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book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
3.5***
Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather met in culinary school and became fast friends. Now they’ve joined forces to start a catering company – Scarlet Feather. They’re young, energetic, and talented and have made some good connections. They’ve found the prefect premises to make their new business the best in Dublin. They know it will be hard work but they are ready to pursue their dream, and with the support of friends and family they feel sure they will succeed.
Binchy excels at writing ensemble pieces that show ordinary people in some extraordinary circumstances. This novel covers a year in the lives of Cathy, Tom, their life partners, parents, employees, friends and family. They make mistakes, have emotional melt downs, overcome obstacles, find reserves of love and compassion, smile through adversity, and never stop working to achieve their dream.
One thing I like about Binchy’s novels is that her characters are so real. They may be brilliant chefs but Tom and Cathy also have character flaws. They’re both far too reticent when it comes to expressing their feelings, preferring to put off to tomorrow what should be faced today. But over the course of the novel, they do grow and mature. The rest of the ensemble cast is unevenly drawn … Cathy’s parents have a fairly significant role and are pretty complete, but Tom’s parents are rarely seen and his mother, in particular, is somewhat of a caricature. Neil’s father also was very simply drawn, though maybe his general absence from the story is indicative of his absence as a true father.
The book is written in a style that supports the ensemble cast. Each chapter covers a month in the year, but is divided into short vignettes jumping from character to character and scene to scene. The result is that the reader gets a more complete picture than any of the characters does.
Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather met in culinary school and became fast friends. Now they’ve joined forces to start a catering company – Scarlet Feather. They’re young, energetic, and talented and have made some good connections. They’ve found the prefect premises to make their new business the best in Dublin. They know it will be hard work but they are ready to pursue their dream, and with the support of friends and family they feel sure they will succeed.
Binchy excels at writing ensemble pieces that show ordinary people in some extraordinary circumstances. This novel covers a year in the lives of Cathy, Tom, their life partners, parents, employees, friends and family. They make mistakes, have emotional melt downs, overcome obstacles, find reserves of love and compassion, smile through adversity, and never stop working to achieve their dream.
One thing I like about Binchy’s novels is that her characters are so real. They may be brilliant chefs but Tom and Cathy also have character flaws. They’re both far too reticent when it comes to expressing their feelings, preferring to put off to tomorrow what should be faced today. But over the course of the novel, they do grow and mature. The rest of the ensemble cast is unevenly drawn … Cathy’s parents have a fairly significant role and are pretty complete, but Tom’s parents are rarely seen and his mother, in particular, is somewhat of a caricature. Neil’s father also was very simply drawn, though maybe his general absence from the story is indicative of his absence as a true father.
The book is written in a style that supports the ensemble cast. Each chapter covers a month in the year, but is divided into short vignettes jumping from character to character and scene to scene. The result is that the reader gets a more complete picture than any of the characters does.
monicamjw's review against another edition
4.0
Delightful story with wonderful characters. I had somehow forgotten how much I enjoy reading Maeve Binchy's work. It felt so comfortable to be reunited!
fgaon's review against another edition
3.0
I always enjoy Maeve Binchy's books. I kind of wish that I read them in order so that I could keep track of all of the characters. This one gives the the back story of Simon and Maud. I am trying to remember if Tom and Cathy are together in the future and what happens to Marcella. I know that they are all in other books, now it's bothering me!
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