Quentins

Rating:
Summary: Sappy and Thrown Together
Review: Quentins, my first Maeve Binchy experience, was a big disappointment. Quentins is too long, with too many characters, and too many silly, insignificant story lines. The main character, Ella, is flat and utterly boring. Her dilemma is ridiculously far-fetched and in no way fits with the other bland story line, that of the restaurant Quentins and the film about it. Even the names of the characters are inane, not to mention their dull, insipid conversations. Very little about the real city of Dublin comes through in this novel. I am amazed that this book was even published.

Rating:
Summary: My First Binchy Read..
Review: ... and it has all been downhill from here. If you are only going to read one, it may as well be this one, though so far, there is a distressingly appalling repetition of themes in her many books... Also, in this one, there are confusing references to previous tales, a trick which does not endear an author to her readers.

Rating:
Summary: Quentins
Review: Mauve Binchy is not at her best in this novel. It is interesting in the beginning, but becomes confusing as she introduces new characters in the middle to the end of the book. Ella Brady is the main character. She is a struggling school teacher who gets tangled into an affair with a married man. He is not just an ordinary married man, but one who is rich and powerful. She soon realizes that despite his good nature and intelligence, he is involved in a scam to cheat all of his clients out of millions of dollars. As the scam unfolds, Ella realizes what she needs to do...


Rating:
Summary: Not the best, if you're a Binchy fan - worth the read
Review: Like many, I loved Circle of Friends, Glass Lake and even Scarlet Feather. I was delighted to see Ms.Binchy continued her saga of Dublin characters with Quentins. Not her best effort...rather dull and boring at times with a shallow predictable plot. But the characters and the stories of Dubliners and Quentins are wonderful. Previous favorite characters resurface, but only in a minor way which was frustrating. Some of the main threads did not get resolved in a satisfactory way. The ending is the sappiest ever. I still enjoyed it.

Rating:
Summary: Tedious and unconvincing
Review: Easy to put down, this is a far cry from what we are used to in a Maeve Binchy novel. Perhaps before again putting fingers to the keyboard, she ought remember what the doormouse said, "feed your head."

Rating:
Summary: Nice Read
Review: I've read a few of Maive Binchy's books and have always enjoyed them. My favourite was Tara Road, but I really enjoyed Quentins. A lot of the same characters from Binchy's previous books showed up in this one, which I enjoyed. Binchy has a way of telling fairly ordinary stories about fairly ordinary individuals that makes you fall in love with the people and the way they live. Plain and simple: it's a nice, relaxing read.

Rating:
Summary: Intimate Glimpses into Stressed Families
Review: If you have been reading Maeve Binchy's recent books, undoubtedly you remember power confrontations at the elegant restaurant, Quentins, in Dublin. Somehow, Brenda Brennan swoops in to save the day . . . and make everyone who has been harmed feel better. Naturally, there was bound to be a book that delves behind those scenes to tell us more about Brenda and her husband, Patrick, and how Quentins came to be the poshest choice in Dublin. Quentins is that book.

When the story touches on those who are dining or working in Quentins, the book has the magic of the scenes you have enjoyed in books like Tara Road and Scarlet Feather. When the book moves away from that core, the story and fun are vastly diluted.

The structure of the book is to have the story of Quentins, the Brennans and those involved with Quentins be wrapped by a story concerning a young woman, Ella Brady, who is victimized by the classic married cheater. Finding herself facing hard times, she takes on every source of income she can find . . . and becomes involved in a proposal to create a documentary of Quentins. That overstory then becomes the excuse to dive into Quentins.

While telling the story of Quentins to sell the documentary, Ms. Brady finds herself telling some of the best tales about Quentins. These appear as short stories that stand alone in the book. Each one is a classic Quentins scene that will delight you like those you have read before. If Ms. Binchy had either focused solely on Quentins or had solely provided such short stories, she would have had a brilliant book. Alas, she did not. Perhaps in a future book, she will provide us with such stunning entertainment in a book-length series of short stories.

If you don't mind going through a dozy overstory, dive into this book so you can read and enjoy the nuggets. If you want to read an engrossing novel from beginning to end, skip this one.

How can your work be more rewarding to those you serve . . . and your own soul?