Overview
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. Ann’s Well, which is set at the edge of the woods and slated for destruction. People have been coming to St. Ann’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 it’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 the future.
Synopsis
Maeve Binchy once again brings us an enchanting book full of the wit, warmth, and wisdom that have made her one of the most beloved and widely read writers at work today.
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. Ann s Well, which is set at the edge of the woods and slated for destruction. People have been coming to St. Ann s for generations to share their dreams and fears, and to speak their prayers. Some believe it to be a place of true spiritual power, demanding protection; others think it s a mere magnet for superstitions, easily sacrificed.
Not knowing which faction to favor, Father Flynn listens to all those caught up in the conflict, and these are the voices we hear in the stories of Whitethorn Woods men and women deciding between the traditions of the past and the promises of...
Publishers Weekly
A proposed highway near the Irish town of Rossmore will mean the destruction of St. Ann's Well, a shrine in Whitethorn Woods thought to deliver healing, husbands and other miracles. The shrine resides in the parish of Fr. Brian Flynn, curate of St. Augustine's. As a fracas erupts between shrine skeptics who want the highway and shrine believers who want the shrine preserved, Flynn, unsure of where he stands on the issue and questioning his place in an increasingly secular Ireland, goes to the shrine and prays that he might "hear the voices that have come to you and know who these people are." Binchy (Tara Road) goes on to deliver just that: a panoply of prosaic but richly drawn first-person characters, such as Neddy Nolan, a not-so-simple simpleton; 60-something Vera, who finds love on a singles trip meant for those much younger; and unassuming antiques magnate James, whose wife of 26 years is dying. Stories of greed, infidelity, mental illness, incest, the joys of being single, the struggles of modern career women, alcoholism, and the heartbreak of parenting span generations, simply and poignantly. Binchy takes it all in and orchestrates the whole masterfully. 400,000 announced first printing. (Mar.)
Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The tiny hamlet of Rossmore seems to be a village that progress passed by. But that changes when a new highway project threatens to destroy St. Ann's Well, a religious shrine and the Irish town's only tourist attraction. Maeve Binchy's sage Whitehorn Woods captures the first-person stories of townspeople grappling with their own problems as well as this moment of civic transition. As always, Binchy's realistically etched portraits seem perfectly tailored for a wide reading audience; different readers will identify with different characters.Publishers Weekly
A proposed highway near the Irish town of Rossmore will mean the destruction of St. Ann's Well, a shrine in Whitethorn Woods thought to deliver healing, husbands and other miracles. The shrine resides in the parish of Fr. Brian Flynn, curate of St. Augustine's. As a fracas erupts between shrine skeptics who want the highway and shrine believers who want the shrine preserved, Flynn, unsure of where he stands on the issue and questioning his place in an increasingly secular Ireland, goes to the shrine and prays that he might "hear the voices that have come to you and know who these people are." Binchy (Tara Road) goes on to deliver just that: a panoply of prosaic but richly drawn first-person characters, such as Neddy Nolan, a not-so-simple simpleton; 60-something Vera, who finds love on a singles trip meant for those much younger; and unassuming antiques magnate James, whose wife of 26 years is dying. Stories of greed, infidelity, mental illness, incest, the joys of being single, the struggles of modern career women, alcoholism, and the heartbreak of parenting span generations, simply and poignantly. Binchy takes it all in and orchestrates the whole masterfully. 400,000 announced first printing. (Mar.)
Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Library Journal
In classic Binchy style (Nights of the Rain and Stars), many diverse characters tell their own, sometimes overlapping, stories in separate chapters, beginning and ending with Catholic priest Brian Flynn in the small Irish town of Rossmore. Teenaged to elderly, rich to poor, good to bad, all characters have some connection, however slight, to Rossmore, where controversy is brewing over a proposed highway bypass. The new road would run right through the woods surrounding the cave that houses St. Ann's Well, an unofficial shrine that attracts prayerful petitioners and is a thorn in Father Flynn's side. After the unprincipled obliviously reveal their own moral failings in their own words, readers will want to call their mothers or spend time with elderly relatives to be more like the decent, unassuming, author-approved characters, or at least more like those who manage a change of heart before the end. An enjoyable peek into other people's thoughts, this new novel by a beloved author will make a good book group choice. An essential purchase for any women's fiction collection; for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ11/1/06.]
—Laurie A. Cavanaugh Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information