Minding Frankie Discussion

[April]

Discussion thread for Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy!

[Jkmays]

I'm almost done...at 86%. It came to me from the library before I was really ready, so had to read it early in the month. They ZAP it back away from you after 3 weeks.

[Sharon75uk]

I read this at the end of last year and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to joining in the discussion.

[Jkmays]

Is anybody finished yet? I gave it 4 stars. In my younger years this would have had too little action, but now I like a nice, quiet read--it kept me interested.

[Charlotte]

Jkmays wrote: "Is anybody finished yet? I gave it 4 stars. In my younger years this would have had too little action, but now I like a nice, quiet read--it kept me interested."

I agree. It was an easy, enjoyable read. This was my first Maeve Binchy novel and I know I'll be reading more of her work.

[Sharon75uk]

Charlotte wrote: "Jkmays wrote: "Is anybody finished yet? I gave it 4 stars. In my younger years this would have had too little action, but now I like a nice, quiet read--it kept me interested."

I agree. It was an..."

Charlotte I will also be reading more Maeve Binchy, have read a few of her books before...think this is the 2nd one and it is lighthearted and easy to read.

[Jennifer]

I'm reading and listening to it! :) Not too far into yet, but I'm enjoying listening to it for the accents. I think this is the first book I've read by Maeve Binchy.

[Ann]

Charlotte wrote: "Jkmays wrote: "Is anybody finished yet? I gave it 4 stars. In my younger years this would have had too little action, but now I like a nice, quiet read--it kept me interested."

I agree. It was an..." I agree it was a great book, though to me not her best. Those of you who haven't read too many of her books yet, keep going! She's a magnificent writer and her characters jump out of the stories and stay with you. Here's my review such as it is.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Charlotte]

I just picked up 3 Maeve Binchy books, Tara Road, Light a Penny Candle, & Heart and Soul. Can't wait to get started!

[Ann]

Charlotte, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

[Cathie]

I just finished this book. It was a lovely read. 4 stars. No dystopia, no carnage, just life and relationships and what friends and community and support and family mean. This is very much a comforting read and not a shock in your face story and it made me realize how little of these wonderful stories we seem to have nowadays.

I'm very glad we choose this as one of the monthly reads.

I will discuss more on characters and such when others have finished reading :-)

[Lori]

Just getting started on this one....it sounds like a good read from the comments!!!

[Rachel]

this was my first binchy book and although i liked it i didn't love it- gave it 3 stars. definitely a quirky set of characters.

[Lori]

I'm just beginning Chapter Five (pg. 93). A lot of characters in this story. A priest, a hairdresser, a pregnant girl dying of cancer, an alcoholic, a catholic couple, a visiting relative turned thrift shop owner, a graphic artist and a cook. And, lets don't forget the psychotic woman and her dog. So many characters in less than 100 pages but it works!!! I'm enjoying this read.

[Jkmays]

Lori, I often have to reread the beginning of a book to get the characters straight...haha. Or look back with my kindle to search for those characters. At least until I start realizing who will be really important and who I don't have to think much about.

[Cathie]

It's a great story; I didn't like all the characters but I wanted to see how they all interacted and most of them grew on me like relatives and friends we have in life. When you first meet people you know very little about them except their "titles" or main characteristics but as you get to know them, see them in everyday interactions, you find out more about their personalities and the life behind the life that makes each person who they are. I love character studies, both in novels and in real life. People are so interesting and different if we take the time to get to really know their stories :-)

I hope you like the read as much as I did Lori :-)

[Ann]

And Binchy is so good at character development. She gives them their nuances big and little (if a nuance can be big!)! These are complete people and I always feel as if I know them as well as I do the people I see every day! If not better! It's one of the joys of reading her books (imho)and the main reason I enjoy them so much! I for one will miss her stories greatly.

[Cathie]

This was my first Binchy read, but it won't be my last. Ann, I agree with you 100%. It's like picking up a family and friends photo album but only with words instead of pictures. By the time I finished reading I felt like I knew them all, even the casual acquaintances, and this book was about a place and people I knew.

[Lori]

Jkmays wrote: "Lori, I often have to reread the beginning of a book to get the characters straight...haha. Or look back with my kindle to search for those characters. At least until I start realizing who will be ..."

Jkmays, I sometimes have to do the same thing!! I find it interesting that with the number of characters in this book I haven't had that problem. Of course, I am reading it at a faster pace than I usually read so I haven't had as much time to forget things.

[Lori]

Cathie, I'm about 1/2 way through the book and I am enjoying it very much!! This is my first Binchy read, as well, and I am glad to know my library has more than a dozen more books she has written. I think the author did an amazing job of developing all the characters into such "real people"!!

[Jennifer]

I just finished the book. I gave it a 3. I liked it but I kept losing focus because I was listening to it. I had planned to read on kindle and to listen to it, but I kept listening to it when I was working out, cooking, waiting in school pickup line, etc. I wonder if I would have given it more stars if I read more of it! :)

Here is my review (I don't think there are any spoilers):
THis is the first book that I listened to the entire book so I think my rating is based more on how much I liked or didn't like listening to it as opposed to reading it. I think I may have given it a higher rating if I read it. I found I lost focus and although I enjoyed the characters, I would hear a name of a character and wonder who it was or where they came from (Dr. Hat for one). I thought Maeve BInchy developed her main characters very well and I did enjoy the characters and felt like I knew them. I only wish that Moira would have been transformed a bit more. I felt like some of the characters story lines were just wrapped up a bit too quickly in the end and some were not wrapped up as much as I would have liked. But I did enjoy the book for the most part.

[Ann]

Yet, that's one of the things I really enjoy about her books. They aren't always all wrapped up at the end. Like real life. She gives you a slice, a photograph or video of people's lives and circumstances from one point to another point (not the end) as it really happens. Somehow it makes her stories more real to me and I really feel like I've met these people and gotten to know them. That's just my personal take on them, of course!

[Cathie]

Lori wrote: "Cathie, I'm about 1/2 way through the book and I am enjoying it very much!! This is my first Binchy read, as well, and I am glad to know my library has more than a dozen more books she has written...."

Hi Lori :-). Yes, me too; I'll definitely be reading more of her writings :-)

[Cathie]

Ann wrote: "Yet, that's one of the things I really enjoy about her books. They aren't always all wrapped up at the end. Like real life. She gives you a slice, a photograph or video of people's lives and circumstances from one point to another point (not the end)"

Me too Ann :-). In real life we only know about this one instance, not things to come. I feel with the characters in this book we get a nice wrap up of where they are now and with some maybe a feeling of how they will continue on, but the story ends with the final event of what lead up to the "now" in the story, not what might or will happen in the future. It makes it feel like I am still with those characters and the story once I have closed the cover :-)

[Rachel]

who was everyone's favorite character? i really liked the doctor-declan- loved how (view spoiler)[he passed up more money to stay within his close knit community. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

I've finished this. I've never read any of her books before - they always look far too twee. But that's doing her a disservice. the street looks like a perfect community, but it becomes clear that things aren't what they seem, the apparently perfect family doesn't guarantee a happy childhood. I did think it a bit too perfect to start with, but it became clear that everyone is just muddling along as best they can. I did like that it didn't end in a happily ever after style, I think that would have been too much, but I did finish thinking that they were at least all going to muddle along and stood a chance of things working out for them.
Can't say I'll be running to the library to read her back catalogue, but it certainly wasn't the soppy story i'd imagined.

[[deleted user]]

This has just occurred to me - did anyone else think that Moira hadn't learnt anything from her past?
(view spoiler)[she seemed to be trying to remove Frankie form Noel as being an unsuitable parent and place her with a couple like Clara's daughter. But Moira should have known from experience that married parents doesn't equate a happy, stable childhood. Seems to me she was trying to impose a happy ending on everyone, but wasn't prepared to learn from experience. (hide spoiler)]

To answer Rachel's question, I liked Father Brian. he seemed to be more interested in doing good for people than in being dogmatic or blinkered. In my experience, too many people of faith want to help you do what they think is right, not what you need help with.

[Rachel]

helen-i agree about moira- i found her character mostly frustrating.

[Denise]

Ann wrote: "Yet, that's one of the things I really enjoy about her books. They aren't always all wrapped up at the end. Like real life."

I'm glad you mentioned that. I didn't get a chance to read this one, but I'd read Lilac Bus years ago, and I remember really liking the writing/story, but was disappointed that the end was left "undone." It kind of put me off reading anything else of hers, but if that is her way of doing things... I'm thinking about trying more of her books. I will get around to reading this one, it sounds good.

[Lynn]

Helen wrote: "I've never read any of her books before - they always look far too twee. "

That's exactly why I haven't read any of her books. I'm still reading (well listening) at the moment and I'm not totally convinced. While I'm not disliking it in any way, my instinct is that she won't win me around to read any more. We shall see .....

[Cathie]

What is twee? Is that a British term?

[Lynn]

I don't know if Helen is British but obviously you know I am. Maybe it is a British term?

It means sweet, cute, quaint .... generally to the point of excess.

[Denise]

Definitely a British term, one that Americans need to borrow. We just don't have a word that means the same. Just sarcasm or a finger down the throat! :D

[Cathie]

Wow, I defnitely wouldn't have described Minding Frankie as what Denise said. I didn't find Binchy's writing, sweet, cute or quaint either. Maybe it's just me. (I was thinking, though, that now I understood J.K. Rowlings writing of Casual Vacancy even more, as once having read Minding Frankie, I can see the character development and community setting similiarities.)

We don't have any similar term like that here in Canada either.

[Lynn]

Well we didn't say it was, just we thought it would be.

I'm a bit further in now and it's definitely growing on me. Cathie, I too had thought about Casual Vacancy because of this.

[[deleted user]]

Yup, hold on a mo. If you'd care to read all of post 26, I said I'd never read one of her books because they looked twee, I also said that the description was doing the author a disservice. I might not be about to rush out and read the rest, but this one was far more insightful than the cover and rather bland cover text gave it credit for being.

[Lynn]

Aw it totally won me over by the end, such a lovely read. I rated it 4 stars.

[Cathie]

Yea Lynn! I'm glad you liked it :-)

[Jennifer]

So glad I got back to this discussion. It made me smile to see how Lynn's progression through the book.... "it wont win me over..." to "it totally won me over by the end"! Glad you liked it.

Also glad to learn a new British term, twee! I agree with Helen's comment about the cover. It baffles me why the covers of some books aren't better as I am one of those that does judge a book by its cover.

[Lynn]

Heh, glad I made you smile :)