Whitethorn Woods (Vintage)

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Author(s):

Maeve Binchy

Label: Anchor
Publisher(s):

Anchor

Studio: Anchor
Manufacturer: Anchor
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
List Price: $7.99
Our Price: $7.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

When a new highway threatens to bypass the town of Rossmore and cut through Whitethorn Woods, it will also destroy St. Ann?s well, where people have been coming for generations to share their dreams and speak their prayers. Some believe the well to be a place of true spiritual power, demanding protection; others think it?s a mere magnet for superstitions, easily sacrificed. Maeve Binchy creates a rich spectrum of men and women, all with passionate opinions, who are drawn into this timely conflict between the traditions of the past and the promises of the future.

Customer Reviews

Interesting, but not up to her usual storytelling

Maeve Binchy is a great storyteller, but the problem here is that she hardly develops any of the character sketches in this book into a real story. Essentially, this is a collection of very short pieces (many published in other places) tied together with a very loose frame tale. None are developed to the point where you could call them a true story. This is unfortunate, since there is some great potential in many of these characters.
Consider the ostensibly unfiying scenario: a small town's cherished "holy" St Ann shrine is about to be torn down to make room for a new highway. The village preist, who is expected to defend the site, actually hates it, being logical enough to realize that there is no way that the mother of the Virgin Mary traveled from Palestine to Ireland and blessed this well. To him, it is paganism, but the townspeople love it. This could have made a great story, and certainly Father Brian Flynn - a modern preist who is expected to follow tradition - is one of Binchy's most interesting characters. Yet the cursory nature of his story feels more like it was tacked on to unite a bunch of character studies to rush this book into publication.
The bulk of the book is a series of two part narratives, very short in length. It was somewhat clever for the first few. She tells a the narrative from one character's perspective, then a second, and so on for each set. But after a few of these, it was clear they all stand on their own and are only loosely associated with the town of Rossmore and its shrine. In a few of the previously published ones, it really seems like a line about the shrine was just stuck into the narrative.

The rave reviews from major newspapers on the book's cover are a mystery. I really don't see how this is her "best book in a decade."

Short Stories Form an Engrossing Tale

I chose this book for my book club to read, and we all really enjoyed it. As with all of her books, it's an engrossing read, since she makes you care about the characters and there's always an interesting twist. This book is great since it's organized as intertwining short stories, so it's easy to read a little bit at a time.

Reflections of faith.

The author of Whitethorn Woods cleverly weaves a series of personal stories of different characters into one central little town with a well. This well is supposedly the home of a Saint to whom all bring their problems or wishes. Progress unfortunately means a new highway will be built around the town like a bypass and right through the well. The most unsuspecting character in the book arranges for the road to bypass the well and the town will be back to a normal sleepy town without all the traffic but with its sacred well....

Not her best

I've read several of her books, and this one was not my favorite. It was very disjointed despite some recurring characters and the ever-present well. I kept thinking she would tie things together, but it never happened to the fullest potential. It was still an enjoyable read, but I was left a little unsatisfied when I finsihed the final page.

traditions change, too

Binchy's characters are so intensely real, it take a while to realize each person also represents a social layer and each person's choice also implies a political truth. The vivid personalities capture you as they gather into a community of individuals doing their work or committing their crime in the best way they know how. They tell their stories as oral histories, and when you are included in someone else's story, later on you get to have your own say. That's how it would have been in front of the Druid, in the old way. But now that everything from haircuts to wealth is turning modern, these stories show how hard it can be to decide whether the old ways still apply.

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