Light A Penny Candle: Maeve Binchy

Product Information

But rather than being totally negative I'll note the two things I did like: Elizabeth White as a child was stronger. Mostly because we were able to see her adapt to a new country, family, and culture and see her change there—which doesn't happen at all in the rest of the novel, and when Eileen changes her mind about her daughter's separation from her husband it doesn't seem anyone cares anyway. And the relationship between the strong independent woman when Aisling moves to London. Though I totally saw Aisling and Johnny's relationship coming, I did like that she has Aisling ending the book as single, childless, but content and willing to duke it out in the tough streets on London rather than returning to her familial Irish tough. Though the characters are captivating and enjoyable he book gets bland and uninteresting near the end. It feels like you are forcing yourself to read, the characters lose their charm and the prose drags on. I feel that because this is Binchy’s first novel she is still inept at writing endings and so drags it out and also makes the Aisling and Elizabeth (the protagonists) seem out of character.

She regularly sent letters to her parent about her experiences in Israel and her parents would send her letters to a newspaper who published them. This encouraged her to enter the world of writing and started writing travel articles. After her mother’s death in 1968, she was in a state of solitaire. She was single, broke, and expecting a life of spinsterhood until she met Gordon Snell, freelance producer with BBC. She met him during a recording of Woman’s Hour in London.Aisling’s boldness brings Elizabeth out of her proper shell; later, her support carries Elizabeth through the painful end of her parents’ chilly marriage. In return, Elizabeth’s friendship helps Aisling endure her own unsatisfying marriage to a raging alcoholic. Through the years, they come to believe they can overcome any conflict, conquer any hardship—as long as they have each other. Now they’re about to find out if they’re right…

This review is the Author’s opinion, the author does not claim anything stated here as fact. If you disagree with anything written in this article please do not hesitate to sound of in the comments down below. However, please keep in mind that the author is not liable for any information stated in this post. It is purely opinion. Maeve Binchy was a columnist, playwright, short story writer, and novelist. She was also a speaker, loved for her humorous take on life in small towns of Ireland. She was known for creating stories with descriptive characters, in depth human nature and clever surprise endings. Her work has been translated in 37 languages with sales number of forty million copies worldwide. Through twenty years of friendship Aisling O’Connor and Elizabeth White’s paths will cross and re-cross. As they face their loves, their marriages and their disappointments, they come to realise that not all problems will be solved, nor all wishes granted by lighting a penny candle. The Review My Overall ThoughtsThis is Binchy's first published book, and it's a wonderful debut. Character-driven, the slow-burn narrative was difficult to put down, which is surprising for its length. I never knew where the story was heading next, but I was excited to find out, and it's making me glad I've got so much more Binchy to work my way through.