Quentins

Rating:
Summary: I loved it
Review: I loved this book. I do love everything Maeve write's but this, I feel, is one of her better novels. I also enjoyed the 'closure' we got on Aiden and Signora and other characters from Evening Class and Scarlet Feather (even though that was not one of my favorites).
O definetly recommend this books to current Maeve Binchy fans and everyone else who has not had the chance to read any of her novels, hoiwever a look at Evening Class and Scarlet Featherfirst would be helpful.

Rating:
Summary: Another pretty good one from Binchy
Review: Well, you either love her stuff or you don't. If you're a fan, you'll like Quentins, especially as it gathers in some favorite characters from her previous novels, so there's a sense of continuity, on an on-going story without end.
The set-up: Ella Brady has been dumped by her unethical lover, and she pulls herself up by the proverbial bootstraps and gets involved with a documentary about Quentins, a Dublin restaurant whose increasing success over the past 30 years seems to parallel the changes in Dublin itself.
The technique: Binchy uses a technique that has become increasingly popular in recent years. She tells her tale as a series of short stories, each with a different character as the main 'player.'
It all works pretty well as a good tale, but it ain't great literature. On the other hand, no one ever said it was.

Rating:
Summary: Hooked on Maeve Binchy
Review: I picked up Quentins two weeks ago on a day when the book I went to get at the bookstore wasn't in stock. With nothing to read, Quentins caught my eye and read it straight through in 3 days. I simply couldn't put it down. I had never read anything by Ms. Binchy before and found it enthralling. Since then, I've read Evening Class and Tara Road, which is like going back in time since some of the characters started there.

I am looking forward to reading more Maeve Binchy.

Rating:
Summary: Another Winner -- Worth Your Attention!
Review: I usually enjoy books by English and Irish authors, and QUENTINS was no exception. Binchy's writing, however, was different than many other books I've read. Her style enables her to divulge a lot about each character without a lot of space. Her word economy doesn't short change the character; on the contrary the bits and pieces she does dole out are meaty and satisfying. Her style is not flowery or laden with unnecessary detail. Each sentence, each phrase serves a purpose and I think this contributes to her story being fleshy and full bodied. I enjoyed her Irish phrases and slang very much; it helped to put you in the place of the story. Binchy does tend to use sentence fragments quite often and this caused me to re-read sentences on several occasions, but it was not such a problem that it lessened my enjoyment of this wonderful book. Also recommened: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez

Rating:
Summary: Lyrical and Real
Review: I was surprised at all the negative reviews of this new book.
It is apparent that the author is trying out a new style of interwoven stories within the matrix of degrees of involvement throught the tale. It is fresh, progressive and given that she is still in the game to explore and risk despite her self imposed retirement deserves praise. No resting on her laurels. Right On!

In Quentins she created a rather unlikeable and smug heroine Ella whose idyllic childhood did not prepare her for a major dose of cruel reality. Ella's polyannish attitude toward life, expecting everyone to love her unconditionally as her parents did gets shattered. Her gutsy fight to remain strong and stable tells a tale of Ireland's celtic sensibilities of endurance and deep community bonding and support. This is a powerful cultural statement of ancient deep traditional values that can only develop over thousands of years. That tapestry is beautifully woven in this story and fills me with longing wrought by the author's skill.

The tale is complex, textured, serpentine and interesting on many levels. It takes time to warm to most of these people, yet Ms. Binchy's ability to make them very memorable and earthy is one of her greatest skills. She makes this possible over the course of the story in a leisurly pace with exquisite finesse.

In my view, her story lines and many characters give the feeling and a reflection of how we all pass through one another's life at various degrees in our respective milieus. Her primary characters are sympathetic, particularly Blouse Brennan. She places them in the story just as one would probably see them if it were a real pub. Patrick in the kitchen felt but not seen but still a strong, enduring presence of stability. Layers and layers of perception for the astute. I felt like I was right in Quentins and could actually see the layout, smell the foods and watch the layers of society interact. It was fascinating.

This new effort is much deeper than her other wonderful stories which I absolutely adore. Quentins is revealing a new facet of the author's character, philosophy and world view. It offers exciting and rich rewards to the readers if one is willing to go there with curiosity and an open mind.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I have always loved Maeve Binchy, have bought and read all of her books and kept most to share with others. I was thrilled to see she hadn't retired, although QUENTINS ended up staying on my to-be-read shelf for months before I finally had a chance to pick it up. When I finally did, I was so disappointed. Not only is the story uneven, as one reviewer said, it is actually disjointed. The transitions from one story line to another were jolting and the thin common thread of telling the stories of the people whose lives were changed at Quentins (no apostrophe according to Binchy) wasn't enough to smooth the way, at least not for me. But the biggest disappointment was in Ella, the main protagonist. Contrary to what some others have posted, I found Ella totally unsympathetic. Okay, so she made a bad choice in a man, but if she was really smart--as she's portrayed to be--she'd learn her lesson much sooner than she actually does. I felt Binchy strung out the "I love him and there must be some explanation for his behavior" rationale only because she wasn't ready to end the book and not because a mature, intelligent, educated woman like Ella would actually believe the junk that was going through her mind. I mean, how bad must a man get before a woman like Ella will finally say, "Enough!" He lies to her, over and over again, he lies to her father and friends, he cheats her father out of money to her father's ruination -- both personally and professionally -- and then his cohorts threaten Ella, and STILL she is excusing him and thinking there has to be an explanation. Oh, come on. Bill Clinton gets caught in a lie and he's vilified. But this jerk Don lies again and again and we're expected to sympathize with Ella because she is stupid and won't face the truth? And it's not like she's getting anything out of the relationship. After all, Don is long gone, living high off the money of others. She was left to cope with the aftermath and the scandal. Then Binchy used the same stall technique with the computer. Any normal woman would have tried again and again to open the darn thing right up front, or she would have turned it over to the authorities immediately. Again, though, that would have effectively ended the book, which Binchy didn't want to do. I will suspend disbelief easily if an author gives me a good reason to do so, but poor motivation really irritates me. Excuse me. Ella may be stupid, but I'm not, and I don't like to be treated as if I am.

I lost patience with Binchy about 2/3 of the way through the book, yet I kept reading because I have loved her past work so much and I kept thinking surely she would redeem herself and Ella, but it never happened. By the time Ella has her epiphany, I was fed up with her.

Maybe it really IS time for our beloved Maeve to retire.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it
Review: I feel that some of the reviewers are being too hard on the author. I have read at least 8 of her book including the last 4. Quentins to me is more like a short collection of short stories and knowing that what she does well is longer books with detailed character development, then it is okay to not expect as much from this short title. I loved Scarlett Feather, Echoes, The Glass Lake and Light a Penny Candle, liked Tara Road and Evening Class... and was only amused by the London Transport... so for Quentins with its moving at a fast summer reading pace, I like it... As others have said it is not her best work, but it is cute and light more or less... So Start with the books that I loved, but if the page count is too high, Quentins is a good book too...

Rating:
Summary: I wouldn't recommend this one.
Review: Having read and enjoyed a few of Binchy's books in the past, I was looking forward to Quentins. What a disappointment.

I felt no sympathy for or idenitification with the main character, Ella. If anything, I found her to be over-bearing. The plot involving Don Richardson was over-the-top and in addition, I got tired of trying to keep the numerous characters and their stories straight. It took me a while to finish this book simply because I'd put it down and find it a chore to pick it up again.

Maeve, what happened here?

Rating:
Summary: Utterly charming
Review: Quentins is a charming collection of short stories bound togther by characters from many of M/s Binchs books, with one main story as a central theme.It's a quick, cheerful read with a feel-good ending as warm and as comforting as a bowl of hot soup on a cold day, and new and old Binchy readers will enjoy every page.

Rating:
Summary: Bernie from Virginia
Review: I love Maeve Binchey but this is one of the worst books I've ever read, and a solid disappointment coming from such a beloved author. It took me a month to get through it. Ella is a whiney, self-absorbed, selfish character and the book only picks up interest when she's out of the picture. I couldn't figure out why her friends were so supportive when she was so stupid, or why anyone would bother with her at all. The writing borders on childish and the characters too truncated to generate much interest. This is the only one of Binchey's books I have not thoroughly enjoyed. She should have taken more time on this one.