Nights Of Rain And Stars

Rating:
Summary: Not her usual.....
Review: Don't let the pooh pooh's discourage you from reading Maeve Binchy's latest novel. No, it isn't strictly Irish, no, the characters aren't all strictly Irish, and NO, it doesn't even take place in Ireland, and YES, she has created different types of characters, for the most part, but she's still got the gift - which I wish she would share with us more frequently - and this very different Binchy novel is still a very, very good read. It takes place in Greece and brings together characters from different parts of the world and different walks of life, and a sort of bond is created between them due to a tragedy which takes place in a little town near the sea. Give it a chance!

Rating:
Summary: Not Binchy's best
Review: I did not enjoy this book. I loved Tara Road and The Scarlet Feather, but found no such affinity for this one. I, like other reviewers here, found the characters to be stilted and unbelievable. In the first few pages I was thinking to myself, who reveals this much of themselves to a complete stranger? I just did not believe in the people. For me that is the crucial part of a story.

I have another Maeve Binchy book on my shelf, The Quentins, and I hope it doesn't disappoint me as this one did.

Rating:
Summary: It was Great!!!
Review: I do not know what some of the reviewers are talking about. I totally enjoyed this book. It was classic Binchy and very moving. I cried at several points in the book. All of her books fit together and tell nice tales. THAT IS WHY WE READ HER BOOKS!!!

I hope Mauve rights another one really soon!!!

Rating:
Summary: Saw It All Coming!
Review: I laughed when, near the end of this book, a character says, "I didn't see that coming!" A reader paying even half attention would see everything coming in this simplistic, predictable, formulaic tale. My views echo those of previous reviewer Barbara, in that I could see Binchy with her character scenario spread out, lazily matching happy and improbable endings to her flatly-rendered and unbelievable characters. Much of the book is dialogue, and it, too, is unreal. I am hugely disappopinted, having been charmed by Tara Road, an excellent read. The best part of this book is its lovely dust jacket!

Rating:
Summary: Will the real Mauve please come back????
Review: I love Mauve Binchy & have read all of her books, however this book is a big disappointment. Normally her books will grab you from page one & will not let you go. This book was somewhat a chore to get through. The characters are boring, so you are left not caring. I look forward to her next book & the real Mauve to come shining through.

Rating:
Summary: Ugh
Review: I received this book after failing to respond to my book club in time, but I thought I'd give it a shot. It was a waste of time.

It started off well enough, and I initially liked Ms. Binchy's writing style, so I kept going. There were several flaws, however:

1. The characters (save Vonni) seemed to be cardboard cutouts. If they were any more one-dimensional, they'd be a dot.

2. The end result was too predictable. If about a third of the way through you couldn't figure out exactly where each character was going to end up, you weren't trying.

3. The dialogue. Who talks like that? Specifically, the American man and the German woman's dialogue sounded like they were speaking two centuries ago. I haven't read dialogue that bad since I tried reading a Left Behind book.


I'm tempted to give Ms. Binchy another shot. She seems to have many devoted readers, and they too have expressed their disappointment with this novel. I sincerely hope that this book was not representative of the rest of her work.

Rating:
Summary: Maeve spins a tale of POLYESTER!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading Maeve's books when her yarns were spun of silk thread. Unfortunately, in this novel, "Nights of Rain and Stars" Maeve traded in her imported silk threads for polyester. I'm sad to say, it totally fell short and on its face. In past novels, Maeve's yarns unraveled naturally to reveal the tale. This story was utterly simple, way too elementary, far too predicatable, downright unbelievable and much too straight forward. As the reader, I was insulted by the ignorance she perceived her audience to possess. She wove four foreign tourists into the beautiful Greek countryside. Each of them could have had their own identity but turned out to be flatter than Gumby. No depth. I feel that Ms. Binchy just typed in a few details and names onto a story map from her computer and created this book. How can each of the tourists just happened to be either a mirror image of a Greek character or lead a parallel life? David and Adonis were mirror mages of one another leading parallel lives. The remaining three tourists all bore uncanny bits of their lives to the main character, Vonni. Fiona was the young Vonni with a happier ending. Elsa gave up everything like Vonni to escape. Elsa fled from a man (Deiter) and Vonni fled into a man's (Stavros) arms. Lastly, Thomas and Vonni were estranged from their sons. Thomas knew enough to return to his son,Bill whereas Vonni was hoping against all hope to have her son Stavros return. Prayer was her vehicle. Not action. All in all, I found the novel a disappointment. An easy, somewhat enjoyable read, but lacking realism, interest, complexity and subtleness for Maeve Binchy to have penned it! I expected more.

Rating:
Summary: Surprised, yet not really
Review: Maeve always tells tales of a web of people from Ireland. I was quite surprised to find the setting Greece with only 2 Irish characters. Yet, the story was classic Binchey. You are drawn into the characters and the book flies by.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing. Really Disappointing.
Review: Nights of Rain and Stars is a literary boondoggle, in which a two week vacation in Greece obviously formed the setting for her new book (OK, I'm being a little mean, but this book is a serious let-down). The main characters--who, if you are a Binchy fan, you will recognize as the archetypical Glamourous Blonde Who Is Secretly Disappointed in Love, a Sensitive Young Man Estranged From His Parents, the Courtly Older Scholar, and the Sweet Young Irish Colleen Who Dates the Wrong Men--are all shown how to right the wrongs in their respective situations by the Wise Irish Expatriate Lady.

Part of the charm of Binchy's work, especially her early novels, is the richness of the Irish communities and the loveable, or at least empathetic, humanity of her characters. In NOR&S, the Greek village is composed entirely of stereotypes, and the characters are unlikeable and self-absorbed. Most of the novel is taken up with their dwelling on their own lives at length, which is not interesting at all.

However, I was extremely amused at the number of times Binchy managed to work the Greek word for watermelon--one of the vocabulary words she picked up on her vacation, perhaps?--into the story.

Rating:
Summary: Refreshingly Not Formula Binchy
Review: Unlike the other reviews posted below, I found Maeve Binchy's new departure quite refreshing and engrossing. I think it is extremely courageous for a writer to break with their winning formula and to write a novel totally uncharacteristic for them. I loved the Greek setting and the characters. In fact, I found the characters in this book more real and believable than those in several of her previous novels. To date, my Binchy favorites are Tara Road and Nights of Rain and Stars. Read this book with an open mind and you will be captivated by Binchy's new style.