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Title: Quentins by Maeve Binchy ISBN: 0525946829 Publisher: E P Dutton Pub. Date: 28 October, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.54
Rating: 5
Summary: Heartwarming Story Set in Modern Day Dublin
Comment: We can all stop mourning Maeve Binchy's retirement. She's back and as good as ever with heartwarming stories about ordinary people whose lives are changed while dining at Quentins. The popular Dublin restaurant from her previous novels is at the heart of this story. Its owner, managers, employees, and customers all have a story to tell: Martin, the father with a short fuse, who dines with his son Jody; Maggie, the good student whose parents give her a serious celebration at the restaurant; Drew the visitor whose change of heart changes his life; Mon the waitress who unwittingly unmasks the banker's book in the plain brown wrapper; Yvonne whose mother's little white lie creates a new life for Frank and his three daughters; Laura who finds a way to spend Mother's Day without her children. And best of all, there is Quentin himself, whose encounter with a shabby and eccentric old man sets the whole story in motion.
The fabulous bonus of this book is we find out what happened to some favorite characters from previous books. Ria Lynch's life was left on hold when TARA ROAD ended, but now we know what happened. Ditto for Tom and Cathy and Simon and Maud from SCARLET FEATHER and the Signora and Aidan from EVENING CLASS.
The story of the restaurant and its people are all brought into focus by Ella Brady who is in charge of developing a documentary about modern day Dublin. Her love affair with an unscrupulous married man has left her life in shambles and nearly destroyed her family and friends. But Ella has a special place in her heart for Quentins and its managers--- the unflappable Brenda Brennan, her chef/husband Patrick, and his uniquely appealing brother Blouse. When she chooses to tell Dublin's story through the people who walk through the door of Quentins she gets more than she bargained for.
So pour yourself a cup of tea and book the best seat in the house for a relaxing time at Quentins.
Rating: 4
Summary: The triumph of good nature
Comment: Reading a Binchy novel is almost a guilty pleasure, like ice cream with hot fudge AND whipped cream. The characters are human and likeable, the stories involving and optimistic. Nothing too awful happens and what awfulness there is will inevitably work out for the best in the end. And the writing is fine, drawing the reader into the bustling atmosphere of today’s Dublin.
At the center of the story is a restaurant, Quentins. The primary protagonist is Ella Brady, a young woman who first felt grown-up at Quentins at age 6. Loving daughter of doting parents, her life proceeds smoothly until she falls hard for the charismatic and married Don Richardson, whose treachery sends shock waves through the city, devastates Ella and bankrupts her family. In desperation she throws herself into a documentary about modern Ireland, as seen through the evolution of her favorite restaurant and its clientele.
Most of the primary characters work in or around Quentins and fans of Binchy’s will again meet Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather from “Scarlet Feather,” as well as the incorrigible twins. Nora from “Evening Classes” works at Quentins and Ria from “Tara Road” offers practical comfort to Ella and her family. The documentary brings in a host of minor characters with brave or heartwarming stories of overcoming adversity, whether from without or within. Ella’s story continues to develop - there’s missing money and visits from the Fraud Squad as well as betrayal and one very serious dilemma to cope with, but there’s no doubt Ella will do the right thing – whatever it turns out to be. In Binchy’s world good nature triumphs over bad and it never feels pat or saccharine; it feels like the way life should be.
Rating: 2
Summary: Another disappointment
Comment: Like Scarlet Feathers, this book really let me down. As an avid Binchy reader I expected more. Scarlet Feathers, as her last book before retirement, had extremely unlikable characters and was not up to her previous books. Quentins is even worse as it is so boring and unbelievable. Where is the warmth and intelligence that marked Binchy's previous books? Ella is unlikable, naive and stupid. If she was so beloved as a child, why did she grow up to be so utterly lacking in self-esteem that she spends two years with a married man and still can't make up her mind about him after he leaves her and bankrupts her father? This is not the Maeve Binchy I love. For those of you who are first time readers of her books, please read Circle of Friends, a hundred times better than the movie, Copper Beech, Tara Road, Glass Lake to name a few. Her books of short stories are great too. Don't judge Maeve Binchy's storytelling ability by this book. I guess everyone is entitled to a couple of clunkers. If she came out of retirement to write this book, I'm afraid it was a mistake.
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Title: Aches & Pains by Maeve Binchy, Wendy Shea ISBN: 0385335105 Publisher: Delacorte Press Pub. Date: 13 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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Title: Blessings by Anna Quindlen ISBN: 0375502238 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 17 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Irish Girls About Town: An Anthology of Short Stories by Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly ISBN: 0743457463 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: February, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Return Journey by Maeve Binchy ISBN: 0440224594 Publisher: Dell Pub Co Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The King of Torts by John Grisham ISBN: 0385508042 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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