When a new highway threatens to bypass the town of Rossmore and cut through Whitethorn Woods, everyone has a passionate opinion about whether the t...
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Jan 29, 2012
Sandie
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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 More...
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 More...
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May 01, 2010
Kristin
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I am a Maeve Binchy fan, and enjoyed this one. Set in Ireland (of course), each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character, and the chapters are paired so that you get one side of the story, and then the other person's side. All the characters have a connection to Rossmore, where a road is going to go through the woods and take out a well and a statue of St Ann, who has reportedly answered many prayers for her petitioners. All the character's stories weave this well into their
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May 01, 2010
Cathy
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Binchy's books tend to fall into two categories: novels and collections of stories. This one is the latter. She writes stories about a bunch of loosely connected individuals. If you're not into that, this would be frustrating. But her writing is entertaining and generally pleasant. Some books are more upbeat and "happy endings" than others. But mostly, she makes for fun, relaxing reading that's fairly easy. Fun character studies.
May 01, 2010
DiabolicalMom
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I don't know why i feel a loyalty to Binchy. Whenever a new book comes out I usually buy it even though I haven't enjoyed one of her books in years. She's switched from straight novels to collections of short stories, all related to another in some way. In this, her latest, the connections are a stretch, and the stories are so short it is hard to feel connected to a character or even interested in their plight. Plus, when she writes of modern ireland, which she has for a while now, it lacks t
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May 01, 2010
Jennifer
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Starts with short stories. You don't know whether you should keep track of all of the characters because they all might join up together. Eventually there are so many, and the stories are so short, I stopped caring what happened to any of them. Then they do meet up, but not all of them. I would think of one from the the first half (or I hoped it was the same book, I couldn't keep track of the names!) or a situation would sound familiar and I would realize it's picking up that story. A couple of
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Jan 31, 2012
Mary
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A proposed highway through the quiet Irish town of Rossmore will mean the destruction of St. Ann's Well - a shrine supposed to deliver healing, husbands and other miracles - located in Whitethorn Woods. The shrine is located in Father Brian Flynn's parish, St Augustine's.
As a fracas erupts between the people who want the highway and believers who want the shrine preserved, Fr. Flynn finds himself in the middle of the issue not sure where he stands in an increasingly secular Ireland. More...
As a fracas erupts between the people who want the highway and believers who want the shrine preserved, Fr. Flynn finds himself in the middle of the issue not sure where he stands in an increasingly secular Ireland. More...
May 03, 2011
Cathy
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This book is a collection of short stories, all geographically centered around a well that may or may not bring miracles, and a proposed road that may destroy it. There are some overlaps on some of the vignettes, each told from the perspective of the person each is about, but the common thread is the well, which is often just a point of reference. Some of the stories are very amusing. I did feel like a couple of the storylines, while recurring throughout the novel, went unresolved, which was
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Oct 15, 2010
Charlotte
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This novel is set in Ireland in the town of Rossmore. The base for the story is set by Father Flynn, the curate of the local Catholic Church. In a day of visiting with parishioners and community folk, readers learn that while he likes his job and is obviously good with people, his greatest frustration is St. Ann's Well in the nearby Whitethorn Woods where people come from all over the world to pray and believe the prayers have been answered. Father Flynn is often called to speak there and st
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Jun 13, 2011
Laurel-Rain
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One of the best things about Maeve Binchy's books is her ability to incorporate richly detailed and sometimes quirky characters into gorgeous settings—usually in Ireland.
In "WHITETHORN WOODS," by Maeve Binchy, the setting is Rossmoor, a small Irish village centered around a "wishing well" type sanctuary; there we meet a variety of characters whose lives have been impacted in one way or another by the presence of the well.
Each character is introduced in More...
In "WHITETHORN WOODS," by Maeve Binchy, the setting is Rossmoor, a small Irish village centered around a "wishing well" type sanctuary; there we meet a variety of characters whose lives have been impacted in one way or another by the presence of the well.
Each character is introduced in More...
May 11, 2011
Kathy
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Stuff like "Soft Apocalypse" is the reason why I also read Maeve Binchy. Her books almost always have a happy ending. Or at least an ending that makes sense, where people get what they deserve. This one is no exception; it's set in Ireland, like all of hers are, and the people are charming and sympathetic characters, the dilemmas will probably be solved by the end of the book, etc. This one is about a town that has a "sacred well" - a lot of places in the British Isles ha
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Aug 11, 2011
Nayana
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To be frank, I didn't finish this book; after a point, I simply stopped caring what happened to any of the characters. The book is a collection of short stories each narrated from the perspective of at least two characters. While I do love stories with multiple perspectives, they make sense only when these perspectives converge to give the original situation more depth and clarity. However, here the author seems to simply follow a set pattern as if writing a school assignment where the key More...
Aug 03, 2010
Eva
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Written like a collection of short stories, Maeve Binchy portrays people whose lives were changed after visiting a shrine to St. Ann in Whitethorn Woods outside the town of Rossmore in Ireland. The character portraits are fascinating and range from people you wish you knew to ones you're glad you will never meet.
The book is tied together by the threat of destruction to the shrine. A big new road is planned which will reduce congestion in Rossmore and make it safer for pedestrians. More...
The book is tied together by the threat of destruction to the shrine. A big new road is planned which will reduce congestion in Rossmore and make it safer for pedestrians. More...
May 01, 2010
Melissa
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I am usually a big fan of Maeve Binchy, but I just could not get into this book. It was not really a full novel, but a collection of short stories. It is just not the type of writing I am in to. I like when I can watch a character grow and develop. This book was lacking that quality.
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Jan 04, 2012
Katherine
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Binchy writes novels and short stories set in Ireland. Whitethorn Woods is a blending of the genres. Set in Ireland (but of course) the central character is St. Anne's well that everyone in town has traveled deep into the woods to pray to. Some to find love, others to be with child, all swear by the magic that the well brings. A bypass road is going to be built and would tear down the woods and the well contained within. Each chapter of this heartwarming and delightfully simple book is about a c
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Dec 02, 2010
Sandy
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Apr 09, 2011
Qiana
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This one was a gem! I remember reading a book by Maeve Binchy about 10 years or so ago and being mildly impressed with her down-to-earth story-telling, but not too excited over it. Now that I'm older, I can truly appreciate her way of bringing ordinary people to life for a reader. In this book, she literally creates a new character for almost every single chapter complete with background stories. In this way, she makes a sort of tapestry out of this small Irish town called Rossmore and the centr
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Jul 23, 2010
Rebecca
rated it:
Really 3 1/2 stars...I have a hard time choosing between 3 and 4 stars. Today I'm saying this is a 3 star book, if you ask me tomorrow I might say it was a 4 star book.
Like a lot of Maeve Binchy books, this was a simple, easy read. Like a lot of Maeve Binchy characters, I found many of the people in this book to be fun and interesting and others just mean and uninteresting. I particularly liked one of the chapters about a character who decides to invite 11 people to her home for a di More...
Like a lot of Maeve Binchy books, this was a simple, easy read. Like a lot of Maeve Binchy characters, I found many of the people in this book to be fun and interesting and others just mean and uninteresting. I particularly liked one of the chapters about a character who decides to invite 11 people to her home for a di More...
Sep 05, 2010
Eileen
rated it:
A perfect summer read.
Binchy transports us to a small Irish town, home to a shrine (St. Ann's Well) that is threatened by destruction due to the proposed building of a new road. Three threads - the road, the woods and the well - run through the book and tie the characters together. We get to know the people of Rossmore as they recount, in first person, their separate stories. The exception is Father Brian Flynn whose occasional third-person narration alternates between poignant and l More...
Binchy transports us to a small Irish town, home to a shrine (St. Ann's Well) that is threatened by destruction due to the proposed building of a new road. Three threads - the road, the woods and the well - run through the book and tie the characters together. We get to know the people of Rossmore as they recount, in first person, their separate stories. The exception is Father Brian Flynn whose occasional third-person narration alternates between poignant and l More...
Jul 20, 2010
Cheryl
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This book was a collection of mini-stories about the people who live in or near the village of Rossmore, a small Irish town that is debating whether or not to build a road through the legendary Whitethorn Woods. The woods are home to a religious shrine to St. Ann, which would be desstroyed if the road were to go through. The people in each of this vignettes have been affected by this shrine in one way or another, and these stories are their voice as they each tell their personal tale. The auth
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Dec 09, 2011
Deanna Annaed
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I almost want to give this book a four star review because I would read it again. Except that I only want to read it again because there were like 40 characters, all interesting, and all of their stories were left kind of hanging. Each chapter is one small story told from the point of view of two different people involved in the story. I really liked how the author was able to make each story and the characters engaging and interesting, but it seemed more like a book of short stories, but where
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Jun 22, 2011
Laurel
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Typically I love Maeve Binchy books. Each of her previous books focused on a core group of characters and how they interact and their lives are connected. I found this particular book to be hard to keep up with because there are TOO MANY different characters. The characters are intertwined in some way, as is typical with Binchy's books, but because of the vast number of characters, I found it difficult to determine the connections because them. It was still an enjoyable read as are all of Bin
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Feb 06, 2011
Connie
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This book was a collecion of very short stories. I would become interested in a character, and there would be many stories before I could find out more about that person. I had a hard time keeping up with so many characters. The initial story line was interesting about a highway planned to bypass the town of Rossmore in Ireland. The proposed highway would go through the Whitethorn Woods and destroy a landmark St. Ann's well. All of the characters had a connection to the well. Not all of the char
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May 01, 2010
Doris
rated it:
I love everything Maeve Binchy writes!
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Feb 04, 2012
Kay
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This book was an exercise in frustration for me. I was relieved to finish it. I don't think that's the emotion you should feel when you finish a book. It wasn't a novel, really. It was a bunch of little stories, with the characters all having some connection to a place in Ireland- Whitethorn Woods. Some of the stories and characters intertwine, but it's very hard to keep track of everyone. Though Binchy is good at characterization, I kept forgetting them before they came up again, so I fel
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Feb 11, 2012
Jacqueline
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Maeve Binchy's books are known for their many characters and interlinking stories, and this book is certainly no exception. The central character is Father Brian Flynn, the curate of a town called Rossmore, who is struggling with the town's ever decreasing need for the church. He is also concerned with their ever increasing need to pray to the statue of St. Anne by the well in the woods...a well that was present long before Christianity reached Ireland's shores.
But the talking point o More...
But the talking point o More...
Jul 28, 2011
It was a good read but I don't think it was one of her best...as for Mary Pal's comment about not remembering the charaters....it happened to me as well....even though I read the book while spending an inordinate amount of time at the hairdressers - only had about 1/5 of the book left when I left the hairdresser - and finished it by evening - and even then - I had to re-think how some of the characters fell into the picture! Generally, a nice, heart-warming book (as usual) but like i said, not h
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May 20, 2011
Sally906
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Opening Sentence: “…Father Brian Flynn, the curate in St Augustine’s, Rossmore, hated the feast day of St Anne with a passion that was unusual for a Catholic priest…”
The story opens with the explanation that when a proposed highway is built to bypass the Irish town of Rossmore it will mean the destruction of Whitethorn woods that surrounds St. Ann’s well. The well is a well loved shrine as it is believed that St Ann answers prayers. The shrine resides in the parish of Father Brian Flyn More...
The story opens with the explanation that when a proposed highway is built to bypass the Irish town of Rossmore it will mean the destruction of Whitethorn woods that surrounds St. Ann’s well. The well is a well loved shrine as it is believed that St Ann answers prayers. The shrine resides in the parish of Father Brian Flyn More...
Aug 12, 2010
Donna
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This book doesn't follow a story line like the summary would suggest. Really it is a series of character sketches about the people who live in this town where the St Ann shrine is threatened by a modern road. I love the character sketches and stories. No one seems to write everyday, regular characters with all their quirks and uniqueness like Binchy. However, it is very difficult to keep straight who is who and how they all fit together. In some cases they don't fit together, don't even kno
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May 01, 2010
Sarah
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So thus far, this was my least favorite Maeve Binchy, which I expected given that I was rather "eh" about the premise and bought it for $2 Canadian on my last day in Montreal.
The titular woods in Rossmore, Ireland are home to a shrine of St. Ann's that is being threatened with extinction due to a new motorway coming through. Binchy weaves together the stories of dozens of people who live in Rossmore or have prayed at the shrine, leaving the fate of the place itself in the More...
The titular woods in Rossmore, Ireland are home to a shrine of St. Ann's that is being threatened with extinction due to a new motorway coming through. Binchy weaves together the stories of dozens of people who live in Rossmore or have prayed at the shrine, leaving the fate of the place itself in the More...
May 01, 2010
Rachelle
rated it:
St. Patricks Day is the perfect day to finish a book by an Irish author whose stories typically take place in Ireland. I think Maeve Binchy's target market is middle-aged women and maybe grandmas, which would make me want to hate her books, but I have a soft spot for them. Somewhere in the early to mid 90s I read Circle of Friends
and I was hooked. Back then I read almost every Binchy book I could get my hands on. Before reading Whitethorn Woods, it was probably a decade since I last picked one
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and I was hooked. Back then I read almost every Binchy book I could get my hands on. Before reading Whitethorn Woods, it was probably a decade since I last picked one
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