Helpful Score: 7
This was sadly Maeve Binchy's last novel before her death. And what a wonderful book it was. Full of rich characters with assorted life problems that were somehow sorted out when they visited a special inn on the west coast of Ireland in winter.
Helpful Score: 5
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-week-in-winter.html
A Week in Winter is the latest book by Maeve Binchy. Unfortunately, it was her last book. Maeve Binchy passed away in July 2012. Over the course of her career, her work was translated into 30 different languages and sold over 40 million copies.
This book has all the elements of what I expect from her books - a beautiful setting in Ireland, a motley cast of characters each with their own story, and a place or a situation that brings these diverse characters together in a cohesive whole.
Chicky Starr is a girl from the small town of Stonebridge in western Ireland. Life takes her on travels far away away, but eventually she returns to buy an old mansion and convert it into a hotel. Miss Queenie is the owner of the mansion. Rigger is a friend's son who ends up their to get away from some troubles. Orla is her niece who returns from London to help. The guests they host are as diverse ranging from a movie start to a musician.
They all come together for "a week in winter" at the hotel. Their stories intertwine and overlap. A classic Maeve Binchy book. Fun to read while curled up on the couch with a cup of tea.
A Week in Winter is the latest book by Maeve Binchy. Unfortunately, it was her last book. Maeve Binchy passed away in July 2012. Over the course of her career, her work was translated into 30 different languages and sold over 40 million copies.
This book has all the elements of what I expect from her books - a beautiful setting in Ireland, a motley cast of characters each with their own story, and a place or a situation that brings these diverse characters together in a cohesive whole.
Chicky Starr is a girl from the small town of Stonebridge in western Ireland. Life takes her on travels far away away, but eventually she returns to buy an old mansion and convert it into a hotel. Miss Queenie is the owner of the mansion. Rigger is a friend's son who ends up their to get away from some troubles. Orla is her niece who returns from London to help. The guests they host are as diverse ranging from a movie start to a musician.
They all come together for "a week in winter" at the hotel. Their stories intertwine and overlap. A classic Maeve Binchy book. Fun to read while curled up on the couch with a cup of tea.
Helpful Score: 5
There are just some authors that have to be experienced at least once in a life time. Maeve Binchy is one of those. She has a way of dancing with words that lets you just fall in step. You live where the pages take you. I spent A Week In Winter on a lovely seascape and took in the most beautiful scenery. The Inn Ms. Binchy invites you to is cozy, warm and smells of home cooked meals. It also offers the most heartfelt service any of us would love to receive. The guests are charming, people you are happy to mingle with. I did not want to go home when this novel ended. As i have read all of her novels, i can truely say i shall be one that will miss looking forward to more new works from her.
Helpful Score: 4
I love the way Maeve Binchy could tell a story and make one feel as if they knew and cared about her characters. This book, sadly, was her last, as she died shortly after finishing it. This book delivered the same enjoyment that I have felt from all her books, introducing real human characters with problems one wants to help them solve, and feeling good about them when that happens. I will dearly miss her and her wonderful books.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book, which really surprised me because this is not my normal genre. I originally picked it because every now and then I like changing things up from my usual crime/police procedural books and this sounded lighthearted and quaint, which is exactly what it turned out to be.
The author tells the stories of the lives of a group of vastly different people that happen to come together to spend a week at a newly-opened Inn/B&B in a small Irish town along the Atlantic coast. I found myself wishing the story would continue with the next group of guests! An excellent book when you don't want something heavy or deep.
The author tells the stories of the lives of a group of vastly different people that happen to come together to spend a week at a newly-opened Inn/B&B in a small Irish town along the Atlantic coast. I found myself wishing the story would continue with the next group of guests! An excellent book when you don't want something heavy or deep.