A Week in Winter Audio CD – Unabridged, February 12, 2013

I absolutely loved this story. It soothed my soul. Each character seemed alive to me, and the interweaving of stories was so gratifying. I had the sense, as each person's "story" unfolded, that I was watching a magic act. It reminded me of the frequent fleeting feeling I get that random occurrences in my life are not "random" at all....that things happen for a reason. If that sounds maudlin or bizarre to you, this book might not be a good choice for you. However, if you were nodding in understanding while reading that bit, you are going to LOVE this story! Knowing me, this will become one of my frequently reread favorites. I've loved Ms. Benchy's work for many years, and this book reminded me why.

After reading other's reviews of this book, I looked forward to this book. Unfortunately, this book seemed very bland to me, though interesting enough for me to finish it. The story takes place primarily in Ireland. It begins by telling the reader about "Chicky", an interesting young woman who is surprised to find that she is pregnant. The story follows her adventures for awhile; time passes and we learn about her son, family and a few friends. Then, after the first few chapters, a number of chapters each focus on a different, character, each interesting enough. Most of them do not know each other. This book includes quite a cast - from ordinary people to soldiers during the war as well as Counts and Countesses. Periodically I felt more engaged with a particular person's story.Eventually everything comes together to create the storyline. However, too many people are in this cast for my taste because it takes away from our really getting to know anyone well. For me, this book can't hold a candle to books by Anne Tyler - who writes so vividly that I really know and care about and become involved with each main character.

This book is made for a cup of tea and a cozy blanket in front of a fire. But if you prefer spicy chai tea to camomile, this may not be the book for you. I have not read a Maeve Binchy book in years, but this is a solid example of her style. If you like her other books, you will not be disappointed. I like my books with more meat and unresolved conflicts.This book takes place on the western coast of Ireland. Young Chicky Ryan meets an American boy and is swept off her feet. Despite family protest, she moves with him to New York City. But Walter Starr is lazy and he dumps Chicky after a few months. Unfortunately, she lied to her family and said they were married. She lies again and tells them he was killed in a car accident. Widow Chicky Starr eventually returns to Ireland. With the blessing of an elderly spinster in town, Chicky converts the woman's house into a B & B. There are worrisome moments, but the place is a success.The first chapter tells Chicky's story. The next two chapters focus on her niece and the son of a friend who help her open and run the inn. The subsequent chapters are devoted to each of the guests who come for the opening week. You learn their backstory, the life crisis that brings them to Ireland for a winter vacation, the insight they gain while there, and how their life is improved. Somehow each person gets what he or she needs during their stay at Stone House. Okay, one bitter guest remains unchanged.This was a book club pick. Though not my favorite book, it is a nice choice for the hectic time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is easy to read, it goes fast, the language is basic, and it mostly held my interest. The basic language and effortless read are also on my negative list. Beyond some mild quirkiness, there is a lack of character development. There is also a lack of plot development with a thin thread that ties some of the characters together. At times I was not sure if this was a novel or a short story collection. The stories are predictable and all the outcomes are happy. There is not much to ponder here and I will not remember this book beyond the book club discussion. Again, if you like Maeve Binchy's other books, you will be well pleased with this.

I've been a Maeve Binchy fan since reading her first book many years ago. Sometimes a favorite author lets me down but never Maeve. I enjoyed everyone's story in "A Week in Winter" and couldn't wait for the next one to begin. I've never been one to read books more than once but, now that she is gone, I'll probably go back to the beginning and start reading Maeve's books all over again. She was a world class storyteller and greatly missed.

I picked this book up through Kindle deal of the day. I remember reading Ms Binchy when I was younger but it wasn't as impactful then because I had never visited Ireland. Now that I live here, her images are very powerful. This book is a collection of small short stories centred around a small hotel/guest house and it's opening week. The start of the book sets it all up as we learn about the owner of the place and how she came back to Ireland after a stint in New York. The guests' stories are wonderful and often brought tears to my eyes. Loved it.

This was a bittersweet read...sweet because it is by Maeve Binchy, but bitter because it is the last book she wrote before dying in July 2012. Although it is billed as a novel, each chapter is more like a short story; however, all the stories are interconnected with each one building on the others.Set in the fictional village of Stoneybridge located on the west coast of Ireland--where the winds and the waves of the Atlantic create a harsh environment--the various stories are focused around an old house that is renovated as an inn. It opens in the middle of winter (not the most weather-friendly time to visit Stoneybridge), and we learn the secrets, fears, longings and desires of the guests who visit for a week in winter.Finishing the book is much like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. And this is classic Maeve Binchy! The stories, the characters, the setting, the descriptions...no one writes like she did.

The first book that I ever remember actually wanting to read as a teenager was Light A Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy, and I, along with my fellow convent school friends, devoured it! After that, I simply had to read anything that she wrote, so I was thrilled to find a book of hers that I hadn't read!!A Week In Winter is set in the West Coast Of Ireland (which is where my family originate from) and so straight away, reading Maeve's descriptions, I could image the rugged coastline, and crashing waves of the Wild Atlantic Way. I knew immediately that I was going to love this book, and I didn't...I simply ADORED it!! It was better than anything I could imagine.As ever, Maeve weave's all the storylines together, like a seamstress with golden threads, and the end result is a beautiful patchwork quilt of a book. I don't think anyone can, or will stand up to her writing ability in my eyes, but it could be nostalgia talking.Chicky Starr is from a small village called Stoneybridge and when she is a young woman, and in love, she decides to follow her dreams (and her man) and go to America. When it all comes crashing down around her, she decides to return home, and along with an old spinster of the parish Miss Queenie they renovate an old mansion and turn it into a thriving B&B.The rest of the chapters in the book are like short stories, each telling the different tale of guests or employees of the B&B - Rigger, Orla, Winnie, John, Henry and Nicola, Anders, The Walls, Miss Howe and Freda, and they all intertwine to make up a magical story.On finishing this book, I found out that it was published posthumously following Maeve's death in 2012. It is hard to imagine that the world is now without such a wonderful story teller, however she leaves behind a spectacular legacy, and it seems fitting that every time I go to church, I light a penny candle for Maeve.

Binchy weaves fascinating tales about Irish folk and this is no exception. By the end I can imagine myself being part of the plot. This is easy reading and a good way to relax without having to concentrate too much on the storyline. Makes a change to my usual book choice of thrillers/murders.Characters in this are beautifully drawn, captivating and believable; gathered together as visitors to the opening of a hotel in the west of Ireland. Each part of the book recounts why the person/people are at the hotel and their fascinating backgrounds.

I’ve been a Maeve fan all my life, ever since I first read Light a Penny Candle. It was as if she had met my family and written about us. Since then I’ve been aware that her novels were becoming increasingly formulaic but it’s a formula I love and so I didn’t have a problem with that. Each new book was a treat to be anticipated and enjoyed. Until this. What an utter pile of tripe.As other reviewers have said it’s impossible to work out what year this was set in. Early in the book it refers to a failed divorce referendum which indicates 1986 but the attitudes and mores of the characters are more like 1936. Are we seriously supposed to believe that in 1986 NY was a remote, uncontactable outpost to people in the west of Ireland? My poor and unremarkable family certainly had more representatives working in NY then than living back home and gossip flew both ways very effectively. We even got,on planes and visited one another occasionally. This depiction of a tourist area in the west in 1986 being some sort of Disneyfied outpost of Glocca Mora is verging on the racist. I can understand why it was published posthumously, I’m sure Maeve wouldn’t have wanted to be associated with it.I read the first three chapters of this utter drivel and then asked Amazon to remove it from my Kindle account and refund me.

I have always enjoyed Maeve Binchey's books but was hugely disappointed by this one. The story was about a woman who returns to her home town in Ireland, buys an old mansion house and turns it into a hotel/guest house. So far so good. The book then descends into individual chapters about the different guests, each of whom find salvation by staying at the hotel for a week! Nowhere did I really enjoy the brief descriptions of the seaside town or the Irish countryside. The characters were unconnected and frankly, boring. The main storyline about Chicky, the owner, went nowhere and I was left feeling that the book had been written with little thought and published only because it bore Maeve Binchy's name.

This is the first of Maeve Binchy's novels that I've read. I saw all the 5-star rave reviews and thought I'd give it a go for my holiday. Unfortunately I couldn't finish it. The characters are so shallow and uninteresting, it's hard to become invested in what happens to them. The story has no depth. I don't really understand the need for irritating names like "Chicky" and "Rigger". Also, for a sizable part of the novel, it's really hard to determine what time period it is set in. When I discovered it was more modern than I originally thought, I was quite surprised, as judging by some of the characters' opinions and actions, you'd think it was the 1950's. Really bizarre and boring read which makes me want to avoid the author's other works.