Book Review: Whitethorn Woods

Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Maeve Binchy is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Whitethorn Woods is a wonderful story about a small town of Rossmore where many characters are described in this book. I can only explain it as a stair step effect, in that one chapter to the next the characters are intertwined in someway. The characters are described in great detail and their view of a new highway coming to town is briefly discussed.

A sacred well and shrine dedicated to St. Ann is at the edge of Whitethorn woods and at danger of being destroyed with the building of the new highway. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the book itself did not revolve completely around the new highway, just the characters in the town.

This is a charming story, that was very fun to read.

Copied from Goodreads.com
Maeve Binchy once again brings us an enchanting book full of the wit, warmth, and wisdom that have made her one of the most beloved and widely read writers at work today.

When a new highway threatens to bypass the town of Rossmore and cut through Whitethorn Woods, everyone has a passionate opinion about whether the town will benefit or suffer. But young Father Flynn is most concerned with the fate of St. Ann’s Well, which is set at the edge of the woods and slated for destruction. People have been coming to St. Ann’s for generations to share their dreams and fears, and speak their prayers. Some believe it to be a place of true spiritual power, demanding protection; others think it’s a mere magnet for superstitions, easily sacrificed. Not knowing which faction to favor, Father Flynn listens to all those caught up in the conflict, and these are the voices we hear in the stories of Whitethorn Woods—men and women deciding between the traditions of the past and the promises of the future, ordinary people brought vividly to life by Binchy’s generosity and empathy, and in the vivacity and surprise of her storytelling.

Maeve Binchy is at the very top of her form in this irresistible tale.

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