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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
Character driven with a lovely sense of place, Library at the Edge of the World is a well written yet slow paced read. By the time a reader sees any engaging plot development one is 60% into the book. This was more time than I usually give a story and I was experiencing impatience and boredom......thus 3 stars. The last couple of chapters has some engaging action and I would rate the last part of the book 3.5 stars. Although I appreciate well developed and interesting characters and enjoyed the rural Irish country setting, I need a bit more plot in a story to be fully engaged. The author is a talented writer and I hope others will enjoy her story. It might be a good read if you’re looking for a gentle read for a time when you want minimum stress in your reading material....and I think readers from Ireland or those who have spent time in Ireland might enjoy this read. I appreciate the strong theme of a woman and a community finding their voices. If you read and enjoy this story, there are 2 more books in the series. I will not be continuing with them.
For more reviews visit my review blog at Readingladies.com.
For more reviews visit my review blog at Readingladies.com.
Not sure how I came across this book but I needed to find an audiobook quickly and this one seemed appealing. I love Ireland, I love books, I love sort of the “slice of life”this book appeared to be. If not for the soothing lilt of the Irish narrator’s accent, I probably would’ve abandoned this. I don’t mind books that sometimes do not have much plot but might have other redeeming qualities, like rich characters, but this book just seemed to ramble on for too long. Perhaps it was just the wrong time for me for this book, but it is not one I’d go out of my way to recommend. The author is definitely talented, the story and characters just did not do anything for me.
This book reminded me of Maeve Binchy-- not only because it's set in Ireland, but also because of the focus on many characters in a particular community. It took me a little while to get into, but I thoroughly enjoyed the last half. I liked the intricacies of the townspeople coming together, the family dynamics, and of course the setting and portrayal of rural life in Ireland. Fun to listen to on audio as you can hear it in an Irish accent.
“It seemed to him that half the fun of a library was stumbling on treasures by chance...”
Given how I found this novel accidentally, I think the quote above is apt. I wasn’t looking for another book about libraries, but this one found me. I am not sorry.
The plot is nothing new. There is an unhappy bookmobile librarian, a community that has lost its center and then there is the threat from the local government. Hayes-McCoy takes some shop-worn ideas and makes them her own. While I was reading I was having a good time. I wanted the good guys to win and of course they did.
This was not a romance, but it satisfied my desire for a happily ever after. Given the world we are living in this book is a win.
Given how I found this novel accidentally, I think the quote above is apt. I wasn’t looking for another book about libraries, but this one found me. I am not sorry.
The plot is nothing new. There is an unhappy bookmobile librarian, a community that has lost its center and then there is the threat from the local government. Hayes-McCoy takes some shop-worn ideas and makes them her own. While I was reading I was having a good time. I wanted the good guys to win and of course they did.
This was not a romance, but it satisfied my desire for a happily ever after. Given the world we are living in this book is a win.
Maddening in its pacing, infuriating in the presentation of growth in characters and libraries. All-in-all, a meaningless trip back to the middle ages, the 1950's.
Sweet book that seemed to ring true to the challenges of living in a rural Irish village. Tourist dollars, road repairs, redevelopments that don't always take the local needs into account-- all things that friends are experiencing in the real Ireland. As a librarian I was not thrilled by how bad Hanna was at her career as a reluctant village librarian who disliked people and noise and didn't seem all that into books, either. Thanks heavens for good community people around her!
I got this book from Net Galley & Hachette Books Ireland in exchange for a fair review.
A simply story about Hannah, 50 plus divorced woman who tries to put her life together. That means, among others, to move from London back to her family town in Ireland, somewhere far away, in a forgotten place. That also means leaving again with her mother (not very agreeable person) and doing the job, which she would have never picked up if not the circumstances.
I really feel for Hannah. Being her age is never easy to pull the life up again. In additional one day she gets to know that she may loose this job and everything what she worked so hard for, would go down. One day she accidentally steps out and she is no longer “one of the invisible locals”.
I liked the scenery where story is located. Leaving for several years in Ireland gave me a pretty good idea the place might look, who are the people, how is their life going on. I loved all the Irish characters. I liked this some sort of a little bit slow motion the books is developing at the beginning. But also at the same beginning, at some point I was lost with who is who. That cleared later but the feeling that some characters should be introduced better, remained.
Altogether: brilliant, charming read written beautiful language.
A simply story about Hannah, 50 plus divorced woman who tries to put her life together. That means, among others, to move from London back to her family town in Ireland, somewhere far away, in a forgotten place. That also means leaving again with her mother (not very agreeable person) and doing the job, which she would have never picked up if not the circumstances.
I really feel for Hannah. Being her age is never easy to pull the life up again. In additional one day she gets to know that she may loose this job and everything what she worked so hard for, would go down. One day she accidentally steps out and she is no longer “one of the invisible locals”.
I liked the scenery where story is located. Leaving for several years in Ireland gave me a pretty good idea the place might look, who are the people, how is their life going on. I loved all the Irish characters. I liked this some sort of a little bit slow motion the books is developing at the beginning. But also at the same beginning, at some point I was lost with who is who. That cleared later but the feeling that some characters should be introduced better, remained.
Altogether: brilliant, charming read written beautiful language.
A perfect beach book. Not too heavy or dark, but not overly sweet, either, and long enough to last the weekend. The characters have a chance to grow, the conflict is cleverly and pleasingly resolved, and the reader is left a little homesick for Finfarran. Thanks goodness there's a sequel.