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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
It’s just a bunch of unfinished short stories that don’t tie into one another, some mildly interesting plot gets set up with too many characters to keep track of and it’s dumped you off before things get resolved.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've never read a book written in this sort of style before, it kind for read more like a collection of short stories all loosely tied together. Once I realsied that was the format, I got more stuck into it, and enjoyed the style of getting these glimpses of each characters lives in 1980s Ireland. All the characters felt very real, they were interesting and flawed.
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very enjoyable linked stories of 8 individuals who take a bus from Dublin to Rathdoon and back again every weekend. Included in my copy are 4 short stories set in different parts of Dublin. All classic Binchy, easy to get into. I'm always frustrated by short stories - they end too soon, just get going good and then stop. Then you have to get to know another set of characters and there you are again. With Binchy, who draws characters so well, not such a hardship. Recommended.
I occasionally downshift to a Binchy book because they're generally light and charming. Couldn't finish this. Structural problems, too many subplots--it's a muddy mess.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Mass market simple read, nice and happy.
So, trying to recover from my "book hangover" after Art of Fielding, I dug up this little gem (free book bin at church). I enjoyed the first bit okay, though it was the predictable varied narrator schtick that Binchy has done to death; then, without a clear indication that this was a NEW STORY AND NOT MERELY A NEW CHAPTER, the book went onto another track. I read on, thinking it was another switched narrator. . . . but my! what a boring story. . . . and then ANOTHER. . . whereupon I figured out that my edition had four or so stories wedged into the same edition, and yes, indeed, the varied stories of the Lilac Bus riders had merged into the story of the lyin' cheatin' husband and whatever the heck else.
Sorry, Maeve Binchy: when your story-lines are so muddled that a professional reader can be led wrong like that, you have some issues--and a low rating on the story.
Sorry, Maeve Binchy: when your story-lines are so muddled that a professional reader can be led wrong like that, you have some issues--and a low rating on the story.
I really have no idea how to rate this book. I read this to be able to check-off a few boxes on my reading challenge, including a book of “short stories” and while the first half of this includes stories that all connect together by including some of the same characters, this is truly a book of short stories. With that being said, I have never been a fan of reading books of unconnected stories. I typically read novels to become absorbed in another world or the lives of other people and that is usually the reason I am drawn to Maeve Binchy as an author. Do these stories still contain her trademark style and depth of character? Absolutely, but I missed the ability to become connected with the characters I was reading about. Part of the reason I always tend to avoid collections of short stories is because I just start getting attached to a character and then the story is over. Overall, I enjoyed many of the stories in this collection (particularly the Dublin 4, I found them to be much more in line with her novel length stories), but will probably take another long break from reading short story collections and return to my usual full-length novels.