Firefly Summer

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful storytelling
Review: Binchy, Maeve: Firefly Summer
There are no fireflies in Ireland. "I found out why we don't have them in Ireland, I asked, and now I know. They're sort of exotic fireflies, and Ireland is too cold and wet and windy for them. They wouldn't survive here. They wouldn't survive at all." Dara told Kerry as she lay in his arms on the earthen floor of Coyne's Woods. Primarily this story is about two families, the Ryans and the O'Neills, but that's not really true. It's about a village in the Irish midlands, Mountfern, and the River Fern country. But that's only part of it. It's about people, characters, dreams, fantasies, accidents, plans, fears, or, more to the point, life. Across the river from Ryan's public house is Fernscourt, the long ago abandoned and greatly ruined estate of the extinguished gentry. When young Eddie Ryan (8 years old) hears that the American Patrick O'Neill is purchasing Fernscourt he states, "God, isn't he lucky. I'd love to live in a place like that with no roof, and no floors and no wiping your feet." And it's a love story: City girl Kate O'Connell meets and marries villager John Frances Ryan. She - lively, active, assertive. He slow, patient, a poet that owns and runs the generational pub beside the River Fern. They produce the twins, Dara and Michael, the Eddie and Declan. When the twins are nearing 12 years of age enters Partick O'Neill, a widower, with his 11 year old daughter Grace and 14 year old son Kerry, Americans from New Jersey. The events and characters that surround them are multilayered and multifaceted. Our time frame is between the summer of 1962 through the summer of 1966. When we reach November of 1963 I got caught unawares. I found myself shocked as the residents of Mountfern hear the news of John Kennedy's assassination. The tears streaming down my face caused more than a pause. Did that event actually strike others as it did me, an American? Yes, tragedy is that way. Now I was sharply participating in this story. I was especially drawn by the friendship that grows up between the American Rachel Fine and Kate Ryan. True of all the Binchys I've read there is an integrity and insight within this association that warms one's heart. And we mustn't forget Fergus Slattery, the solicitor. He is priceless, irritating, endearing, suspicious of O'Neill at every turn, and more right than wrong even if his motives are questionable. And the development between Kerry O'Neill and Dara Ryan is a foreboding that pushed me through page after page. I cared if this remarkable intelligent beautiful girl was misused or despoiled. Again, Binchy captured me and spun me to another time and another place, almost as if she were telling me about my people, my roots, my dreams - 4 years out of my memory. I think it is impossible to read a Binchy and not care, really care, about these people and their choices. And I finished the book certain that Rachel Fine was sitting in her Manhattan apartment waiting for the dream shattered Patrick O'Neill to return to his senses. And I smiled at John Ryan's loving response to Kate's monumental news, knowing Michael would survive Grace's departure and hoping Sheila Whalen would somehow recognize that Fergus was just the one for her. And Eddie Ryan? Oh, no fear, he's the bravest one of the batch. Of that I'm sure.

Rating:
Summary: another winner by Maeve!
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Great - Until the End
Review: 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 story she is laying out for me. However, with Firefly Summer, I found many questions regarding/related to key plot lines went unanswered as the story ran out. Yes, the story ran out - without filling in the gaps - that is why I rated as I did. If I invest the time to read a 645 page book, I want the end to be rewarding. An ending doesn't have to be a happy one for me to feel satisfied, just leave me with some finality.

Will continue to read Maeve Binchy, she's great. I highly recommend most all of her books. This just wasn't one of my favorites.

Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC Book!
Review: I've been a fan of Maeve's for years, my first read was "Light a Penny Candle" and I was hooked! Not sure if that is available in the States, but it is well worth seeking out if you like tales which follow the lives of people and how they intertwine across the years. Firefly Summer is a great read. It made me cry and also made my heart glow. By the end of the book I was thoroughly engaged in this small Irish town and it's inhabitants. It is another testimony to the emotional strength of women and the value of our female friendships. It's a great book for a long plane trip or a summer beach read. You will have a hard time putting it down. One more favorite I must mention is "The Glass Lake" - another excellent read with many twists and turns. Read these three and you have read the best of Maeve!

Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC Book!
Review: I've been a fan of Maeve's for years, my first read was "Light a Penny Candle" and I was hooked! Not sure if that is available in the States, but it is well worth seeking out if you like tales which follow the lives of people and how they intertwine across the years. Firefly Summer is a great read. It made me cry and also made my heart glow. By the end of the book I was thoroughly engaged in this small Irish town and it's inhabitants. It is another testimony to the emotional strength of women and the value of our female friendships. It's a great book for a long plane trip or a summer beach read. You will have a hard time putting it down. One more favorite I must mention is "The Glass Lake" - another excellent read with many twists and turns. Read these three and you have read the best of Maeve!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book--one of Binchy's Best!
Review: I've read most of Maeve Binchy's books and this is by far my favorite. There's just something about the characters and story line in this one that draws you in. It's wonderful...I've recommended it to all my friends. I can't wait to read it again.

Rating:
Summary: Great author, decent book
Review: This is a story about the Ryans of Mountfern, a small town in Ireland. The Ryans, Kate and John, run a pub that is connected to their house and are busy with the raising of four young children. We enter the scene as the neighboring mansion has been bought by an American developer of Irish origin. He plans to replace the structure with a hotel of majestic proportions in hopes of replacing the legacy set by the family that lorded over his poor ancestors.

So the American entrepreneur transplants his motherless son and daughter to Ireland. This is the tale of how the two interact with the neighboring townspeople, and how the family's arrival upsets the balance that has held in the town for many years. Along the way some disasters, and a lot of learning, take place.

I enjoyed the depictions Rachel Fine, the interior decorator, and Sheila Whelan, the town postmistress. Their good taste and discretion are qualities to aspire to. I also learned a lot about certain types of cases and the strategies involved. The book offered many pearls of wisdom, although at times the story got a little boring.

I was somewhat apprehensive in picking up this book because of all of the negative things I had heard about it from Maeve Binchy fans. I gave this book 4 stars because the story is vintage Maeve Binchy, but if she wasn't one of my favorite authors, it would be more like a 3 star review. I believe from the writing style that this was one of her earlier works. The editing leaves much to be desired, with scenes flowing into each other without her typical star divider. With more editing, the book could have been made a little more palatable - at times I was wondering if it would ever end!

But true to form, Binchy finished off the story fairly well and tied up some of the loose ends. Overall I do recommend this book to faithful fans of her work. Don't be afraid to skim through some of the pages. I did that every now and then to move the story along. As it was, it took ages to finish, a lot longer than most of the books I have read lately. Read this one if you dare, but keep your expectations low.

Rating:
Summary: Warm Irish tale
Review: When millionaire American businessman Patrick O'Neill returns to the birthplace of his ancestors, a small Irish town called Mountfern, with plans to rebuild an old burned out ruin and turn it into a world class hotel, the locals don't know whether to be pleased at the prospect of work or resentment at an outsider taking over.During the building process, a tragic accident cripples one of the locals, forcing a huge change in that family's way of life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as a good tale and an insight into the lives of a close Irish village in the 60's.