Echoes
by Maeve Binchy
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Book Summary Information
Author: Maeve BinchyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-11-04
ISBN: 0451225104
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: NAL Trade
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780451225108
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Echoes
Book Review: A Total Disappointment
Summary: 1 Stars
What an unfullfuling, unrewarding waste of time. The disappointment is more sharply felt because Binchy's set up is actually promising. The characters are engrossing, if one dimensional, and the vibrant town plays a leading role as well. The heroine and hero, Clare and David, are carefully portrayed and the reader cannot help but become emotionally attached to both of them. The reward for this attachment? An ending where the heroine becomes an object of pity and the hero proves himself to be an abject heel, an anti-hero in every way. Why is this the fate that Binchy creates for brave, brilliant, studious Clare O'Brien? Here's a girl longing from a young age not just to "be different" and get out of her small town (cliche by an standard), but to do it by scholarly excellence. The obstacles she faces are real and seemingly insurmountable. The sexism of the time and place, the narrow rigidity of the nuns who teach her, her parents' lack of support, her siblings' constant stream of problems and scorn. Why does Binchy want to write a book about a girl like this failing to fulfill her destiny as a major achiever because she has sex and "gets caught?" Binchy is simply promoting the age-old chauvinistic not to mention Catholic punishment of the good girl who falls to temptation. It doesn't seem to matter that Clare preserves her virginity much longer than her peers, that she takes a spiritual, values-driven approach to love, that she is waiting for something true and special, and that when love comes to her it does so with full force in the person of a seemingly mature, honest and loyal young man. What young woman wouldn't fall in love with sincere, hard-working, good David Power? What young woman wouldn't believe in the sincerity of his feelings and his promises? Nevertheless, Clare is punished by a string of belittling mistreatments, slights and betrayals. What motive can Binchy have than to punish her heroine for believing in true love other than the social and religious judgement of which she seems so critical? By punishing Clare, Binchy punishes her readers as well - it's not a fun ride, nor does it have the benefit of being a cautionary tale. Is all of Clare's spunk, drive and talent just flushed away with the arrival of her baby? What a boring old story. David, whom we watch grow up and come to care about chapter by chapter, is revealed to be a self-involved, uncaring, philandering pig. Ultimately he embodies the worst of his mother's bad qualities and little of his father's goodness, contrary to how it apepars to the town. If Binchy were a more sophisticated novelist and this were a much greater work of fiction, it might be interesting to see our hero and heroine unravel and prove to be not what they appear. However, Binchy just isn't that great a writer - this is not Anna Karenina or Madame Bovary. If you are looking for a good old-fashioned love story with a happy ending, this is NOT it. If you are looking for a good old-fashioned love story with a sad ending, this is NOT it. This is a bad love-story that builds up to a hoaky, B-movie plot twist and leaves you emotionally empty. Here's a question: why don't any of the bad guys get punished? The hypocritical snobs never get a comeuppance, and even more sadly, they never learn a single lesson. Where is Charles Dickens when you need him? Or any good writer for that matter? No one in this novel grows as a human being. No one expands their understanding of human nature or evolves as a result of their relationships with one another. Angela O'Hara, who is set up as Clare's older alter-ego and a voice of wisdom in the novel, also remains mired in her prejudices. What's the point? The story isn't entertaining enough to justify the characters' lack of growth. It is an exercise in static; it features a lot of potential that goes nowhere. There is no catharsis nor is there any emotional sweep. Binchy is a hugely popular best-selling writier. This reader's humble opinion will do little or nothing to shake her fan-base. For myself, however, this will be my first Binchy novel and my last.
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