Circle of Friends

[Guineapiggiesmalls]

By Maeve Binchy is my alltime favourite book but having tried some of her other books I’ve found them a bit twee… is Circle of Friends just a diamond in the rough or am I reading the wrong books from her back catalogue?!

They are a mixed bunch and I suppose they mostly are a bit twee, but only the later ones are unreadable so.

Have you tried The Lilac Bus? I always liked that one.

I am a fan but there are recurrent themes in many of the books which some people find repetitive.
For example there is usually one or more of the following:
an alcoholic person
one or more unplanned pregnancies
an affair or suspected affair
fertility issue or childless couple
people working in a shop
people working in a pub or restaurant or other hospitality.
a story around a pet, sometimes with mild peril to the pet
financial issues usually related to a business

I enjoyed Light a penny candle when I was younger but haven’t reread it in years. Think attitudes to lots of things have moved on since they were written and would jar now.

Which ones have you found to be twee? I like all her 1950s set books. Wasn't so keen on her later output. Never found her to be especially twee though, characters were flawed and no one got the fairytale happy ending.

Oh circle of friends, I loved the film too. Firefly summer is another I really liked. Evening class too. I read most of them back in their heyday but the others aren’t memorable IMO and can feel too similar to each other at times.

I do love the film version of Circle of Friends. Minnie Driver is perfect as Benny and Alan Cumming's character is so fabulously revolting.

Lots of good ones to try, thank you! I also loved the film, tried to find it a few years ago and ended up watching a very shoddy version uploaded to YouTube.

Scarlett Feather is my favourite but i love them all. Reading them is like putting on a warm, cosy jumper!

I enjoyed The Glass Lake the most. A real page turner

I recently re-read Light a Penny Candle. I love that one. I've read all her books but struggle to recall them. But I do find them very readable.

Some of them are a bit the samey alright, I find it hard to distinguish them. I like Echoes, Evening Class and Firefly Summer.

I like most of books, I loved the Circle of Friends

Circle of friends is amazing. I love it. I like most of her books except for the last few which I half think she didn’t write.