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shubhi's review against another edition
1.0
1. One trope I hate is where everyone magically loves this one 'whimsical' character.. for no apparent reason. Just love how quirky she is and suddenly everyone's life improves and their attitudes change and whatnot. If you don't like that trope either then I suggest you let this book rest on the bookshelves.
2. It's not devotion to follow your ex to an unknown city and live in front of his house, right in front of his new wife and kids, no matter how well-meaning you are. It's creepy and intrusive.
3. For a book that's supposed to be cozy and warm and feel-good, everyone sure had shitty lives, which magically became great after joining this Italian evening class. If the focus was more on how they worked on changing their lives, perhaps it would be more engaging.
Spoiler Alert: The next 2 points contains spoilers.
4. There's this one girl Fiona who is mousy and has no opinions etc, and blames her lack of personality on her parents. Then she meets this guy she wants to impress. Then in one night she manages to change her entire personality - no roadblocks, just turning into a different person altogether. Then she endears herself to his mom which seems like the only explanation why he's suddenly in love with her - because they're barely shows to be spending any time together otherwise. I don't even know why she exists in this book at all.
5. Aidan Dunne, the unhappily married professor is basically having an affair with this quirky lady who everyone is in love with. He's not cheating on his wife but essentially he is in love with this other woman which by all intents is a form of cheating. His wife on the other hand is actively cheating on him. Yes that's bad and all but let's remember they have an unhappy marriage and both are in some form cheating on the other. Unfortunately, Aidan Dunne is glorified for this and his wife is made out to be a dirty hag and a bitch for doing the same. The man she was cheating with is also married and treats his wife terribly, much more terribly than Mrs Dunne treats her husband.. but his adultery is never described as awful, just a problem that needs to be dealt with. Any other side characters cheating on their wives are never vilified for the act of cheating.. they're not shown in a good light but somehow the cheating part is just a matter-of-fact thing. I'm not a fan of the blatant sexism either.
2. It's not devotion to follow your ex to an unknown city and live in front of his house, right in front of his new wife and kids, no matter how well-meaning you are. It's creepy and intrusive.
3. For a book that's supposed to be cozy and warm and feel-good, everyone sure had shitty lives, which magically became great after joining this Italian evening class. If the focus was more on how they worked on changing their lives, perhaps it would be more engaging.
Spoiler Alert: The next 2 points contains spoilers.
4. There's this one girl Fiona who is mousy and has no opinions etc, and blames her lack of personality on her parents. Then she meets this guy she wants to impress. Then in one night she manages to change her entire personality - no roadblocks, just turning into a different person altogether. Then she endears herself to his mom which seems like the only explanation why he's suddenly in love with her - because they're barely shows to be spending any time together otherwise. I don't even know why she exists in this book at all.
5. Aidan Dunne, the unhappily married professor is basically having an affair with this quirky lady who everyone is in love with. He's not cheating on his wife but essentially he is in love with this other woman which by all intents is a form of cheating. His wife on the other hand is actively cheating on him. Yes that's bad and all but let's remember they have an unhappy marriage and both are in some form cheating on the other. Unfortunately, Aidan Dunne is glorified for this and his wife is made out to be a dirty hag and a bitch for doing the same. The man she was cheating with is also married and treats his wife terribly, much more terribly than Mrs Dunne treats her husband.. but his adultery is never described as awful, just a problem that needs to be dealt with. Any other side characters cheating on their wives are never vilified for the act of cheating.. they're not shown in a good light but somehow the cheating part is just a matter-of-fact thing. I'm not a fan of the blatant sexism either.
bookthia's review against another edition
3.0
Out of all of the Binchy's I've read, so far I like this one the most... for some reason, I really enjoyed the divergent characters and the unique way all of their lives intertwined. It was a delightful story.
mj_mj's review against another edition
5.0
Characters:The characters and their evolution are lovely. Some grow and discover themselves. Some like Mrs.Dunne are sidelined once they serve their purpose. There are characters who find love, acceptance, adventure. There's a little something for everyone to relate to.
Story: The individual stories are woven separately and combined until it all comes together in the end to make a full picture. The pace does not lag and the use of language and history make you want to travel to Italy or atleast learn the language.
Story: The individual stories are woven separately and combined until it all comes together in the end to make a full picture. The pace does not lag and the use of language and history make you want to travel to Italy or atleast learn the language.
marymollyc's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 if I could. I've read practically every other book by Maeve Binchy, so this wasn't my first time meeting Aidan and Nora (and Aidan's children), but admittedly they've always been my least favourite characters in the wider ensemble. I found their story in 'Heart and Soul' the least interesting, and while Aidan is lovely I cannot stick how prideful he gets. Still, it was nice to get the background on them. I would like to have learned more about how his marriage with Nell really fell apart, and there were lots of other threads left hanging from the other characters. Not every book needs to be wrapped up neatly in a bow, but Maeve Binchy books are my comfort novels and I would have liked things to be a little tidier.
phthadani's review against another edition
4.0
I had so much fun reading this. Characters were brilliant and how their stories are intertwined together is a piece of art. It reminded me of Dickens and the Archers.
Reading stats: 68 pages/hour 600wpm 3 hours and 26 mins
Reading stats: 68 pages/hour 600wpm 3 hours and 26 mins
leialocks's review against another edition
3.0
I only read this book because I watched Italian for Beginners. I thought the movie was sweet and a good story so I decided to check the long form of the novel out. Granted, the movie was a knock off of the book, not a direct adaptation. The tone was very different. I found this book depressing. It focused too much on how messed up everyone's life was before the evening class, instead of how it changed them. I enjoyed the interconnection of the characters, but felt the book didn't hit its stride until the Fiona chapter. There's a plot point on the Italian trip that was completely unnecessary and seemed out of nowhere. Overall, it was an okay book, just not what I was expecting.