Rating: 
Summary: Well done!
Review: The book was excellently written, but the subject matter was a touch morose. The main characters, Elizabeth and Aisling, were wonderful...characters that come alive for you. But again, if your in the mood for some levity, this book is NOT for you
Rating: 
Summary: After Circle of Friends--Read this!!!
Review: Just as compelling as Circle of Friends, I wasn't able to put it down. Compared to C.O.F., this takes a longer time frame of analyzing and witnessing two girls grow up together and just plain grow up. Another great story by Binchy that should be read by all. Binchy is apparent in showing strong women relationships and it is refreshing as well as motivating
Rating:
Summary: It keeps your attention!
Review:
I really enjoyed this book. It isn't as good as Circle of Friends, but I would definitely recommend reading it. It was thoroughly enjoyable! The two heroines are very realistic and their personalities are engaging
Rating:
Summary: Story of a friendship
Review: This book was practically my first by Binchy. I'd read Tara Road as a part of the Oprah book club several years back, and I'd always wanted to read more. Well, I finally got around to it and was satisfied. The story starts out with two girls, ages 10. Their mothers were friends when they were little, but now with one family in Ireland and the other in London, they aren't as close anymore. That is, until the war forces one mother to ask if her daughter can live in Ireland until the war is over. That's where the friendship of the two little girls begins. The novel spans approximately the next 20 years of their lives. The ups and downs. I enjoyed the book, I suppose mostly because of the fascenation I had with the friendship the two girls shared. Binchy also throws in twists and turns along the way that keep you interested to know what will happen next. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: A great introduction to a magnificent author
Review: This was the first novel of Maeve Binchy's that I read, and I quickly went through the rest after reading it. I was shocked when I started reading this book, I had never read anything so well-written. It's the kind of reading where you forget that you're reading. I know that all writers are alleged to have this ability, but Maeve Binchy truly does. Not many authors write about every day life like she does. She doesn't avoid tragedy or disappointment, but they aren't shoved in your face either. Often I am as shocked as the characters when disaster strikes. I literally could not put this down, I read it all the time, I stayed up nights, I got the pages wet in the bathtub, I missed stops on the train... There is nothing romanticized about these two women, it is really a slice of life. In reading the book I felt as if I had become the best of friends with them, and was as upset when the book ended as I would be if I had to say goodbye to two real people. I probably sound ridiculous, but I cannot stress enough how truly amazing Maeve Binchy is. It would be difficult for me to tell you why to read this book and not her others, because of course I would tell you to read every last one. What I can say is that the tone and ending of this book are the saddest and most depressing (in a satisfying way, if that makes sense), and if you start with this one, the endings only get happier.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Binchy
Review: In Light a Penny Candle Maeve Binchy proves once again that she is one of the great story tellers of the Irish/English language - giving all of her readers a strong dose of what it's like to be Irish. In this novel two girls are brought together during World War II as a family packs their only daughter off to Ireland to escape the London blitz and live with an old school chum's family. Their families are like night and day - whole different life outlooks. The girls' friendship grows over the years and they come together during times of crises and times of celebration. As always, Binchy explores the venue of unrequited love - deceipt - the powerful influence of the Catholic church - and breathes life into these unforgettable characters - capturing the divide of England and Ireland. Friendship is the only true gift that survives the perils of time.
Rating:
Summary: Binchy is Amazing
Review: Mauve Binchy is an amazing writer. This book is an exceptionally good read. I would put this book in the same class as a "real page turner" type of book. When you take a break and put the book down it draws you back to it. You just have to know what's going to happen next.
The big draw for me with a Binchy book is that there is no smut or foul language to deal with. Although there are sometimes occassions when sexual situations take place, they are not graphic or dwelt upon. They don't contain the filth that permeates many fictional novels these days. It happens and the story moves on. I'm very thankful for that because it's hard for a Christian to find a book that he/she is comfortable reading.
I won't describe the story here except to say that the end is a shock. You think things are headed one way and they move in a completely different direction. I highly reccomend this book and I could kick myself for not reading it long ago. If you've never read anything written by Mauve Binchy, please give this book a try. I look for new novels from her before looking for anyone else's. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Story of a friendship
Review: This book was practically my first by Binchy. I'd read Tara Road as a part of the Oprah book club several years back, and I'd always wanted to read more. Well, I finally got around to it and was satisfied. The story starts out with two girls, ages 10. Their mothers were friends when they were little, but now with one family in Ireland and the other in London, they aren't as close anymore. That is, until the war forces one mother to ask if her daughter can live in Ireland until the war is over. That's where the friendship of the two little girls begins. The novel spans approximately the next 20 years of their lives. The ups and downs. I enjoyed the book, I suppose mostly because of the fascenation I had with the friendship the two girls shared. Binchy also throws in twists and turns along the way that keep you interested to know what will happen next. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Rites of passage
Review: Rereading this story after 22 years was an absolute treat for me and just the thing to while away a dreary winters' day. During WW2, Elizabeth White, only daughter of a middle class family from London, was evacuated to Ireland, to the home of Eileen O'Connor, a schooldays friend of Violet, Elizabeths' mother. She spends 5 happy years with them, bonding as a sister with Aisling, the O'Connor of her own age, growing up as one of their large, noisy family and attending their local catholic school. When the war is over, she reluctantly returns to her own constantly unhappy parents, acting as a buffer between them until the day when her mother decides that she can bear it no longer and leaves to set up house with her long time lover. The story covers the lives of Elizabeth in England and Aisling in Ireland through their teenage years and into womanhood, and I can truly say that I enjoyed the read even more, the second time around.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful! Enthralling!
Review: Oh, I didn't want it to end! I was almost waiting for an epilogue. This was the first story I read by Maeve Binchy, and I must say: boy, have I been missing out! Some plot lines were a bit weak, and I would have liked a more elaborately told ending, but everything else in between was pure magic. The lives of the two girls (and eventually women) were so richly entertwined, and I loved every minute. I thoroughly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a book that you can curl up next to the fire on a chilly night and wrap yourself in.
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