Circle of Friends
Ratings12
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings12
Average rating4.2
It began with Benny Hogan and Eve Malone, growing up, inseparable, in the village of Knockglen. Benny--the only child, yearning to break free from her adoring parents...Eve--the orphaned offspring of a convent handyman and a rebellious blueblood, abandoned by her mother's wealthy family to be raised by nuns. Eve and Benny--they knew the sins and secrets behind every villager's lace curtains...except their own. It widened at Dublin, at the university where Benny and Eve met beautiful Nan Mahlon and Jack Foley, a doctor's handsome son. But heartbreak and betrayal would bring the worlds of Knockglen and Dublin into explosive collision. Long-hidden lies would emerge to test the meaning of love and the strength of ties held within the fragile gold bands of a...Circle Of Friends. From the Paperback edition.
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This was a quick read. Follows the coming of age of a set of friends in and near Dublin in the late 1950s. Overall, a character driven book, which I enjoy - it was the personalities of the people that pulled the story forward, not the circumstances they found themselves in. However, I did have some problesm with the believability of the characters and their motivations - in particular, I'm left scratching my head and wondering what exactly drew Simon to Nan - he's characterized as 30-ish, she's not quite 20. Sure, she's beautiful and dresses like an heiress, but it didn't really seem to be enough to drive their relationship forward.
I was disappointed with Jack's character at the end of the book - I really wanted Binchy to leave him a better person with more hope of improvement than she did.
