The Silver Wedding

Rating:
Summary: Silver Wedding
Review: Deirdre and Desmond are planning a party for their 25th. wedding anniversary. They are helped by their daughter Anna, who is just getting over an unhappy love affair. Less helpful are their other two children, Helen, a hopeless bungler who is hoping to be taken on as a nun, and Brendan, who has escaped his childhood home and family to take up farming with his Uncle Vincent in Ireland. Other guests include the best man Frank, who has become much more successful than Desmond and the maid of honor, Helen, both of whom have their own problems. Deirdre is extremely concerned with appearances, since she married "beneath her" 25 years ago, and her gentle falsehoods and nervous posturings effect her children and others around her. Each of the eight main characters is introduced in a chapter and they all come together for the celebration at the end. This book does not have the depth of other Binchey novels, nor the redemption of all of its characters, but it is an interesting read, nonetheless.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, not her best either.
Review: Even though I did enjoy this book, I was disappointed in the way some of the characters stories were left hanging, such as Father Hurley's nephew. What happened to him? The character of Helen REALLY got on my nerves. But then, she was probably supposed to. Overall, though, it was a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Okay read
Review: I agree with some of the other reviewers that this was not her best novel. I would have rathered her write about only half the characters and go into more depth about those. I would get so into a story and then it would end, and the person wouldn't be heard of again until the anniversary celebration. I did like the part about the various invites to the party which had been answered, (Not a direct quote) - "They would send flowers and a card,but would not attend, and that is the way it should be" It was a quick read, though - great for a rainy weekend or a trip to the beach. Also try TARA ROAD - a good novel as well.

Rating:
Summary: silver wedding review
Review: I found Silver Wedding to be on the better side of all of Binchy's books, but not all that great. I had trouble choosing between a 3 & 4 for the stars but chose 4 because it wasn't bad enough to be a 3. It was good in the sense that there was a section foreach character & it all started to pull together. It did get boring sometimes, though & I didn't like the ending. Binchy does have a talent and it can make you feel like part of the book, sometimes loving or hating the characters. I would say, in the end, it was worth reading & enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Everyone has a tale to tell
Review: I started this book as I felt in need for something mild and soothing for the heart.

Desmond¡¦s and Deirdre¡¦s silver wedding anniversary was central to the whole story. Through this upcoming event, several characters¡¦ stories unfolded. Anna, the eldest daughter, blindly in love with an out-of-work author; Helen, the youngest, struggling to become a nun; Brendan, the only son who went against the norms and his parents¡¦ wishes to work in a farm in Ireland. Also weaved into the story was Frank, the best man, a successful business man, though slightly less successful in the affairs of the heart, Father Hurley, the priest who married the couple twenty-five years ago, and feisty Maureen, Deirdre¡¦s best friend.

These were ordinary characters, but what would make the reader go on is that each of the character had its own unique tale to tell, from managing family relationships, to hidden and secret affairs of the heart.

I felt a slight disappointment, however, at the end of the book as it left me with a sense of non-fulfillment. We were given insights to the problems but were not shown solutions. For instance, Deirdre¡¦s uneasy relationship with her children did not appear to be improved and Maureen¡¦s relationship with Walter did not develop further. Maybe this is the author¡¦s reflection of the real world, that not every question has an answer to it.

Rating:
Summary: Everyone has a tale to tell
Review: I started this book as I felt in need for something mild and soothing for the heart.

Desmond¡¦s and Deirdre¡¦s silver wedding anniversary was central to the whole story. Through this upcoming event, several characters¡¦ stories unfolded. Anna, the eldest daughter, blindly in love with an out-of-work author; Helen, the youngest, struggling to become a nun; Brendan, the only son who went against the norms and his parents¡¦ wishes to work in a farm in Ireland. Also weaved into the story was Frank, the best man, a successful business man, though slightly less successful in the affairs of the heart, Father Hurley, the priest who married the couple twenty-five years ago, and feisty Maureen, Deirdre¡¦s best friend.

These were ordinary characters, but what would make the reader go on is that each of the character had its own unique tale to tell, from managing family relationships, to hidden and secret affairs of the heart.

I felt a slight disappointment, however, at the end of the book as it left me with a sense of non-fulfillment. We were given insights to the problems but were not shown solutions. For instance, Deirdre¡¦s uneasy relationship with her children did not appear to be improved and Maureen¡¦s relationship with Walter did not develop further. Maybe this is the author¡¦s reflection of the real world, that not every question has an answer to it.

Rating:
Summary: Several Mini-Stories Rolled Into One
Review: I've just recently started reading Maeve Binchy. Silver Wedding strikes me as one of her more unique stories, one that goes out on a bit of a ledge.

The book is comprised of something like 8 different parts; each with it's own narrator & we get a glimpse into that person's life. We start out with the eldest daughter of the anniversary couple, Anna, and then to her two other siblings- Brenden & Helen. We also read about her parents and their friends. In the final part we see them all reunited for the anniversary party.

The book was not exactly what I was expecting- it wasn't really a very "happy" book. In fact, the stories inside it were quite sad & depressing. I did enjoy though what almost seemed like a book full of mini-stories all coming together at the end. So far it's not my favorite of her's, but I enjoyed it just the same.

Rating:
Summary: A True Story Teller
Review: Maeve Binchy is a great storyteller. All of her books are filled with character description and are definately page turners. The Silver Wedding took me by suprise the way each character had different views on the same events which is usually true in real life. This is the seventh book of Binchy's that I have read and everytime I finish one, I can't wait to start the next. The Silver Wedding, although not my favorite of hers, lived up to my expectations of Bincy's marvelous ability to telling a story. Definately recommende d as a summer read. (or anytime!)

Rating:
Summary: Another Binchy Great
Review: This book takes a typical family, examines its seperate members, and then provides a look at the whole with the knowledge of the secrets each member has.

I enjoy Binchy's style of writing interconnected stories that weave together. She pulled it off first in Lilac Bus and now Silver Wedding.

Rating:
Summary: a realistic heart-wrenching one by Binchy
Review: This is possibly Binchy's most realistic book on family life and human relationships. Several people -- including their three children -- are gathering for Desmond and Deirdre's 25th wedding anniversary. Each chapter is devoted to a different character and where they are in their lives, how they got there, and how it affects their comfort level at the celebration when they encounter the others, including the long-married couple.

Among them are Deirdre and Desmond themselves (in separate chapters), their daughter Anna who just got unmistakable proof her boyfriend is cheating on her, their clumsy silly daughter Helen who has joined a convent as a means of finding peace with her place in the world (and is messing up anyway), their son Brendan who has gone to work on their reclusive uncle's farm and is debating whether to attend the party at all.

Then there are those who served as best man and maid of honor years ago, as well as co-workers. And Deirdre and Desmond's relationship as well...

This book will leave you with a slightly unsettled sense, just like many complicated relationships in real life do. At first I didn't like the book for it but, upon the second reading, perhaps that is what makes it so good!!!