I am a big Maeve Binchy fan and turn to her books when I need some easy, pleasant reading. Her stories, though containing some drama, tend to end well and leave me with a satisfied feeling. Until now, I have read all her books in paper but heard her books were good on audio. Well, perhaps I chose the wrong one because Whitethorn Woods was not enjoyable by audio at all.
Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy, like the author’s book Heart And Soul, is set in the town of Rossmore in Ireland. The town is best known for St. Ann’s well where believers go, much to the local priest’s consternation, to pray for small miracles in their lives. The book tells the stories of various townspeople - there is a loose connection between many of the people in the different stories but what anchors it all together is the town of Rossmore and St. Ann’s well.
The anchor, however, was not enough to keep me oriented during this audiobook. Because the book is really a collection of loosely connected short stories, there are a lot of characters most of whom you don’t hear enough about to really know them or their voice. The audio format has about 3 narrators - two women and a man - so they each play multiple characters throughout the book. I found them all very hard to follow and spent the first five to ten minutes of each new story trying to orient myself to who they were and how they were or were not related to the other characters I had met in earlier stories. Just when I would begin to follow the story and want to learn more about the characters in it, we were on to another story and I was back at square one again.
I do think this book would have been more enjoyable on paper - without the voices to follow, the move from story to story probably wouldn’t have been so jarring. In much the same way, I think some of Binchy’s more linear books would fit audio narration better. I am not giving up on this author or even this author on audio but cannot recommend Whitethorn Woods.
Have you read or listened to the author’s books? Which are your favorites?
I haven't read a MB book in a long time so her latest are on my TBR list. I remember one about WWII - Light a Penny Candle, I think. Since I remember liking it I guess it could be one of my favorites but I can't give you plot points. Maybe I should reread it! That said, I enjoyed all of her back list.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd need to read the print edition of this book for the reason you mentioned.
Yes - definitely stick to print for this one!
DeleteToo many story lines don't work well on audio for me, so maybe that was the problem. Sorry this one wasn't great for you.
ReplyDeleteI can't complain too much - my not liking a book/audio happens rarely these days.
DeleteI had the exact same feeling about this audiobook. Confusing to say the least!
ReplyDeleteGlad I am not alone!
DeleteI've only read a few of her books but really liked them. I haven't read one since heart and Soul came out though. I could see where her books might be confusing in audio.
ReplyDeleteI read Heart and Soul a few weeks ago and really liked it - some of the same characters appeared in Whitethorn Woods
DeleteI too love Maeve Binchy's books, and I totally agree that audiobooks work best with one storyline. I tend to like non-fiction books on audio, Sarah Vowell's being my favorites, but I do like Adriana Trigiani's novels on audio, especially Rococco read by Mario Cantone.
ReplyDeleteooh - thanks for the recommendation on Rococco! I haven't read that one yet so maybe I will listen instead.
DeleteI like some of the characters from this book, but I enjoyed them more in Heart and Soul and Minding Frankie - they had more connected plots - and were all read by one narrator, Sile Bermingham, who is one of my favorites. I'm glad I didn't give up on her audiobooks after Whitethorn Woods, because the other two were great. :)
ReplyDeletegood to know, Carrie! I want to read Minding Frankie so maybe I will try it on audio.
DeleteI've read several books by Binchy...have never listened to any of them.
ReplyDeleteWhitethorn Woods was probably my least favorite of recent reads. Even in print form, it was difficult to follow all the characters who appeared in these loosely connected vignettes.
I prefer a more cohesive story, and she has a few of those.
Here's MY SUNDAY SALON POST
Probably not one for me either. You can't win them all I guess. I'm more a nonfiction-audio person anyway.
ReplyDeletePrint probably would work better for this one. It's been years since I read Maeve Binchy - Circle of Friends was my favorite.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to find a good audio book. I enjoyed An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin and am currently listening to 3 Cups of Tea. It needs to be a story that is easy to follow, I think, especially if you are listening while driving as I do.
ReplyDeleteOh, this does sound like it would have been better on paper. Narration is such a wild card in audiobooks. Maybe this would be better if it was broken up in pieces -- like one story per trip to the gym! Sorry it didn't work for you, but thanks for the honest review!
ReplyDeleteAh, I haven't read any Maeve Binchy in a long time. She did used to be one of my go-to's. Maybe I just read to many of her books - I have a tendency to do that with authors! I'm going to have to pick up one of her books to have on hand for that time when it's just the right thing to have!
ReplyDelete