Customer Reviews

Circle of Friends

5 star:		(111)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I picked up this book because it was a choice on my summer reading list this year. I chose it because I recognized the title from a movie I owned which is actually the film version of this book. When I got the book I groaned because I realized that it was 600 pages. I figured I wasnt going to like the book because it didnt really fit my favorite genres to read, and that the story was going to be rather lumbersome and slow. Boy was I in for a pleasant surprise. Maeve Binchy perfectly captures the reader's attention from page one. Beginning w/ the start of a new friendship and taking you through all the trials and tribulations of life as a young adult. Eve and Benny are perfect for each other because one compliments the other in characteristics and personality. This story was so fabulous that I picked it up on a rainy day and finished it in three days (it was a busy time for me to be reading). I couldnt put it down. I smiled w/ the characters when they were happy, got angry when they were mad, and, yes, cried when they were sad. This story will take you up and not put you down until the very last page.

Let me begin by stating that objectively, I do not think this book is a work of "great literature". I find the writing style to be questionable at times, the moralistic attitude smothering, and am frankly rather annoyed by Binchy's one-sided approach to the Catholic-Protestant turmoil that rips at Ireland's seams.

But oh, how I love this book. I find myself picking it up over and over again. It's a beautiful coming-of-age story tracing the friendship of two fascinating girls. It pinpoints the sometimes destructive nature of love with absolute clarity. Furthermore, Binchy has breathed life into an entire town of secondary characters, creating a novel rich in stroy-telling and in life.

A caution - the movie version of the book starring Chris O'Donnell and Minnie Driver was a despicable act of butchery. The changed, Hollywoodized ending of the movie version was unforgivable. If you love this book, avoid the movie. If you loved the moive, read the book, and you'll see what audience members were missing.

I remember the first time I picked up this book ~~ it was my grandmother's and I was in high school. I sat down and read it and totally fell in love with Binchy's writing. In fact, I believe this book set me on the path to reading "better" books! Rereading this book again really affirms the feelings I had experienced the first time around. It is just one of my favorite books of all time!

Benny, Eve, Sean, Jack, Nan and other characters are ones that you'll never forget. If you have friends that you ran around with in college and still keep in touch with ~~ I highly recommend this book. It is a book about friendship, love, romance and dreams. Any one of any age can read this book and find the meaning of friendship in it. With Benny's relationship with Jack ~~ there's that first love and intrigue; with Benny's friendship with Eve, there's the silliness that girls share as well as their confidences, hopes and dreams ~~ as well as recovering from broken hearts and disappointment; and there's Sean, the guy everyone loves to hate. Let's not forget Jack ~~ the guy every woman longs to love ~~ only to be pulled up short by his mistakes in love. This book covers the depth of human emotions that beset all of us at one time or another!

I recommend readers picking up this book and spend a few days reading it ~~ I can guarantee that the characters with all their flaws will stay with the reader for a long time. It is a book I would read over and over ~~ it's like coming home and finding your best friend waiting for you.

I read my first Maeve Binchy book, "Tara Road" recently as my first book by this author and loved it so much, I decided to try this one. This book was absolutely wonderful! The characters are so full of life, and the way she describes everything makes you feel like you are there yourself. I read it every free second I had, and even though I saw the movie first, the book was well worth my reading time. I would highly recommend this book to young women in their 20's, it's a great book about college life in the 60's in Dublin.

"Circle Of Friends" is a masterpiece! I absolutely loved every page of it... EXCELLENT!I could relate to it so well, and i cant wait to start my next Binchy.

If you liked the movie of "Circle of Friends," you will love the book. I enjoyed this book the first time I read it. But, to my surprise, I found it doesn't get stale with repeated readings. This is one of my favorite "read-again" books.

The story and the characters are what make both the book and the movie entertaining. But, what makes the book so great is the stuff that was left out of the movie. The histories and families of Benny, Nan and Jack are described in more detail. But, the best is what Maeve Binchy provides in her story for Eve. We see more into her life with the nuns. And, Eve's situation when she goes to college adds to her character, personality and gives Eve a wonderful new relationship. Eve lives and works in the house of a woman who provides room and board for college boys and who just lost her son. Their relationship adds a wonderful sub-plot to this book (which unfortunately was cut from the movie).

"Circle of Friends" differs from the movie in several other respects. Benny and Eve don't meet Nan until college. Characters not in the book compete with Benny for Jack's affection. Eve forms a wonderful relationship with Simon's little sister. And, the end is much different.

Read the book and discover all the wonderful characters and plot the movie didn't share.

I enjoyed the movie version of Maeve Binchy's Circle of Friends so when I saw the book at the bookstore, I thought maybe I would enjoy reading it too. GOOD IDEA! Once again, the written word has won out! The story is beautifully written and the characters become part of "your circle of friends" as you become involved in their lives. I would encourage women of all ages to pick up this wonderful story...they will not regret it and may add a "new favorite" author to their bookshelf.

As I was reading this book, the relationships between all of the characters, and how their lives all intertwine, was what kept me reading. The ways the characters interact and communicate is the central part of the book. The author devotes pages and pages to develop these characters with essential details about their background, their character and how they act with the other characters within this book. At times it concentrates on Benny and Eve's friendship and how they get distracted away, momentarily, but always come back to help the other in times of need. Other times the focus shifts, it goes to the relationships between the parents of all of these friends. On situation is how Benny's parents love her too much to let her go. Another is how Mother Francis is Eve's only real family and how her home is the Convent among the nuns. Nan, a girl who takes proper care of herself and Eve and Benny meet in college, feels that her parents inhibit her from having the kind of lifestyle she wants. Nan doesn't want to have a low social status, in fact she plans to find and marry a rich man that can take care of her. Through these diverse characters, we can see the different relationships between friends and between children and their guardians.
This novel also focuses on the internal thoughts and feelings of Benny, and her search to find independence, and eventually herself. I can relate to her growth and maturation; her struggle to find a balance between her friends and her parents. All throughout her life she has had parents that care too much, and she couldn't tell anyone because the only person she could tell and that would tell her what to do was orphaned since she was a baby. Benny also struggles with love and life in the real world. She experiences love, a sense of need, incomprehension, confusion as well as hope. Benny learns, at the end, that she can be free; without anyone to worry about staying with her, or cheating on her.
This was a very good and thought-provoking novel. It is a good choice for the Rosewater Book award. This is because it captured my attention right from the beginning with Benny's birthday and her disappointment not getting the pretty gift she wanted, but instead a sensible outfit. It was amazing to think that a ten year old girl thought she could and never would be pretty or delicate as the other girls were. However, she grew up into a beautiful person, both in and out, and the most handsome boy loved her. But, through many human mistakes, she realizes he will never be entirely hers. It was an astounding ending that gave true proof of Benny's maturity. She proclaimed that it was not the end of the long journey of finding herself, it didn't have to be, and she was all right with that.

After reading three current best sellers - all overhyped garbage - this was a pleasant change of pace. Interesting characters that you care about, a good, solid story, and well-written. A bit long, I might have shaved it a little, but not a big issue. And my personal holy grail: no cuss words!!!!!

Nice read.

Benny Hogan and Eve Malone were inseparable since Benny's tenth birthday party. They could not have been more different. Eve was the daughter of a handyman and a rich girl rebelling against her parents. Orphaned, nuns raised her. Benny felt smothered by her adoring parents.

Both Benny and Eve study at the university in Dublin where they met Nan Mahon who has her whole life planned out, starting with finding the perfect husband. Benny falls in love with the handsome Jack Foley who manages to love her despite her size. However, when tragedy strikes, Benny and Eve learn who they can really trust.

Written in Binchy's usual easy to read style, Circle of Friends is a wonderful novel of friendship and betrayal. I easily finished this novel as I watched Benny struggle with her weight and the expectations set by her family. Eve learns to trust again as the family who scorned her slowly allows her back in. Our emotions wonder as Nan makes some bad choices, hurting everyone in her way.