A Week in Winter, by Maeve Binchy, was a reread for me. I don’t know what happened the first time I started reading it, but I just didn’t connect. This time, however, it was enjoyable listen for me during the holiday week. The pace was slow and relaxing, the characters fun to get to know. I guess that timing of when we choose to read a book is everything.
The story as described by the publisher:
Stoneybridge is a small town on the west coast of Ireland where all the families know one another. When Chicky Starr decides to take an old, decaying mansion set high on the cliffs overlooking the windswept Atlantic Ocean and turn it into a restful place for a holiday by the sea, everyone thinks she is crazy. Helped by Rigger (a bad boy turned good who is handy around the house) and Orla, her niece (a whiz at business), Chicky is finally ready to welcome the first guests to Stone House’s big warm kitchen, log fires, and understated elegant bedrooms. John, the American movie star, thinks he has arrived incognito; Winnie and Lillian are forced into taking a holiday together; Nicola and Henry, husband and wife, have been shaken by seeing too much death practicing medicine; Anders hates his father’s business, but has a real talent for music; Miss Nell Howe, a retired schoolteacher, criticizes everything and leaves a day early, much to everyone’s relief; the Walls are disappointed to have won this second-prize holiday in a contest where first prize was Paris; and Freda, the librarian, is afraid of her own psychic visions.
“Stoneybridge” is a place I’d love to visit! It certainly was enjoyable to visit it this week via Maeve Binchy’s wonderful imagination and storytelling. The lives of so many different people converged for that week in winter, and I loved getting to know the backstory of each person and how they ended up coming to Stoneybridge.
A terrific holiday read!
I chose this book to read for my personal challenge, “Wanderlust,” an effort to read books that are from or take place in each country of the world. This book was set in Ireland.
A Fondness For Reading 
Sounds like a very good winter/holiday story. I have not read this author in about 15 years – might be a nice change. Hope you have a wonderful 2021.
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Diane, it was a great, relaxing holiday read (a holiday listen, actually). Just what I needed.
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I’ve never read anything by Binchy, but have several on my shelves. Maybe 2021 is the year to try one.
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Les, I think I’ve only read one other Binchy. The first time I started this one, I just didn’t get into it. This time, I enjoyed it. So I’ll probably try another one before too long. It was pleasant to listen to while working on a project.
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I read this one several years ago and had to go check out my comments on it and I said the same thing… would love to spend some time there! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed this one.
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Iliana, that’s interesting! Wouldn’t it be nice if we could fill up that imaginative inn at Stoneybridge with all our fellow readersf or a week in winter!?
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I haven’t read Binchy in YEARS! Maybe I should go back to her…
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Davida, did you enjoy reading her? I’m pretty new to Binchy, so I have a lot to look forward to!
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Yes, I did. Circle of Friends is her best known book, and I also read Tara Road, and maybe another one (I forget). I like her writing style, and she does tell good stories. Don’t know why I haven’t read her in such a long while. Maybe I’m thinking they’re overly romantic for me these days.
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