Reviews

I read this for a book club and finished the whole book. I think if it had been in another circumstance, I would have dnf'ed. I liked the prose just fine, but there were too many different character POVs and the way they jumped around felt almost non-sensical. It was also too long. I was filled with dread for the final third of the book knowing what would happen and feeling sick waiting for it to happen. The book was also published more than 30 years ago but holy hell if I had to listen to one more character describe Benny as 'big' and literally only that I was going to lose my mind.

orlaithh's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad

5.0

katiereuter3's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

aoifehasnogoodname's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

nicki_j's review against another edition

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4.0

What a lovely novel. Completely blew my expectations out of the water. This book was recommended by one of those "books you should read" internet articles and I wasn't thrilled about it - I thought it might be cheesy. I didn't expect for the writing to be so good and to get completely caught up in 1950's Dublin. I love how Binchy writes - her turn of phrase and the way she moves the plot. The only thing lacking was what Jack was thinking in the bulk of the novel - I couldn't always figure out why he did the things he did.

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