Circle of Friends

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely stunning
Review: This book is one of the best I've ever read. Maeve Binchy's description of Dublin and KNockglen, along with the characters and their lifestyles, are so realistic that you feel as if they're someone you already know. Benny is so young and so innocent and it is her own vulnerablity that makes her more appealing than Nan, who is obviously more superior physically. Every character is so very well defined, and the story itself is very stable and touching. This is one coming-of-age tale that is really worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: So, so much better than the movie
Review: This book has absolutely wonderful characters; all of them are lovable yet flawed and completely human. You get to watch Benny grow up from insecure chubby little girl to young adult with true inner strength. Touching and bittersweet, yet not half as sappy and mushy as the movie; the book's storylines are true to life, in that nothing works out perfect, and really whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. Considering the length, a lot of drama and eventual twists and turns.

Rating:
Summary: Circle of Friends was the Best!
Review: Maeve Binchey's book, Circle of Friends, was one of the best books I have ever read. I had seen the movie first (and after reading the book, I realised the movie didn't do it justice), and fell in love with Benny, Jack, Eve, and the other multitude of characters. I was so excited when I found out that it was a book, I went bought it the next day. I sat down on the couch with the book and didn't get up until that afternoon when I finished the book. It was a wonderful page-turner (although it was 600 pages), and is a great book for everyone(especially for adolescences dealing with boyfriends and abstinence). I loved this book, and it has made me want to read more of Maeve Binchy's books.

For those who have read the book, I have two questions: 1. What is the status with Benny and Jack at the end of the book?

2. Is there a sequal to Circle of Friends? If not, is there anyway I could contact Maeve Binchy with the idea?

Please e-mail me at [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: A Treasure!
Review: This book is a treasure that I plan to cherish always. It integrates 1950s Ireland, a trademark of Binchy, with a wonderful tale of heartache and learning. And, while somewhat tedious going at times, Benny Hogan, a character anyone can fall in love with, kept me reading. Kind, sensitive, and wonderfully naive, she learns the greatest lesson of anyone about love, and the meaning of it. And, through her, the reader does also. And, while learning through Benny's experiences, it is easy to get deeply involved with the characters as though they are friends. I would love to spend more time in Knockglen with Benny, Eve, Aidan, and Mother Francis.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: This book got me hooked on Maeve Binchy. She has a way of pulling you away from your day to day life into the world of her characters. I like all her books, but this is still my favorite. I remember being sad when the book was over. It was hard saying good-bye to the characters. I gave this book to my husband to read and he loved it too. And usually he doesn't really like the books I read. The movie that was based on this book was very disappointing. It just couldn't capture the same magic. You have to read this!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, colorful characters
Review: The greatest strength of this novel is its characters. Maeve Binchy creates vivid people that you really come to care about. Benny is warm, funny, and insecure in a way we can all relate to. Eve is determined, kind, and sometimes short tempered. Nan is calculating, but in a way you find almost forgiveable. In the background are a colorful, memorable group of supporting characters that kept me turning pages.

Rating:
Summary: Benny is the ULTIMATE heroine!
Review: This is my absolute favorite Maeve Binchy novel. I can't even discribe how much I love this book. I won't even watch the movie version because I don't want to ruin my love of the novel. (Movies NEVER come out as good) Benny is such a wonderful main character, and you just pull and root for her during the whole thing. She could be you or your bestfriend. She's such a likeable character and all the emotions and love of this book make you feel happy and content when you finish. The Irish background works so well, and allows for religion to play and important role, without seeming false. Such a good book, I love it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: As a male reader I did have some difficulty getting into the book, but after the first 100 pages I was hooked. Ms. Binchy is a great storyteller. However, some of the character development was not as good as her other book I read--Evening Class.

Rating:
Summary: Very good indeed.
Review: As a dedicated Maeve Binchy fan, I would like to recommend the following MB books as my top five:-

1. TARA ROAD 2. CIRCLE OF FRIENDS 3. EVENING CLASS 4. THE GLASS LAKE

5. ECHOES

Note - this is my personal opinion. To first time readers, I think you shouldn't read Firefly Summer as even I as a Binchy fan put it down after 100 pages. That is the only disapointment. The reason why I particularly liked Tara Road is because its a sensitive, well thought of storyline and it's set in 1997! I feel the fifties college life scenario in Dublin,for girls from small town Ireland, though done well, is somewhat overdone ( cirle of friends, echoes, glass lake etc etc). It is refreshing to read a modern tale!

So there you go!

Rating:
Summary: I MUST BE MISSING SOMETHING
Review: I've read through the glowing reviews of this book and am a little baffled. Everyone seems to love it so much! Personally, I found this book to be slow-moving and a little boring. Only toward the end did it begin to get my interest. It took me many weeks to finish this book because I just wasn't motivated to keep reading it. If I had taken it out of the library, I would have returned it unfinished. Because I had purchased it, I stuck with it until the end.

I feel there were many aspects of the relationship between Jack and Benny which could have been more thoroughly and interestingly explored. They never really explain how Jack is feeling or why. It just seems that, at one point, he invites all these women to his home because he can't decide who should be his date, and then, all of a sudden, he is "in love" with Benny. There is very little dialogue between these two characters - no real sense as to why Benny and Jack are in love.

Also, I never quite understood the Simon Westward character. Did he have money or didn't he? Nan seemed to want him for his money, but then at other times in the book it says that he had none.

Well, I enjoyed Tara Road (my first Maeve Binchy novel) a lot more than this one. I think I have now read my last Binchy.