Customer Reviews

Firefly Summer: A Novel

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been on a Binchy marathon for the past nine months which has culminated with this novel, Firefly Summer. Let me tell you, this book was utterly fantastic. The story of Mountfern touched me from the very beginning when the kids learned their "special place", the burned remains of an old, once powerful mansion, would be rebuilt. Because of this, their entire world changed. Maeve Binchy spins a wonderful Irish yarn that takes a surprising plot twist at the end. If you liked The Glass Lake or Light a Penny Candle, this book is definitely for you. I can't stop raving about it!!!

I am a HUGE fan of Maeve Binchy. She and Rosamunde Pilcher are my two favorite authors and I have read many, if not most of their works. This was definitely not my favorite. The book was engaging enough but also a very depressing read. One tragedy after another took place and at the end I could not honestly say that I enjoyed reading it. Oh yes, I enjoyed reading the descriptives and the interactions between the people of the sleepy town of Mountfern because Binchy just has a way of drawing you in. But, although the writing was good, the content was sad and depressing. I wish more good things would have happened.

The ending was incredulous. I could not believe so many things were left hanging. It was as if after nearly 700 pages she just decided to be done after only a moment's thought. There was absolutely no closure between the characters or storylines whatsoever. There was no sigh of contentment upon reading the last page and closing the book. There was just a sigh.

Almost always I finish Binchy's books with a yearning for more, sad that the story has ended and I can no longer be apart of the lives she has written about. This was not the case with this book.

For a truly excellent read I would highly recommend Circle of Friends (I think her best work), The Glass Lake or The Copper Beech.

I've read BETTER books by Maeve Binchy (Glass LAke, Circle of Friends) -- but still this book was un-put-downable! The characters were engaging and the story was interesting -- it just got a bit draggy at the end -- but it was worth the read

Firefly Summer IS what I wish all the other Binchy books could be. If you are looking for a fast-paced read, I promise this is NOT the book for you. However, if you are looking for a well-crafted, intimate, multiple angle look into a Binchy-type community of characters, I propose that this one should top the list.

So, if you have never read Maeve Binchy before -- do not let this be your first read. I would suggest starting with Echoes, then move on to Glass Lake, then Copper Beech, then (maybe) Light a Penny Candle, then Evening Class, then Scarlet Feather, SKIP Quintins altogether, then Circle of Friends, and cap it off with Firefly Summer. Then you will experience the true joy to be had in this story.

(Just beware, most of her books have a "zinger" at which point the story really takes off. Firefly Summer's first "zinger" doesn't happen until about page 250 or so (depending on which copy you read) -- you have to be patient, and wait for it. From there, you're thoroughly hooked. (Can't wait to read her newest one....))

I think that the characters in this book were really well written -- especially Dara, Michael and the other young people. However, I prefer Maeve Binchy's other, more hopeful novels such as Evening Class and Tara Road. This one has just too much tragedy in it. Do we really need to have something terrible happen every hundred pages?

I read and loved Tara Road last year, so I was looking forward to another of Binchy's works. Unfortunately for me I chose this one. It started off fairly interesting, with the story of the Ryan family, and their quiet life in rural Ireland during 1962. Along comes Patrick O'Neill, a wealthy Irish American with great plans for a hotel in the area, where his family once lived. The impact of this man, his plans, and his family's interaction with the families of the town was a promising story. Yet one tragedy after another, with no happy end in sight just dragged this book down. Over six hundred pages long, it was ultimately a very unsatisfying read. I haven't given up on Binchy though, I have Circle of Friends and Scarlet Feather in my never ending To Be Read pile.

This book draws you in, all the family quirks and characteristics, the love, the trials, and the humor. This is another of her excellent books and I have to say I have read them all and she is one of my favorite authors. I just wish she would write another!

Ms. Binchy has the ability to transport the reader to another time/culture and make it utterly believeable and fascinating. This is my third Binchy and I cannot wait to begin another. Her characters are rich in character and their feelings and hopes and dreams can be identified with no matter where you live.

I have been a huge fan of Irish author Maeve Binchy since I first read "Circle of Friends" ten years ago. Like her other novels, this one does not disappoint.

"Firefly Summer" is about the evolution of the small, sleepy Irish village of Mountfern after an Irish-American millionaire, Patrick O'Neil, moves in with plans to build a luxury hotel. It literally changes the lives of nearly everyone in the village, regardless of their age, social status or gender. The novel follows the many ways the village and its inhabitants adjust -- or object -- to the change being forced upon them by this hotel's development.

Binchy has a unique ability to weave the many lives and personalities of all her books' characters -- both major and minor -- into a wonderful tapestry that is hard to come across in other novels. As a reader, you get to know these characters on such an intimate level that you feel you've known them for years. Moreover, when the book ends, you feel sad because you realize that you will never know what happens to those characters in their respective futures.

One of the things I especially liked about "Firefly Summer" is that it focused on both the adult generation and the teenaged generation in equal proportions. The changes the hotel would bring would, after all, affect these generations in very different ways. So it was satisfying that Binchy shone a light on everyone, not just one person or family. At the same time, although a lot of the teenagers' storylines naturally revolved around young love, Binchy successfully avoided making "Firefly Summer" into a young adult romance novel.

There are some shortcomings, of course. I felt that O'Neil's handsome yet conniving son, Kerry, got away with way too much, and his sister, Grace, seemed a tad too perfect. From time to time the choice of language used by these three American characters sounded more Irish/British than American, but that's probably just me being picky. The biggest disappointment I had was that the climax at the end of the book seemed a bit rushed, almost as if Binchy was running out of paper and had to finish up quickly before she ran out of room. But all in all, these shortcomings are mild enough to forgive and still enjoy the book.

For Binchy fans, "Firefly Summer" will be satisfying and enjoyable. She stays true to her style and draws you into Mountfern in such a way that it makes you feel you've been next-door neighbors to the villagers your entire life.

When millionaire American businessman Patrick O'Neill returns to the birthplace of his ancestors, a small Irish town called Mountfern, with plans to rebuild an old burned out ruin and turn it into a world class hotel, the locals don't know whether to be pleased at the prospect of work or resentment at an outsider taking over.During the building process, a tragic accident cripples one of the locals, forcing a huge change in that family's way of life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as a good tale and an insight into the lives of a close Irish village in the 60's.