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Echoes

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 5,584 ratings · 280 reviews

"It was sometimes called the echo cave, and if you shouted your question loud enough in the right direction, you got an answer instead of an echo..."
Clare and David--divided as children by a rigid social code that branded her as shanty Irish and him as gentry...brought together as adults by a desire that knew no class, no barriers, only the urgent hunger of two people des...more

Mass Market Paperback, 496 pages

Published September 9th 1999 by Dell (first published 1985)

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Best Books By Maeve Binchy

13th out of 21 books — 79 voters

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Love Is Never Past Tense... by Janna Yeshanova

Dramatic Love Stories

80th out of 157 books — 550 voters

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Dec 11, 2012 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who likes historical fiction

Recommended to Mary by: Library Book Sale

Shelves: my-library, 1970-1989, 96-100, bought-at-a-library-book-sale, historical-fiction, paperback

Clare and David - divided as children by a rigid social code that branded her as shanty Irish and he as gentry class...brought together as adults by a passion that couldn't be denied. It was a desire that knew no class, no barriers, only the urgent hunger of two people destined to love and ready to defy any convention used by a world determined to keep them apart.

Even at fifteen, David Power knew eleven-year-old Clare O'Brien's dearest wish, to win a school prize. But it was years before Dr. Pow...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: bought-copy, chick-lit

The village of Castlebay is a tiny little place atop some cliffs on the coast of Ireland. In the summer visitors flock to the little caravan park and the houses for rent, but in the winter the place is deathly quiet. In the late fifties three restless children grow up together in Castlebay: Clare, the daughter of the shopkeeper, who works and works to earn a scholarship to college; David, the son of the doctor, destined to follow in his father's footsteps but dreaming of much more; and Gerry, da...more The village of Castlebay is a tiny little place atop some cliffs on the coast of Ireland. In the summer visitors flock to the little caravan park and the houses for rent, but in the winter the place is deathly quiet. In the late fifties three restless children grow up together in Castlebay: Clare, the daughter of the shopkeeper, who works and works to earn a scholarship to college; David, the son of the doctor, destined to follow in his father's footsteps but dreaming of much more; and Gerry, dark and gypsy-like, and a total heart-breaker. Echoes follows their stories as they intertwine over the next decade - they all manage to break free of the paths set by their parents, but will they ever escape the echo of their past?

I read Maeve Binchy for the comfort - the falling into a different pace of life, where villagers gossip to each other, and often marrying right is the only ambition a girl might have. At the same time as being slightly frustrated at the backwards attitudes on show, I like to reflect on how such a short time ago abortions were completely taboo, women didn't study and classes mattered so much more than they do these days.

Echoes is a different breed of Binchy - rather than the usually uplifting and ultimately hopeful tale she tells, this is a dark and disturbed tale in the most part. The ending is truly tragic and few of the characters are very likable.

I struggled to read to the end - it felt akin to watching Eastenders or Coronation Street (unnecessarily bleak and gloomy). When your escapist go-to comfort read is a little too much like real life, it becomes less escapism and more realism.

Having said that, I enjoyed Binchy's portrayal of life in what seems to be a foreign land. The idea of a village who couldn't accept a priest who had decided to marry; the fact that gay people were referred to in horrified terms; the way that post-natal depression is laughed away (how can any woman be depressed when she has achieved what God intended her to do?) It is almost a form of historical research, since Binchy shows easily the fishbowl view of living in a village.

This particular quote emphasises the attitudes of the time: "Don't boast of it, you little tramp. Don't stand there like a slut in my kitchen and tell me what you were eager for and what you weren't. You've ruined us all in this family. We'll be the laughing stock of the place - marrying into the Powers no less. Do you think that Mrs Power is going to let the likes of you cross her doorstep? Do you think that woman is going to let her son, with the fine education he has, marry a girl from a shop in Castlebay?"

As I said, there are very few truly likable characters - even the best of them have moments where you wish you could throw the book across the room because of their manners, or beliefs, or actions. I never like adultery in a book, and the occurrence of it in Echoes is particularly heart-breaking, which made it very hard to endure.

I wasn't a fan of the story. I enjoyed the writing and enjoyed the historical relevance of the novel, but the actual plot and characters let Echoes down in a big way. If you're going for a Maeve Binchy novel for the comfort, I would suggest either Circle of Friends or Firefly Summer. If you do happen to like dark and bleak sagas with a heavy dose of tragedy, then this should prove very satisfactory. (less)

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Sep 25, 2010 Jane Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: relationships-fiction

Excellent read about different types of people, but somewhat sad ending.

I normally prefer romance novels, but this was nice for a change. It's a story about many different people in a small town on the coast of Ireland. Some set goals and work hard for them, others do not. One fellow had movie star good looks, was very smart, but never committed to anyone or anything. Girls loved him. It was fascinating watching what happened to these people over the course of many years. Some people I loved, ot...more

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Jun 13, 2010 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Anyone who knows me knows that I am in love with the world that Binchy so easily creates. So, they may be surprised that I am only giving "Echoes" a 3 out of 5.

While her setting, cast of characters and storytelling abilities are as top-notch as ever, this book left me strangely unsatisfied. My main issue seems to be one that is "echoed" forgive the pun, by many of my fellow reviewers. Mainly that the love story of Clare and David is not given enough time to develop in comparison with the rest o...more

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Nov 06, 2009 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-books-read

I really enjoy Maeve Binchy's novels, and apparently this is a reissue of one of her very early ones. This story focuses on 3 characters: Angela O'Hara, a spinster teacher caring for her invalid mother; David Powers, the only son of the town's doctor and his unhappy wife; and Clare O'Brien, the intelligent, ambitious daughter of a shopkeeper. The lives of the 3 are closely intertwined, and we follow them through the 1950's and early 1960's. Clare rises "above her station" and wins a scholarship...more

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Mar 18, 2010 Jasmin rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Masochists

Shelves: romance

This book exhausted me. I really don't like giving low ratings, but this book sucked the life out of me, that I couldn't even give it 3 stars.

Looking at the back, I would think it was all a love story and all about Clare and David, but in the first few pages, there were so many characters in it, I couldn't tell who from who. Probably blame it to me just reading at a moving vehicle, but still! First 300 pages were meant to emphasize how different Clare and David were. No romance or whatsoever. A...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Tina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book has been sitting on my TBR pile for quite some time. The synopsis on the back of the book really drew me in, and thats why I originally bought it. I have never read anything else by the author, but I definitely will now! I really enjoyed Binchy's writing style: so simplistic, yet so detailed. That might sound a bit odd, but her she didn't use overly big words to try to make the story more elegant or classy; she simply wrote her story and it came across beautifully. I really enjoyed th...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Jenna St Hilaire rated it 2 of 5 stars

For the first three-quarters of this story, I loved it. For most of the last quarter, I had my arm drawn back, ready to send the book flying against the far wall. Binchy held off anything resembling resolution for the main characters to the last two or three pages, and all I can say about that without spoiling it entirely is that though it was nowhere near a rainbows and unicorns ending, I didn’t throw the book across the room after all.

Binchy, despite her stylistic licentiousness regarding comm...more For the first three-quarters of this story, I loved it. For most of the last quarter, I had my arm drawn back, ready to send the book flying against the far wall. Binchy held off anything resembling resolution for the main characters to the last two or three pages, and all I can say about that without spoiling it entirely is that though it was nowhere near a rainbows and unicorns ending, I didn’t throw the book across the room after all.

Binchy, despite her stylistic licentiousness regarding commas and her tendency to pose questions without using a question mark (one of my pet peeves), is a fantastic storyteller. Her people live and think and feel with the beautiful and awful, hilarious and poignant inconsistencies of reality. The situations she describes are relatively everyday—at least, the everyday of small-town Irish Catholic life circa 1960—but they hold the reader’s attention nonetheless.

The history, odd as it feels to use that term for something as recent as the Fifties and Sixties, was interesting. Set in the last years before Vatican II unleashed its mixed bag of major changes upon the Catholic Church, Echoes snaps a picture of the time within the place: firm country traditionalism, unexamined and unfair as it often is, and yet both beautiful and correct in its way; young people caught up in education and city anonymity, trying their strength against the boundaries of morality and stigma and scandal.

The one fault I found with this book was that in a couple of respects, it was Circle of Friends, second verse. In both novels, the boys did what they did for the same halfwitted reasons and justified themselves with the same witless excuses. I'd have appreciated it if one of them had at least pretended to understand that he was in the wrong. But in this case, it was worse; it seemed an unnecessary, even irresponsible inclusion—a method not of developing the primary characters, but of bringing the Gerry Doyle plot thread to its climax. It's not unimaginable that I've missed the point, however.

All that aside, I had little trouble understanding and loving most of the characters. Angela O’Hara might have been my favorite; brilliant and beautiful and single, desperate to do the right thing while avoiding scandal. She was absolutely sympathetic. Clare suffered so much that I could not do less than love her, though at one point—maybe two or three—she could have used a stiff talking-to, not that it would have worked. Mary Catherine and Valerie and Josie are humanly lovable friends with very believable weaknesses and strengths.

There were a handful of characters who were unsympathetic or difficult at some level, and in every case the author controlled this fabulously. Molly Power and Gerry Doyle and Sean O’Hara are too ordinary to seem like villains, but they come off all the more villainous because of their ordinariness. Shuya makes herself both problem and solution. Chrissie is a mess and a mystery.

I don’t know how I feel about David. I may never decide that. I don’t see him as loathsome as, say, Kristin Lavransdatter’s Erlend, but he’s not Taylor Caldwell’s Luke either.

Dick Dillon, however—there’s a man and a hero for you. Father Flynn, likewise.

Perhaps I should say one more thing about the ending. As noted before, it’s not rainbows and unicorns. It’s not entirely satisfactory, and everybody doesn’t get their perfect understanding of just how bad they were and how they ought to go on. It is, however, a step toward redemption. And I appreciated that.(less)

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Apr 20, 2011 Holly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: women

Recommended to Holly by: Erin Koster

Shelves: drama, fiction, read-in-2011

I received Echoes from a dear friend who is a big fan of Ireland (spending several years there herself) and of Maeve Binchy. This is the first book that I've read by the author.

To be honest, the first third of the book seemed extremely slow going to me. I thought that the character backgrounds that Binchy plotted out were extremely vast and overdone. BUT, by the time the storyline really picked up, I was entranced. I'd already developed emotions and opinions about every character, and Binchy re...more

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May 07, 2008 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-ultimate-comfort-reads

This was the first one I ever read. And so began a long devotion to Maeve Binchy. She writes such wonderful stories. Whenever I'm tired, or fussed, or stressed, these are the books I come back to time and time again. Cannot tell you how many times I have read these books. Like sinking into a hot, deep bath, or a great big cuddle. Bliss ...

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Jan 05, 2010 Sueij rated it 3 of 5 stars

Maeve Binchy is back on track! I wasn't as impressed by the last two books of hers that I read (Whitethorn Woods and Night of Moon and Stars), but I though that Echoes went back to some of the outstanding storytelling that I loved in Quentin's, Scarlett Feather, Tara Road, and others. Binchy has a gift in her ability to tell the story of a quiet, off-the-beaten-path kind of place and yet draw you in to the character's lives in a way that leaves you itching to pick up the book at all times of day...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Bookishtrish rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: irish-authors

I must have originally read this book about 25 years ago and it's one of my comfort books. Yes, I know most people have comfort food but I have comfort books! This book is the literary equivalent of wrapping yourself up in a warm blanket, settling yourself on an old but comfy couch and having a long gossip with a good friend.

It's heartwarming (but still gritty), the characters are multi dimensional with lots of flaws but remain engaging. Echoes gives a lovely snapshot of Ireland as it used to b...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 08, 2012 Ellie Mendez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Little by little I want to read all of Maeve Binchy's work and Echoes was the second novel she published. Such a beautiful work where we're introduced to some recurring characters like St. Anne and Father Flynn. This story revolves around the lives of people in a small town called Castlebay. There is love, betrayal, family dramas, friendships and the town itself.

Reading Binchy's work is always so restful and I can just imagine it in an Irish accent. It also makes me want to visit and live a lif...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Melissa Klunejko rated it 2 of 5 stars

I will say I did not care for this book by Maeve Binchy. It's been a long time since I've read it, but basically, the main character marries into money and when she has her baby, she becomes depressed and becomes dowdy, messy, and doesn't care for the baby.

She eventually finds her husband in bed with her best friend.

Due to me going through the same exact thing in my life at that time, this probably wasn't the best thing for me to read. I may go back and read this, since it's been a long time now...more

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Aug 07, 2011 Tracy Walters rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I first started to read this book......I really didn't want to and so it took me 2 mos. to finally get into reading it....I have NO IDEA why I didn't want to read it......it ended up being one of those books that you just can't put down.....I LOVED IT!!! I loved the characters with all their flaws and the world they had created for themselves in Castlebay, Ireland. Maeve Binchey is a wonderful writer and author....she makes you lose yourself in her books and actually feel as though you are...more

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Feb 08, 2009 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: september-reads, 2008-carryover, family-saga, historical-romance

This is a beautiful love story through a few years of two lovers in Ireland, the obstacles they face from two social classes through their lives. A good read for 4.5 days.

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Feb 01, 2013 Heather Best rated it 3 of 5 stars

I love Binchy's work in general, and after she passed away recently, I felt an urge to catch up on all of the books I hadn't read yet. This was another typically touching story, full of unique and fully-fleshed out characters, and dealt with some very heavy subject matter. It wasn't overly predictable, and the unexpected turn at the end was especially upsetting. I usually read her books because they'll make me feel good, but whew, this one had a tough ending that left me feeling pretty drained....more

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Jun 06, 2010 Rainbow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this book up at a Target in Orlando. When I saw it, I felt rescued from the rest of the shelf. Anyway ... it's an awesome read, romantic and kind of unsettling. The main character is extremely easy to root for. Then I realized four-fifths of the way through THAT I HAD ALREADY READ IT. It's a re-release. I have it at home. I tore through everything by Maeve Binchy about eight years ago.

OK, the fact that I completely forgot this book has nothing to do with Maeve Binchy. I just don't retai...more

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Oct 23, 2008 Chandra rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, love-romance

This is the book that finally convinced me to give up on Maeve Binchy. Melodramic and dull!

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Jul 19, 2009 Jeanette rated it 3 of 5 stars

I love ready Binchy....I first fell in love with her style with Tara Road.....than of course, Quintens.....Echoes is an earlier book but I never got around to reading it,.,until now. I fell in love with the whole little town. My favorite character should have been Clare but she is just too much for me...I liked Paddy...the town doc...he was just so down to earth and nothing seemed to phase him. A great read...especially in summer at the pool. I plan on picking another one of her books as my next...more

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May 20, 2010 Rusty added it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

Maeve Binchy weaves delightful stories and this one is no exception. "It was sometimes called the Echo Cave, and if you shouted your question loud enough in the right direction you got an answer instead of an echo." Thus, two children, 15 and 11, find their lives woven together. Years later, David Power, an only son, finds himself drawn to Clair O'Brien, a huckster's daughter, whose 11-year-old dream was to simply win a school prize. The two live their lives apart until one day both return to th...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Michelle added it · review of another edition

The book starts out in the 1950's in a small seaside town in Ireland and follows the lives of two young people and their families. David Power is the son of the town doctor, while Clare's family runs the general store. Clare dreams of something more in life and is aided by one of her teachers to strive for scholarship to help her try to escape her destiny and class. In contrast, David is expected to become a doctor and marry right. We see Clare's struggles as she finds herself between worlds, wh...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars

If there's one thing I love about Maeve Binchy, it's feeling like I have personally met her characters. I thought the beginning of this book was fairly quiet for one of her books, but the ending was in true Binchy style (although I felt it was rushed). There was a lot I could relate to in this book- people lacking interest in you, being told you're not good enough to date a certain person, trying to find success and accomplishment, wanting to make people proud of you, feeling like you can't rela...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a nice chanage of pace for me. I really like the tales of ordinary people living ordinary lives and making it interesting. This story takes place in a small resort town in Ireland during the 1950's'60's. Most of the people in this town make their yearly living during the 12 weeks of summer. The main charactors are Clare, brainy daughter of the local small poor grocer. David, the doctors son, a rich boy and Gerry O'Dyer, photographer, playboy who all the girls love. Clare is the only girl...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Bronwyn Rykiert rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

I love this story – it is my second Maeve Binchy novel. I have only recently been introduced to this reader and I have truly enjoyed what I have read so far.

This is the story of David Powers, only son of the local doctor and Clare O'Brien, youngest daughter of a local store owner, and how their lives seem to be destined to come together, despite their social differences. They grow up in the same small town of Castlebay in Ireland. It takes place from 1952 to 1962.

Clare's wants to go to Universit...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Sue rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, ireland

Clare O'Brien and David Power both grow up in the small town of Castlebay in Ireland. While in the same town, they're from opposite sides of the tracks, so to speak. David is the only child of the town doctor, while Clare is a daughter of one of the town shop owners - socially two different worlds. Clare finds ways to study hard and is able to earn a scholarship to the University in Dublin. David also attends the university. In spite of knowing each other for years, it is then that they fall in...more

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Feb 04, 2011 Abby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

Only Maeve Binchy's third novel, published way back in 1985. Despite being 25 years old, this novel still held all the charm of a typical book by Binchy. She certainly has a way with words and her ability to develop and intertwine characters never fails to baffle me.

Many characters were introduced in Echoes but by the end of the book, only two could really be considered the main characters. Which begs the question: Why even bother introducing and developing all the others? Either way, it was a c...more

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Aug 12, 2008 Cynthia rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 2 1/2 out of 4 Stars
Growing up in a small town in Ireland in the 50's and 60's. Clare, David, Gerry and Angela and their families live in Castlebay, a small town on the coast that is a summer resort town. A wonderful portrait of a time and place, interlocking lives, and especially of class distinctions in that time. All the characters are real and sympathetic, especially Clare and Angela. Clare and David's love isn't as central or interesting as it could have been. Village life and Dublin Univer...more 2 1/2 out of 4 Stars
Growing up in a small town in Ireland in the 50's and 60's. Clare, David, Gerry and Angela and their families live in Castlebay, a small town on the coast that is a summer resort town. A wonderful portrait of a time and place, interlocking lives, and especially of class distinctions in that time. All the characters are real and sympathetic, especially Clare and Angela. Clare and David's love isn't as central or interesting as it could have been. Village life and Dublin University life is very satisfying to read about, especially the contrast between the residents and the summer visitors.

2nd Review
3/4 Stars
Apparently picked this book up and read again without remembering too much about it!
A small seaside town in Ireland is the setting, as usual. The love between Clare and David is actually the most boring part of the book. Luckily there are many other characters just as interesting. Angela O'Hara, the schoolteacher who encourages Clare is a great character. She too was a scholarship student who had to come back to Castlebay to take care of her mother and doesn't have too much of a life there. Her brother Sean was a missionary priest who met a Japanese girl and married her, and would shame the village if he came home. Angela marries Dick Dillon, reformed alcoholic and nice, interesting guy, and they have plans to build a small hotel. Gerry Doyle was the most interesting character but he is never fully explored. He has tons of promise and is handsome and charming, but becomes obsessed with Clare. The most vivid character is the town of Castlebay itself, and how it is transformed in 15 years from a small town to a large resort, and how it affects the people there. It is a good portrait of how rigid the social codes were and how hard it was to achieve anything there. The struggle for an education for the poor is shown clearly and how much it could mean to them. The two main characters of Clare and David were not my favorite Binchy characters, but the town and the rest of the people were among her best. I knew I had read this after the first few pages, but didn't remember what happened. I did remember the town and Angela, Sean and Gerry mostly.
July 1997(less)

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Nov 07, 2010 Tini rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy was born in Dalkey, County Dublin and came to fame first as London Correspondent for the Irish Times. Her first novel, Light a Penny Candle, made her famous in the UK and USA. She passed away on July 30, 2012, at the age of 72.

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Quotes from Echoes

“I'll understand if you don't want me. But I will be heartbroken. You are all I ever dreamed of and hoped for. You are much, much more. Please know that I didn't think I was mean-minded. But I realize I am. I don't want you to put your arms around me and say it's all right, that you forgive me. I want you to be sure that you do, and my love for you will last as long as I live. I can see no lightness, no humour, no joke to make. I just hope that we will be able to go back to when we had laughter, and the world was coloured, not black and white and grey. I am so sorry for hurting you. I could inflict all kinds of pain on myself, but it would not take back any I gave to you. - David Power” — 206 people liked it

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