Huq "sh" (Astoria, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Firefly Summer (Paperback)

I love this one by Maeve Binchy. She accurately covers the lives, loves and intrigue in what looks like a sleepy Irish town in the 1960s. But there is so much going on with all the characters, particularly the group of school-aged boys and girls who make up most of the book.

Firefly Summer actually captures about 4 summers in Mountfern, a tiny town with three pubs. The most notable one is run by the Ryan family, led by the spirited mother Kate, the artistic father John, the lively twins, Dara and Michael, and younger brothers Declan and Eddie. Their livelihood is threatened when Patrick O'Neill, an American searching for his Irish roots, comes to his long-deserted family estate next to the Ryan's pub and decides to build a huge hotel there.

The twins fall in love with the beautiful O'Neill children, Kerry and Grace. Grace joins the circle of schoolchildren; older Kerry is shipped off to boarding school. But he meddles in Mountfern anyway.

Most aching to read is one friend's attempts to fit in and never quite managing it, a disabling accident to a parent, and the twins' inner turmoil as they struggle to grow up. Everyone can identify with that!

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3.0 out of 5 stars Not Binchy's best work, Feb 5 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Firefly Summer (Paperback)

I am a HUGE fan of Maeve Binchy. She and Rosamunde Pilcher are my two favorite authors and I have read many, if not most of their works. This was definitely not my favorite. The book was engaging enough but also a very depressing read. One tragedy after another took place and at the end I could not honestly say that I enjoyed reading it. Oh yes, I enjoyed reading the descriptives and the interactions between the people of the sleepy town of Mountfern because Binchy just has a way of drawing you in. But, although the writing was good, the content was sad and depressing. I wish more good things would have happened.

The ending was incredulous. I could not believe so many things were left hanging. It was as if after nearly 700 pages she just decided to be done after only a moment's thought. There was absolutely no closure between the characters or storylines whatsoever. There was no sigh of contentment upon reading the last page and closing the book. There was just a sigh.

Almost always I finish Binchy's books with a yearning for more, sad that the story has ended and I can no longer be apart of the lives she has written about. This was not the case with this book.

For a truly excellent read I would highly recommend Circle of Friends (I think her best work), The Glass Lake or The Copper Beech.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Simply wonderful, Oct 31 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Firefly Summer (Paperback)

This may be the best Maeve Binchy I've read yet. The story and characters are so well developed that you feel as though you live right there in Mountfern in the 60s. You know everyone intimately, as you do in all of Binchy's books, and you truly rejoice or mourn when something happens to any character.

The only thing left to say is thank goodness there are plenty more books by Binchy that I have yet to read!!!

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Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Gloom and Doom in Ireland
I read and loved Tara Road last year, so I was looking forward to another of Binchy's works. Unfortunately for me I chose this one. Read more

Published on Sep 16 2001 by Linda A. Slott

3.0 out of 5 stars If you read Tara Road and are hunting for another great
Binchy book, I would not recommend this one. It seemed, in a word, pointless. Tara Road was lively, and this was doom and gloom. Read more

Published on May 31 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars Great - Until the End
I've been a fan of Binchy for many years now. I especially like the long, epic stories. I enjoy getting to know the characters, following the tale and settling in for the great... Read more

Published on May 13 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Tragic
I think that the characters in this book were really well written -- especially Dara, Michael and the other young people. Read more