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Fiction. Literature. HTML:A New York Times Bestseller "Love, longing, and rich scenes of daily life.... What could be sweeter than a trip to an Irish village packed with robust native characters." â??The Christian Science Monitor When a new highway threatens to bypass the town of Rossmore and cut through Whitethorn Woods, everyone has a passionate opinion about whether the town will benefit or suffer. But young Father Flynn is most concerned with the fate of St. Annâ??s Well, which is set at the edge of the woods and slated for destruction. People have been coming to St. Annâ??s for generations to share their dreams and fears, and speak their prayers. Some believe it to be a place of true spiritual power, demanding protection; others think itâ??s a mere magnet for superstitions, easily sacrificed. Father Flynn listens to all those caught up in the conflict, as the men and women of Whitethorn Woods must decide between the traditions of the past and the promises of… (more)
User reviews
I have but one complaint: in all the dozens of people's lives described, there is one murderer, one wife-beater, and not
5/7/07
Each story is told in two parts, from the perspective of two different narrators. The characters in all the stories are intertwined – sometimes substantially, sometimes only tangentially. Lengthy sections at the beginning, middle, and end involve the local priest and his family and tie the book together, as does the debate over building a by-pass through the Woods and tearing down the shrine.
Like all of Binchy’s books, this is not a thrill-a-minute page turner. But the characters are well-formed and their stories are deftly told. A good read.
St. Anne's Well has touched many people over the years. There is great disagreement as to the holy and/or magical properties of the cave and it's ancient statue. The whitethorn bushes at its entrance are adorned with the petitions of it's visitors. Prayers and pictures, bits of paper pinned to the branches by the hundreds. The bypass is progress - the new, the convenient. The well is history, the mystical, the ancient. One will surely destroy the other if it is allowed to come to pass.
The story is told by many voices, each chapter a different character. All have some link to the town of Rossmore. Some live there, some were born there, some have visited and some have done desperate things there. Each character's bit of the story leads in some way to the next snippet. The chapters are also organized in pairs where the consecutive chapters are a husband and wife or a brother and sister or friends and you are privileged with two viewpoints of roughly the same story. The whole thing sounds like a very complicated way to tell a story. The delightful thing is that it is not at all a complicated or difficult way to read a story. I found that as each person's bit of the story unfolded, I had no problem remembering their relationship to previous characters and tales. The story almost blooms in the mind, each piece adding to the whole picture at a comfortable, easy pace, jolted here and there with the staccato of shocking enlightenments. It is Maeve Binchy at her best.
The people of Rossmore, Ireland pray to St. Ann's Well for healings, blessings, and relationship advice. As they
The ending is perfect and settles the story well. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Irish living or really just anyone who wants to laugh and laugh! :)
As a fracas erupts between
Linked into these stories are stories of mental illness, alcoholism, incest, greed, the joys of being single and struggles of career women. The good and bad sides of people are shown. I really liked this book although it was a simple plot. It was sweet and endearing anyway. I give it an A+!
Very well written, lovely characters (if a little confusing at times with the sheer number) and quite moving in one or two places.