Light a Penny Candle

Rating:
Summary: Story of enduring friendship
Review: After reading several Maeve Binchy books, I came upon this one which is her first full-length novel to be published. It is the story of Elizabeth White, a shy young 10-year-old English girl, who is sent to her mother's school chum in Ireland in order to keep her from the dangers of World War II. The Irish O'Connors are the direct opposite of the English Whites. Whereas Elizabeth is an only child, her chum and counterpart Aisling shares the house with a rollicking set of brothers and sisters. Elizabeth's parents are formal and strangely aloof, while Aisling's are loud, demonstrative and loving. At the end of the war, Elizabeth returns to her cold parents, but she keeps up a correspondance with Aisling. As they grow up, the young women endure unhappy love affairs, illness in their families, and unfulfilled dreams, yet they are always free to confide in and support one another. Binchy describes life in a rollicking Irish family with loving detail and creates characters which the reader grows to love. The other side to that is the Irish melancholy which is also an important part of her writing, so the reader needs to be prepared for both.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointing end (don't worry, I won't tell)
Review: As a big fan of Maeve Binchy's cozy, inviting stories that never stint on human emotion and yet always manage to keep their "homey" quality, I found LIGHT A PENNY CANDLE to be another good example of her work. It deals with choices, compromises, torn relationships, and family strife, but it's also a story about the incredible power of friendship. Right up until the end, it was a good read. The end itself, though, is disappointing. I won't give anything away, but don't expect Binchy's signature "I want more" ending. She usually leaves her characters without total closure, but THIS ending is something else. I had to knock the book down a star for it.

Rating:
Summary: An unusual friendship, welded by misfortune
Review: Elizabeth and Aisling's mothers were roomates in a convent school years ago. As many friendships go after being separated by geography and time it fades. However, during WW II, Elizabeth's mom Violet when faced with the dangers of England during the war, drew on this friendship when she asked her old friend Eileen from convent school now living in Ireland to shelter her daughter.
After 5 years together, Elizabeth and Aisling friendship grew strong, and the ties to Ireland from England were forged.

This story follows the lives of these two young women and their families in their early years in the same household to their lives later separately as young woman. As in many of Maeve Binchy's other books she richly draws out the characters of these women and you feel they are old friends by the time you put down the book.

What is to me typical of Maeve Binchy's books, is that the lives and situations are your average day types. You feel these are people you could see on the street or could live next door. However, being a part of their lives is compelling. You can see when they make mistakes and how they solve them, or make them worse. Better yet by the end of the book, you have a good idea how they will behave given the circumstance. Make no mistake though, her books are not boring. You get to the point you can't put them down, so involved you get in the lives of the characters..

Once again, a remarkably well done book. Interesting ending too.

Rating:
Summary: My new favorite!
Review: Everytime I read a Binchy book, it becomes my new instant favorite. I have read nine of her novels and this one ranks in the top three (along with The Glass Lake and Circle of Friends). The ending is quite a shocker; it didn't really jive with the way Elizabeth's personality is portrayed. However, I devoured every last page, and once I have read the rest of Maeve Binchy's books, I will definitely go back to this one.

Rating:
Summary: WARNING: BINCHY BOOKS ARE ADDICTIVE
Review: Forget drugs or alcohol, if you need escapism Binchy books are the best way to go. They'll take you away to small Irish towns where the trials and tribulations of daily life are deliciously inviting. It's so easy to get wrapped up in Binchy's world, that any complexities of our stressful '90's North American lifestlyes melt away in one paragraph.'Light a Penny Candle' was my first Binchy book, and I've got to say still the best. Have you ever grown up and/or had a best friend? Well, that's the only pre-requisite you'll need to enjoy this book. Like anything addictive, once you've had one Binchy you've got to have more. We especially recommend: 'Firefly Summer', 'The Glass Lake', and her latest 'Evening Class'. And although we know it's Binchy sacrilidge to say, we still think 'Circle of Friends' is better as a movie. So if you don't like reading, but for some unknown reason you're browsing through Amazon and read this, Rent It.

Rating:
Summary: A dissappointing read...
Review: I have read several of Binchy's books and have enjoyed them all but I found Light a Penny candle dissapointing and a frustrating read. It started off well and I enjoyed the descriptions of the lively irish family, the O'Conners, but I felt that around mid-way the plot began to deteriorate. The basic storyline involves one tragic event after another and I thought it was a bit depressing. The ending was dissatisfying and I felt that it the whole book had been ended in a rush. Overall, not a satisfying read but I would recommend reading other Binchy books such as Circle of Friends and Tara Road.

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 cozy read
Review: This is perfect reading for those of you snowed in during the horrible snowstorms lately in the US. It's long and moves at a faster-paced than some of Binchy's other novels and satisfies your curiousity of characters that you want to know everything about!

Elizabeth is sent to Ireland during WWII to keep safe during the Blitz in London. She spends five years there with Aisling O'Connor's family ~~ and returns back to London with a life-long best friend. This is their story of their friendship and all they've endured. Both have fallen in love and gotten married at different times of their lives, watch their mothers die and other growing-up situations that shape everyone's lives.

It is a great story of friendship and touches somewhat on mother-daughter relationships as well ~~ and it's fast-paced so it's great to read during those long winter evenings. It is not my favorite Binchy but it's one of the best ones I've read.

1-27-04

Rating:
Summary: One of her best
Review: This is the first book that I read by Maeve Binchy (thus turning me into a devoted fan) and I consider this one of her finest works.

The tale of the friendship of two girls who then become two women is inspiring and uplifting, and though the character's lives become a little complex towards the end, the story carries it all very well. The settings of England both during and after the war are well painted and realistic, and all in all the story really pulls you in and makes you care for the characters.

This is a lovely book to curl up with on a cold winter's night. Reading Binchy books are like catching up with old friends!