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Best Maeve Binchy novel? (Or other books set in Ireland)


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I leave tomorrow for a week in Dublin and environs, and I'm looking for books for my Kindle that are set in Ireland.

 

I already started Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, so I'm looking for a non-classic book or two. I've heard Maeve Binchy is good, but I'm not sure which one to pick.

 

I read (and hated) Angela's Ashes.

 

If you have good nonfiction book suggestions, I'll happily consider those as well.

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Thanks for the recommendation. It looks great, but the Kindle edition is priced higher than the hardback, and I refuse to pay more for an ebook than a physical book. (I'm trying to send a message to the publishing world.)

 

I'll definitely keep this in mind for a time when I am not traveling and limited to the Kindle.

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Best Maeve Binchy? They're pretty much all the same. Young, poor unwed teen with a drunk, unemployed father falls in love with a rough boy or a married man. Gets pregnant, dumps the loser, gets a job and works hard to raise her child.

 

:D

 

They're all good books; but most run together and I don't remember which is which.

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I second Scarlett Feather!

 

Enjoyed Minding Frankie

 

And the one where the lady runs the heart clinic...Heart and Soul, I think. But read Scarlett Feather first...some of the same characters are in each.

 

Is there a book called Quentins as well?

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My fave Maeve Binchy is Circle of Friends.

 

Heart and Soul, Scarlet Feather, Quentin's, Evening Class, etc. are all books that have both old and new characters featured. That doesn't mean they don't make good stand-alone books, but you miss out on some backstory. (Circle of Friends is a stand-alone)

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Best Maeve Binchy? They're pretty much all the same. Young, poor unwed teen with a drunk, unemployed father falls in love with a rough boy or a married man. Gets pregnant, dumps the loser, gets a job and works hard to raise her child.

 

:D

 

They're all good books; but most run together and I don't remember which is which.

LOL, ya, and she doesn't seem to hold men in very regard, as nearly all of them end up being cheaters. :tongue_smilie:

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I'm fond of Roddy Doyle's novels, particularly his Barrytown Trilogy (if you're familiar with the movie The Commitments, you'll have heard of him).

 

And my Irish neighbor, whom I asked for suggestions, likes your list and hopes you have a wonderful trip. She adds that if you want something really fluffy, you might look at Marian Keyes's novels.

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I liked Evening Class. A group of people take an evening class together and you get to see how their lives are connected. Very easy and sweet to read. I liked her novels that were also like short stories. So easy to read while waiting at gymnastics or ballet, but I could put it down.

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I'd also recommend Mary Lavin. I don't know if she has novels, but I enjoyed her short stories.

 

Also for light reading, there is a series called the Irish Country Doctor, that is set in North Ireland (a little of the feel of All Creatures Great and Small only Doctors not vets).

 

Then if you want to go really literary - James Joyce's Dubliners is a series of short stories.

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Marion Keyes has also written some fun books. My favourite was This Charming Man. A word of warning: I think there is some Tea but not super graphic.

 

I've read this and am listening to it as an audiobook.

 

I also liked the sort of series she wrote about the sisters.

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Respectfully, I wouldn't say that the previous synopsis (unwed pregnant teen, drunk father, etc etc etc) is accurate at all. I've read (I think) ALL of her fictional books and I've enjoyed them all, and I've actually read several of them several times over. But yeah, I would agree she doesn't always seem to hold men in the highest esteem (though she changed her tune big time for Minding Frankie) and she's definitely got something against the Catholic church, IMO.

 

 

I really prefer her older novels (Circle of Friends, Light a Penny Candle, The Copper Beech, Evening Class, Tara Road) to her newer novels, but they're all good. Not crazy at all about her short stories. Her last several, starting with Tara Road revolve around several of the same people in Dublin. A lot of her old ones are based in very small Irish villages.

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She is one of my very favorite authors. I read both Circle of Friends (probably my favorite) and The Glass Lake twice. Oh, and Firefly Summer.

 

I don't care as much for her short story collections.

 

Her most recent novels have not been too great -- Quentins, Minding Frankie, Heart and Soul. It seems like she spends too much energy bringing back old characters, rather than just telling a good story.

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