Circle of Friends

Author: Maeve Binchy

Rating: 4.75 Book Worms

My Opinion:

Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors. The characters in her books feel like real people who are opening their lives to our eyes. I always want her stories to continue on. I usually feel sad when one of her books come to an end because I care about the people and places she writes about. If I have any criticism of her writing style it would be that sometimes it takes a few chapters for me to become involved but without fail I suddenly find myself thinking about the story and the characters when I am doing other things. I can hardly wait to get back to reading the story.

Circle of Friends is set in Ireland as nearly all of Ms. Binchy's books are. The story takes places in a small village within a bus ride of Dublin. The main character is Benny Hogan who is coping with changes within herself, her family, and the circle of friends that gather around her. She is a young woman who has more strength than she realizes. At an early age she learns that friendships can be enduring and provide ties that help her cope with the suddenly changing world around her. When she begins to attend the University in Dublin her life long friend, Eve Malone inadvertenly throws Benny in the middle of a group of students who all become friends. From the beautiful Nan to the wonderfuly hansome Jack and the charmingly silly Aidan she learns the great lessons of life. She learns about love and betrayal, joy and saddness, but mostly she learns that she is a woman of great worth who deserves to be happy. She realizes that you don't have to be perfect, rich, or stunningly beautiful to be happy. She learns that happiness does not come from outside infuence, other people or their actions but true happiness comes from within. This is a touching story that ends in the right place but you really wish would go on and on.

We all make our own choices. The choices other people make impact our lives but we must rise above that impact and choose for ourselves to be happy. We have to acknowledge our own self worth and appreciate the qualities that make us unique. If we are able to do that then I belive we can be truly happy.

Buy It or Borrow It: This is a definate must have for my library. (Ok, I've never been able to part with any of the books I have read written by Ms. Binchy.) This is a book I will read over and over.