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The Copper Beech
by
Maeve Binchy
In the Irish town of Schancarrig, the young people carve their initials-and those of their loves-into the copper beech tree in front of the schoolhouse. But not even Father Gunn, the parish priest, who knows most of what goes on behind Shancarrig's closed doors, or Dr. Jims, the village doctor, who knows all the rest, realizes that not everything in the placid village is w...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
October 2nd 1993
by Dell
(first published January 1st 1992)
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This is my favorite Maeve Binchy book that I've read to date. I've yet to find another person who feels the same way, so perhaps I'm the odd woman out, but I don't mind. I simply got immersed in the story and found it easy to relate to the characters especially Chris.
I loved the idea that everyone thought what they knew what was going in the other characters lives, but it wasn't until you got to their respective chapters that you learned the truth....
I loved the idea that everyone thought what they knew what was going in the other characters lives, but it wasn't until you got to their respective chapters that you learned the truth....
'The Copper Beech' is a series of interwoven character studies, which tell different parts of a story of a small town community in Ireland, in the middle and late twentieth century. It opens with the description of a large beech tree, which gives shade in the grounds of a primary school. The school is being honoured with a visit from the Bishop, and we meet several characters from the town including some mischievous children.
There are then several sections, each written from the perspective of...more
There are then several sections, each written from the perspective of...more
I have to admit that I sometimes get a sense of deja vu when starting any of Binchy's books. Her style is very much her own and taking any chapter from any of her books you can immediately tell it is a Bincky book. However, I think that that is one of the things that appeals to me about her as a writer. I read many modern novels that stretch the form and push the reader to re-evaluate our place on earth, etc., but when the world becomes just a tad to overbearing I always know I can open a Binchy...more
The Copper Beech is just a standard Binchy novel. The characters and setting were very typical Binchy. As with The Silver Wedding, each chapter was about one character, and I found some of their individual stories interesting, or at least with the potential to be interesting had they been developed and not overshadowed by the general "how the years pass by in a small Irish town" plot. Clearly that's one of Binchy's favorite plots, and she did it pretty well in Firefly Summer. However, I don't th...more
One evening I went to visit with a neighbor who had just returned from another neighbor's house with 2 books and this was one of them. I mentioned that I loved Maeve Binchy and was sadden by her passing. My neighbor asked if I would like to borrow the book as she had the other book to read as well and I gratefully snatched it out of her hands. At 400+ pages, I wasn't sure how long it would take me to finish it--especially since I had a few library books that were due back soon. The next day my h...more
Jan 31, 2012
Mary
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who likes contemporary fiction
Recommended to Mary by:
Bookmooch
In the Irish town of Shancarrig, the young people carve their intials - and those of the people that they love - into the trunk of an ancient copper beech tree in front of the schoolhouse. But not even the parish priest, Father Gunn, who knows everything that goes on behind closed doors, or Dr. Jims, the village doctor, who knows all the rest, realizes that not everything in the placid town is as it seems.
Unexpected passions and fear are bringing together so many people; the handsome new priest...more
Unexpected passions and fear are bringing together so many people; the handsome new priest...more
I picked up this book simply because its author was Irish--I'm into all things Irish these days. The author tells the stories, one at a time, of eight schoolchildren in a small Irish village who carve their initials on graduation day into the huge copper beech tree beside the school. The stories intertwine and build on each other. Some characters were likeable, others not, which I'm sure was the intent of the author, but it shows how you never know what life will bring.
In Shancarrig, the copper beech tree stands in front of the local schoolhouse. This tree is the place where school children traditionally carve their initials and those of their loves. Of course there's a story behind each of the names on the trunk of that tree, and this book explores some of the individuals whose lives connected at a particular time in Shancarrig's history. As each new character is introduced we see how lives are intertwined and relationships are formed or broken.
What I like ab...more
What I like ab...more
This is the first novel of Maeve Binchy's that I read and I can see why she is such a popular writer. She understands people. Even if
your life is far removed from the Irish Catholic world that she portrays, as a reader you can empathize with the plight of her characters.
This novel concerns the stories of several school friends whose lives
are portrayed from early adolescence to adulthood. My favorite story
concerned the long distance friendship between Eddie and Chris, but
each story was well done...more
your life is far removed from the Irish Catholic world that she portrays, as a reader you can empathize with the plight of her characters.
This novel concerns the stories of several school friends whose lives
are portrayed from early adolescence to adulthood. My favorite story
concerned the long distance friendship between Eddie and Chris, but
each story was well done...more
I have a feeling that most of the books written by Maeve Binchy have the same feel to them. This book "felt" a lot like Circle of Friends. Books about small towns, where everyone knows, everyone's business, or they spend a great deal of time trying to hide things from the each other-sometimes with success, sometimes not. An aspect of her books (well at least the two I have read) that I do not enjoy is the affairs, unwanted pregnancies, and abortions. It could be because of my belief about how tr...more
Never judge a book club member by her cover. There was this lady in my former book group whom I didn't know and when she chose this book I just knew she'd picked it up at the check-out line at Albertson's. Wrong. Maeve Binchy is a good storyteller and her characters are as real as their lives are not boring.
A huge copper beech tree sits in the school yard in Shancarrig and everyone has weitten their names in the tree through out the years. From ryan's Hotel to Barna Woods, where the gypsies came each year, from Nellie Dunn's sweet shop to FatherGunn's church, the tenor of life in this small Irish village is outwardly placid and uneventful. Nessa Ryan would say it was deadly dull. But, behind the calm exterior, serenity fades into unexpected drama. Maddy Ross has a secret love; Eddie Barton a surpri...more
I love Maeve Binchy books. They are like comfort food in a book. Copper Beech is a story of some of the towns people that went to the school with a big beech tree in front. They are from different backgrounds and end up in different places as adults but they all have the town, the school and the beech tree in common. There is a twist in the end that comes completely unexpectedly but answers a question that you have a curiosity about throughout the book. Maeve Binchy is a great storyteller and we...more
I enjoyed this story very much. It centers around a cooper beech growing outside an old school building in the small town of Shancarig in Ireland. As the children graduate from the first level of this school they carve their names or initials in the trunk of the tree and this story captures the lives of a group of these children as they are grow up, graduate and become adults. There is Foxy and Leo, Maury and Niels and Richard and more. Binchy writes her characters so well you either feel as tho...more
I cannot say that it was my favourite Binchy yet but I must say that it was quite interesting. I liked the way that the author broke down the novel according to the several characters who made the story what it was. I also liked the fact that when an event occured with one character, more details were provided in another chapter based on a supporting character. At times the novel was difficult to put down as the story was so appealing, despite the fact that there was no great particular event pe...more
Ah Maeve Binchy...my favorite author when I want to turn the brain off and nestle myself snugly in her homey, cozy pages. Copper Beech tells of the story of the town of Shancarrig and its various citizens. As with most Binchy books, the characters harbor many secrets and hidden desires that makes for such delicious reading.
Binchy's writing is so straightforward, simple. Yet I love a story with multiple characters and various intertwining plotlines. A Binchy book is the perfect getaway as I alway...more
Binchy's writing is so straightforward, simple. Yet I love a story with multiple characters and various intertwining plotlines. A Binchy book is the perfect getaway as I alway...more
I listened to this one on tape and enjoyed the Irish accent as well as the story. I had started it once before but didn’t get past the first chapter. After reading other Binchy books I went back to this one and found it enjoyable. They are light and cozy but with enough of a plot and conflict to keep me interested. I enjoy listening to them on the drive to and from work. Her books are like a relaxing little vacation. They make me want to visit Ireland. I liked the way she wrote each chapter fro...more
Eight children once carved thier names on the trunk of the great copper beech which shaded the schoolhouse in Shancarrig. Now those children are grown up. For each one, Shancarrig holds special memories - some too private ever to be told
From Ryan's Hotel to Barna Woods where the gypsies came each year, from Nellie Dunn's sweet shop to Father Gunn's Church the tenor of life in this small Irish town is placid, uneventful - some would say dull... But peel away the layers and all sorts of unexpected...more
From Ryan's Hotel to Barna Woods where the gypsies came each year, from Nellie Dunn's sweet shop to Father Gunn's Church the tenor of life in this small Irish town is placid, uneventful - some would say dull... But peel away the layers and all sorts of unexpected...more
Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors. I love to read her new books but re-reading the ones I've already read is like visiting an old friend. I re-read this one a couple of months ago but hadn't gotten around to the review until now. Set in a small town where everyone knows each other by name. I like that each chapter is a glimpse into the lives of the different charaters in the book. I know at some future date I wil gladly re-read this book again.
Not so much a novel as much as it is an endless string of interconnected short stories. Each chapter is from the point of view of a different resident of Shancarrig. The confusing part is that each chapter starts in the 40's or 50's, then rapidly proceeds through at least a decade. The same characters appear and reappear, but since the book jumps around in time so much, you'll meet one character as an adult in one chapter, then re-meet them as a child in another. Confusing.
In the end, I felt lik...more
In the end, I felt lik...more
i will someday stop typing this, but i feel COMPELLED to review the books because i think that is AT LEAST HALF the point of this whole website! the thing is, as i've written before, i read SO MANY of them SO long ago that i no longer know how to rate them. but i DO want to acknowledge that i have read them. this one IS good, but i don't remember HOW good. i think maeve is a good author. i read a couple or several of hers.
The way Maeve Binchy weaves her stories is mesmerizing. You delve into characters and happenings and are engrossed to the end. I like that she uses the same places/people in her stories--she just continues the tale. This is one my favorites. I like her novels better than short stories, but feel I must warn some readers that there are stories of extra-marital affairs and immoral things, but never explicit love scenes
I've been on a Maeve Binchy kick lately, so I can say with confidence that this isn't one of her best books. It's typical Binchy style with each chapter about a different person within the village, but it lacked that certain something that makes a good book an awesome one. I wasn't able to empathize as much as I wanted with the characters. Still, it was a nice, easy, fun, feel good read.
Each chapter serving as a short story of sorts, The Copper Beech is about many of the people who live in a small Irish town. The character development is just terrific and I love how they all know each other and tie to one another throughout the entire book. Binchy makes the day-to-day "commonplace" activities of townsfolk interesting and you feel as though you're privy to secrets. The only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars is the ending felt like she had a hard time bringing all of the characters...more
I think I have read almost every Maeve Binchy book. I haven't read her for a while and picked this book up. It is good, as all her books are. This particular style of each chapter being about one person in the book and going back in time at the beginning of each chapter didn't appeal to me as much as an interwoven story. My personal preference - other than that - good story!
Slow-paced, easy reading. It took a while to grab my interest until I realised I wanted to keep turning the pages.
This is a glimpse into small-town life in the rural Ireland of the early to mid 20th century. Each character's story unfolds separately yet overlapping with the others. A pleasant read, kind of like listening in on a conversation between the local gossips.
This is a glimpse into small-town life in the rural Ireland of the early to mid 20th century. Each character's story unfolds separately yet overlapping with the others. A pleasant read, kind of like listening in on a conversation between the local gossips.
I have read and re-read this novel, which is almost like a series of intertwining short stories, covering a span of years. The setting is a small town in the Irish countryside and the characters are both lovable and very human. I'm not sure what draws me back to this book repeatedly, but is on a different level from Binchy's other works that I have read.
This is a loving portrait of a small town in Ireland that takes place mostly in the 1940's to the 1960's. It's told through the individual stories of many of the characters that live there. From the villlage priest to devious outsiders, their stories intertwine to give the reader the flavor of life in this small town and the dreams, successes, failures, loves and hates of its residents. It is an engaging story.
I like the author's choice of telling the story of the town and the class of 1950 through having each chapter devoted to a single character, and weaving threads of the other stories into each chapter. Most of the stories have an ironic and/or unexpected twist. The stories though are mostly forgettable, though classic Maeve in all aspects.
I read Tara Road by Binchy years and years ago, and it was one of those books that I didn't really like, but then I did. It's not the most compelling thing I've ever read, but I still found myself wanting to continue, so there must be something there.... It was good, not my favorite, but I'd read more Binchy for the same reasons.
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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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