Whitethorn Woods

Meave Binchy has written a number of warm and memorable popular books about Ireland. WHITEHORN WOODS belongs in this category. For this book, we meet Fr. Brian Flynn, the junior curate of a parish in Rossmore. Fr. Flynn is not a throwback to a the overused stereotypical Irish priest of an earlier generation. He's well aware of changing religious attitudes in his country as well as the faith lives of his people and is an authentic and likeable member of the clergy. Rossmore, like so much of Ireland, is rapidly changing. The sleepy town is becoming the home of chic stores, a new populace, and may possibly have a highway running through it. The problem? The highway would go through a beloved wooded area in the town and possibly destroy its most famous landmark, St. Ann's Well. The well is believed to be a place loved by St Ann, the mother of the Virgin Mary. People go to the well to pray for husbands and other miracles as well. Fr. Flynn is not sure how to handle the situation. He hates the superstition associated with the well and its removal would allow him to spend more time on matters he believes are far more important, but he also respects the sincerity of the people who worship at the well. We get a pretty good idea of how the novel will progress as we're reading, but we meet so many interesting characters along the way, it's enjoyable seeing how it will, or perhaps will not work out in the end. Most of the novel is a collection of short stories and vignettes about the people who have visited the well. Some are rather funny, others tragic. We hear stories about weddings, marriages good and bad, lives scarred by alcoholism, kidnapping, untimely deaths, and just about every other possible situation of the human condition. Each voice is distinct and reflects contemporary Ireland. The moods of the stories change from one to the next which demonstrate Binchy's gifts as a writer. Perhaps what is most skillful in the book is the way Binchy weaves all the stories together. Each character seems to be connected in a "sixth degree of separation" sort of way. The characters are distinct and while the novel is upbeat, it's never overly sentimental or sappy. For me, the novel was enjoyable for two reasons. First, even if readers do determine the plot and eventual ending, the characters and their stories are always fresh and surprising. We want to meet them and think we may even know some of them. Second, while it's not a religious book per se, the private stories of the characters and their devotion to the well, all somewhat mixed, some based on devotion, others borderline superstition, all demonstrate the varying ways belief plays a role in so many people's lives. The book also reveals a new and changing Ireland, but Binchy has the ability to tell a story like so many great Irish writers.

From the time she began writing her novels some 30 years ago, Maeve Binchy has chronicled the changes in Ireland and the life and loves of its people. The once heavily Catholic and superstitious land has become more affluent, has embraced multiculturalism, and is slowly turning its' back on "the old ways". Whitethorn Woods is the next chapter in the narrative of this ever-evolving land and takes us on a wonderful journey into the lives of the citizens and visitors to the towns of Rossmore and Doon. Binchy's initial premise: The consequences of building a new highway through Whitethorn Woods, bypassing the town of Rossmore, and destroying St. Ann's Well, a place thought to possess spiritual power by many of the locals. As with many of her previous works, Binchy has managed to weave the many tiny threads of compelling individual allegories into the beautiful tapestry of a novel. Wonderfully plotted and populated with appealing and engaging characters, the reader is invited into the lives of Father Flynn, amiable Neddy Nolan (a pretty sharp dull knife), Dr. Dermot,(a wily old fox who shows us that jealousy is a dangerous and ugly thing), Lilly Ryan (whose first child was abducted 22 years earlier) and Helen and Becca (a couple of women with dangerous plans). These are only a few of the souls in Rossmore who have a tale to tell and a lesson to teach. Once again, Maeve Binchy has produces an enchanting story that bewitches us with its discerning logic and genuine cast of characters. If your not already a member of the Binchy fan club, this book will have you sending off for your enrollment forms!! A BIG 4 1/2 STARS.

Maeve Binchy is a master storyteller and this novel spotlights all the things she does best: create endearing characters; give them very human needs, fears, expectations, and feelings; place them in a cozy community bound together by some thread. In WHITETHORN WOODS Maeve Binchy takes readers to a charming Irish village facing twenty-first century expansion. The whole community is divided on whether to hold onto traditions of the past or to embrace the future filled with financial gain for the adventurous. Because in life there are two sides to every story, Maeve divides each of the thirteen stories in this book into two sections. It is an interesting device to give the reader a story and then to be presented with "the rest of the story" or a "flip" side. Tying all the stories together is the thread about the statue of St. Ann, a place where many people have gone and asked for intercession from St. Ann to achieve their wishes. A highway is being planned to cut through Whitethorn Woods and bypass the village of Rossmore and destroy this ancient shrine. No one is more distressed or perplexed about the issue than Father Brian Flynn, curator of St. Augustine's parish. To propel his story you will meet many richly drawn characters: Neddy, a pleasant young man no one considers the sharpest knife in the drawer until Clare discovers the love and wisdom he radiates; Vera, a sprightly septuagenarian who enjoys a singles holiday as does her much younger counterpart Sharon; Malka and Rivka, two friends who meet in Israel and embrace new customs while discovering the treasure of a lifelong friendship; Becca, an off-balance young woman who arranges to have another woman killed but loses her boyfriend to her equally off-balance mother; Barbara, the office worker who is hurt deeply by her co-workers but makes her own happiness with help from Alan and Harry; Dr. Dermot, a very set-in-his-ways ogre and Chester, the Irish-American who can't give enough to his grandfather's native land; Helen, who has a chilling story to tell and James, the husband who always knew; June, the American teen visiting Dublin and Lucky, the cousin she never knew; Emer, a young single hopelessly in love with Ken, who gets divine intervention from Hugo, the cab driver; Pearl, the altruistic mother who suffers a serious letdown from her children, Amy and Generous John; Poppy, who may have discovered the secret of a happy life much to the chagrin of her sister, Elegant Jane; Pandora, the beautician who massacres the hair of a woman she thinks is involved with her husband, and Fabian, the determined salon owner; Melanie, the deaf young girl who seeks a brighter future and Caroline, the career woman who can't turn away from her. Their stories will delight you and point up the many facets of human nature that Maeve Binchy so cleverly writes about. Warm and entertaining, this is a treat for long-time Binchy fans and a wonderful introduction for new readers to her trademark style.

Have you ever sat in a coffee shop and just watched people coming and going? Have you ever wondered what their life stories are? Where they are from, what their dreams are and whether or not they're heartbroken, or delirious in love? Have you ever just wished that you could hear their stories? Binchy has always written about life ~~ stories that are just glimpses in other people's lives, dreams and hopes. This book is no different. In fact, it is one of her better-written collection of short stories that all have a common place threaded through each of their stories. Unlike her earlier novels (which focused on just one town and a small group of people over the course of their lives), this one is full of different characters in different stages of life and in different places. There's Father Bryan, the priest who absolutely hate St. Ann's celebrations. But he performs it because his parish asks for it. St. Ann is the mother of St. Mary, the mother of Jesus. There is a well in Rossmore, in the midst of Whitethorn Woods, that St. Ann presides over and seemly grant people's fervent wishes. There is Neddy Nolan, "not-the sharpest knife in the drawer" whose farmhouse lies in the path of the new progressive road. He's married to Clare with secrets of her own. Then there's a 16 year-old girl from the US, June, who celebrated her 16th sweet birthday in Ireland; there's Lucky, her cousin who wanted to visit US but her parents wouldn't let her; there's Lily Ryan who has been abused all these years and now her husband's in jail. She had her baby kidnapped 23 years previously, and she prays at the well every single day. There's stories of love and friendship, career decisions, misunderstandings and forgiveness. There are stories that touch the heart very deeply and other stories that make you shake your head in understanding. Binchy is one of the very few writers that writes so poignantly about life and humanness that can be found in each of us. She takes ordinary people with ordinary problems and turn them into wonderful characters. She has a way of writing that you feel that she knows everything there is about people ~~ the good and the bad. She has a way of making you feel like you're right there having a drink with the characters or perhaps walking the path in Whitethorn Woods to visit the Shrine. Yes, the characters are all built around the debate of whether or not the Shrine should be knocked down in the name of progress ~~ but it's really a minor point in this collection of stories. You get the idea that St. Ann has answered so many prayers, even in modern Ireland that seemingly scoff at old traditions. Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, traditions still rule our thoughts. If you're a Binchy fan, you're in for a treat. The stories are wonderful and I didn't have any problems reading it ~~ they were entertaining and once again, I felt like I was coming home to a cup of hot tea and delightful conversations about people that I "know." Binchy

This is, as is usual for Mave Binchy, quite a delightful book. But for those of her fans who treasure her in-depth family stories, where each person in the book becomes quite well known, this may seem a little disappointing. The heart of the book refers to an ancient well in an Irish village, that over the years has been dedicated to Saint Anne. The village which surrounds it needs a new bypass road, and there is a strong possibility that the well will be destroyed in the name of progress. At the heart of the book is the family that owns the land, including the woods where the well is located, but as the book progresses we touch on the lives of many people who have been exposed to the town, the well and each other. Most chapters are dedicated to two people, who usually have some sort of relationship, and we are treated to their differing perspectives. Frequently, as is the case with Ms Binchy's other books, their lives are strangely intertwined with others, but at other times less so. It is as always quite charming, and I can recommend it. If others don't give it 5 stars, it is because it is a little different from her other works, but it is worth perservering with and wonderfully enjoyable!