4 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is very entertaining. I loved it. A New York Times best seller. A book of passion-but not a "Romance" novel. This is a story of true passion and love. The setting is a night class, in a Dublin college. The characters are studying a course in Italian. Great character development in this book. The book is witty and you slowly uncover the most unexpected things in the lives of these individuals. Excellent story telling that probes the drama in the lives of everyday people. This is a good one!
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
Anything by Maeve Binchy is good in my book. This is one of my favorites along with Tara Road
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Lovely story of an unlikely group of people taking adult education classes and how their lives become entwined. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I really liked this book. I loved the way Maeve Binchy writes from one persons point of view and then changes to another persons point of view in each chapter. She draws you in to each persons life. By the end of the book you feel as if you know each person and then she weaves them all together. At the end of this book I found myself reflecting on how our lives are interrrelated in so many ways, ways that we do not even know. Good summer read. Definately worth the time
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
very enjoyable story
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was my first Maeve Binchy book, and I have to say that I enjoyed it and plan to read more of her books in the future. This story revolves around an evening Italian class and the people who are taking the course. Somehow, each character is brought together in the class through various connections (in a way it reminds me of the TV show LOST in how everything is somehow connected, even on a minor level, minus the supernatural stuff). Each character is fleshed out in their own chapter, and Binchy really strives to make the setting come alive by describing everything in detail. She goes into each characters' past to explain their motives for taking the Italian class, and what they learn from their classmates and their teacher, Signora (most of what they learn has nothing to do with the new language). A few things felt dated as it was written in and based in the early-to-mid 1990s, a few parts were predictable, and for me there were a few terms that aren't the same in America as they are in Ireland that made it tricky to understand a few things (take away for take out; noughts and crosses for tic-tac-toe; many references to the various levels of education & grades in school, etc.) , but I think that also added to the book's charm since it made the setting feel very real and I could hear it being read in an Irish accent. I enjoyed Aidan's story the most, probably because I'm a teacher myself, but each characters' story is interesting on its own, and it was nice to see each character grow and change throughout the story. All-in-all, if you are looking for something relatively light, but not "fluffy," to read, then this is the book for you! :-)
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Great condition
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
From back of book:
They came together at Mountainview College, a down-at-the-heels secondary school on the seamy side of Dublin, to take a course in Italian. It was Latin teacher Aidan Dunne's last chance to revive a failing marriage and a dead-end career. But Aidan's dream was headed for disaster until the mysterious Signora appeared, transforming a shared passion for Italy into a life-altering adventure for them all...bank clerk Bill and his dizzy fiance Lizzie: a couple headed for trouble...Kathy, a hardworking innocent propelled into adulthood in a shocking moment of truth...Connie, the gorgeous rich lady with a scandal ready to explode...glowering Lou, who joined the class as a cover for crime. And Signora, whose passionate past remained a secret as she changed all their lives forever....
From the New York Times bestselling author of This Year It Will Be Different, The Glass Lake, and Circle of Friends, comes a novel filled with Maeve Binchy's signature warmth, wit, and sheer storytelling genius--a spellbinding tale of men and women whose quiet lives hide the most unexpected things....
They came together at Mountainview College, a down-at-the-heels secondary school on the seamy side of Dublin, to take a course in Italian. It was Latin teacher Aidan Dunne's last chance to revive a failing marriage and a dead-end career. But Aidan's dream was headed for disaster until the mysterious Signora appeared, transforming a shared passion for Italy into a life-altering adventure for them all...bank clerk Bill and his dizzy fiance Lizzie: a couple headed for trouble...Kathy, a hardworking innocent propelled into adulthood in a shocking moment of truth...Connie, the gorgeous rich lady with a scandal ready to explode...glowering Lou, who joined the class as a cover for crime. And Signora, whose passionate past remained a secret as she changed all their lives forever....
From the New York Times bestselling author of This Year It Will Be Different, The Glass Lake, and Circle of Friends, comes a novel filled with Maeve Binchy's signature warmth, wit, and sheer storytelling genius--a spellbinding tale of men and women whose quiet lives hide the most unexpected things....
All of Maeve Binchy's books are great, and this one was no exception. She captivates her readers from beginning to end!
Wonderful book!! Made me want to sign up for a class.
another great novel by Maeve Binchy. Good story telling.
I love Maeve Binchy!
I've never read her bools before, but I enjoyed it.
A very good story teller. She has many characters in this book who are bound together by attending an evening class. I liked the characters and how their lives were so involved all by one thread. A good read.
Rich characters, great book
An "oldie but goodie". A Literary Guild main selection.
Not my favorite by Maeve Binchy, but a good enough for fans of the author.
I love this author even though I can't pronounce her name. Set in Ireland (of course)and Italy, it is very entertaining.
Nice book overall, although it seemed the end was written by a different author.
Female group dynamics. Good read if you like that sort of story.
This is a genre I don't typically read, but I enjoyed this book very much.
Good Story
Each chapter is from a different character's point of view. It is so interesting to see the story through different eyes, especially when they start to meet and their lives intertwine.
It is an easy read and hard to put down because you want to find out what happens next.
It is an easy read and hard to put down because you want to find out what happens next.
A delightful read. She is a great story teller. An evening class in Dublin unites an unusual group. Each person has their own story and the reader gets to watch them grow.
A typical Binchy novel about the intersecting lives of a group of students taking an evening class to learn Italian. If you like Maeve Binchy, you'll like this one.
By far and away my favorite author ever. Her characters are amazing and the stories she weaves are fantastic.
Heart-warming and inspiring, this is a perfect book to curl up with and relax. Enchanting!
i love the way maeve binchy develops the characters until you feel like you really know them. and the way the characters are intertwined into the story is fascinating.
Most excellent!
This author knows how to write a book that is hard to put down. Enjoy.
It was the quiet ones you had to watch. That's where the real passion and lust were lurking. The came together at Mountainview College, a down-the-heels secondary school on the seamy side of Dublin, to take course in Italian.
Another "best" from M. Binchy.
They came together at Mountainview College, a down-at-the heels secondary school on the seamy side of Dublin, to take a course in Italian. It was Latin teacher Aidan Dunne's last chance to revive a failing marriage and a dead-end career. But Aidan's dream was headed for disaster until the mysterious Signora appeared, transforming a shared passion for Italy into a life altering adventure for them all...
I completely loved this book and I reccomend it to anyone.
Wonderful multiple character drama. Set in Dublin.
This book 1 o 4 in a box set. Never read.
Haven't read but Maeve Binchy is usually pretty good. This is about a bunch of diverse people taking a Latin class at night school.
I like a good story and Maeve writes some of the best I've ever read! This, like her others, I'm sure, will please those ladies who are looking for a great read! Likable characters, plausible storylines, and images that will stay with you! I recommend this and every book she's written!
Another winner from Maeve Binchy!
"Charming...engrossing...unforgettable."-The Philadelphia Inquirer
Another good Binchy book.
A group of fascinating characters meet in an Italian class for adults. I couldn't put this one down. Set in Ireland and Italy.
One of her best! Loved it!
A good read. I enjoyed seeing how all the different characters' lives intertwined. One of my favorite authors.
This one has a different cover and I have not read it. Just not my cup of tea.
this author is great her characters compelling and you will not put her book down
Good story about the classmembers taking an Italian night class.
I loved this book!


