Kuulda ööbikulaulu

Nightingale #1

by Charlotte Bingham, Tiiu Viljamaa (Translator), Linda Targo (Editor)

Traagilise lapsepõlvega Cassie kohtub New Yorkis noort iirlast ning sõidab koos mehega selle hobusekasvandusse Iirimaal. Näib, et õnn ongi käes. Kuid siis selgub, et maja on lagunemas, pidevalt valitseb rahanappus ning lisaks ilmub lagedale Cassie vana vihavaenlane koolipäevilt, kes tema elu igati põrguks püüab teha. Kui elu taas traagilise pöörde võtab, saab Cassie loota üksnes iseendale.

Genres: Fiction, Womens Fiction

672 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

The Honourable Charlotte Mary Thérèse Bingham was born on 29 June 1942 in Haywards Heath, Sussex, England, UK. Her father, John Bingham, the 7th Baron Clanmorris, wrote detective stories and was a secret member of MI5. Her mother, Madeleine Bingham, née Madeleine Mary Ebel, was a playwright. Charlotte first attended a school in London, but from the age of seven to 16, she went to the Priory of Our Lady's Good Counsel school in Haywards Heath. After she left school, she went to stay in Paris with some French aristocrats with the intention of learning French. She had written since she was 10 years old and her first piece of work was a thriller called Death's Ticket. She wrote her humorous autobiography, called Coronet Among the Weeds, when she was 19, and not long before her twentieth birthday a literary agent discovered her celebrating at the Ritz. He was a friend of her parents and he took off the finished manuscript of her autobiography. In 1963, this was published by Heinemanns and was a best seller.

In 1966, Charlotte Bingham's first novel, called Lucinda, was published. This was later adapted into a TV screenplay. In 1972, Coronet Among the Grass, her second autobiography, was published. This talked about the first ten years of her marriage to fellow writer Terence Brady. They couple, who have two children, later adapted Coronet Among the Grass and Coronet Among the Weeds, into the TV sitcom No, Honestly. She and her husband, Terence Brady, wrote three early episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs together, Board Wages, I Dies from Love and Out of the Everywhere. They later wrote an accompanying book called Rose's Story. They also wrote the episodes of Take Three Girls featuring Victoria (Liza Goddard). In the 1970s Brady and Bingham wrote episodes for the TV series Play for Today, Three Comedies of Marriage, Yes, Honestly and Robin's Nest. During the 1980s and 1990s they continued to write for the occasional TV series, and in 1993 adapted Jilly Cooper's novel Riders for the small screen. Since the 1980s she has become a romance novelist. In 1996 she won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Alma · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the books I remember reading as a teenager. Remember staying up all night to finish it.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book centres around a young woman who makes an enemy of a rich girl at her posh school and rather stupidly there is a continuous running struggle for one to outdo the other, as though a poor girl could ever really be a part of the rich girl's circle. Snobs keep to their own sort. The poor girl doesn't seem to be the brightest or is just naive, and is easily manipulated into a scene involving a groom.

Anyway there are horses galore as later on they each own or train racehorses. Year after year the two each seem to produce a colt for the Epsom Derby - and horses then get nobbled or overtrained or ill in swift succession. In the final contest one colt is even produced by artificial genetic selection. Racing fans may enjoy the story but those not interested in horses probably less so.

I thought that the title could have been improved upon as it has nothing to do with the story. My copy of the paperback, though brand new, was also missing a forty-page chunk of the story which did not endear the book to me.

[Elina Belova · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a special book. I lived with the book through a significant period of my life. With finishing the book, I have closed my own chapter as well. I wouldn't recommend the book, nor I found the story exciting or bright. But there are life moments when this book suits well.

[Kathrin Passig · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Öffentliches Bücherregal) Drei Sterne sind eigentlich zu großzügig, aber ich hatte viel Spaß damit. Der Anfang ist sogar richtig gut, aber die Autorin hatte wohl an manchen Tagen mehr Lust zum Schreiben und an anderen weniger. Gelegentlich wird eine Szene detailliert erzählt, aber ein Großteil der über 600 Seiten enthält nur Zusammenfassung von Handlung. Diese Handlung deckt ungefähr 50 Jahre ab, ich sehe ein, dass man da nicht jeder Minute seine ganze Liebe als Autorin widmen kann. Aber es ist schon empörend vieles, das nur im Vorbeigehen erwähnt wird. Die Kinder der Protagonistin werden zwar dramatisch herbeigesehnt und geboren, existieren danach aber nur als blasse Schatten, und sogar die Pferde, um die es hauptsächlich geht, sind zahlreich und leicht verwechselbar. Dafür passiert so viel wie in zehn anderen Büchern: Intrigen! Nonneninternate! Reichtum, Bankrott und wieder Reichtum! Unerwartete Todesfälle! Ständig Champagner! Ganze Horden unehelicher Kinder (sogar der Pfarrer zeugt eines)! Und stilistisch war es angenehm unauffällig, ich habe vorher alle anderen Bücher aus dem öffentlichen Bücherregal genommen und jedes wieder zugeklappt, weil es darin vor schlimmen Adverbien wimmelte. Wenn die gesamte Handlung erzählt und nicht nur zusammengefasst würde, hätte das Buch ungefähr 60.000 Seiten und wäre wahrscheinlich ganz gut.

[Samanta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Šarlote Binghema "Lakstīgalas dziesma"

• Kesijas Makgannas bērnība bija nežēlīga, tomēr, kad viņa nonāca Ņujorkā, sev cieši nozvērējās to vairs nepieminēt un tādā dzīvē neatgriezties. Pēc tam Kesija iepazīstas ar žilbinošo sacīkšu zirgu treneri Tironu, apprecas un pārceļas uz dzīvi Īrijā. Kesijas ikdiena aizrit laimē un harmonijā, līdz notiek traģēdija. Dzīves groži draud izslīdēt no rokām un Kesijai ir jādara viss, lai tas nenotiktu. Tomēr, lai cik grūti nebūtu, viņa neapšaubāmi baudīja katru dzīves mirkli.

• Ak, šī grāmata! Tā ir 700 lappušu plāna, jā, plāna, jo man nepietika. Otras šādas vairs nebūs. Varbūt būs labāka, bet tikai ne šāda. Izsmalcināti skaista, eleganta un neatvairāma, līdz sirds dziļumiem aizkustinoša par sievietes sevis apzināšanās sarežģīto ceļu.

✏️" - Man šķiet, - Džina teica, pēkšņi kļuvusi nopietna, - ja radusies iespēja tvert laimi, tad vajag to tvert." (220.lpp.)
✏️" Dzīve nav ģenerālmēģinājums." (220.lpp.)
✏️" Mums jāiemācās sadzīvot ar to, kas mūs piemeklē. Iziet cauri pārbaudījumam un dzīvot ar to tālāk. Tas nedrīkst apēnot visu turpmāko dzīvi." (378.lpp.)

[Momilani Awana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this when I was younger. In retrospect, it's fine and should be about 30% shorter. Characters include kind nuns, an abusive grandmother, loyal friends, a somewhat crazy husband, a promising jockey, a cartoonishly mean rival, an unnecessary rapist, a creepy banker, and the protagonist Cassie. It evolves from abuse porn to school rivalry to romance to sports movie.

The ending is pretty meh. Nice for her to reach great career heights, but the last character she meets really doesn't deserve the mention.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Believable characters and a page turner. Well written and storyline which needed to be good for such a thick book - this was easily achieved.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best and memorable books I've ever read.

[Terena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good sweeping saga, that covers around 40 years, although if you aren't interested in horse racing, I guess you wouldn't enjoy it very much!

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost 800 pages of an unforgettable love story. Has all the elements of a great romance novel. Well written, likeable and hateable characters, lots of tragedy and love.

[Catriona Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kind of book that stays with you … loved it

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't understand any of the horseracing jargon but after 3 years reading this on and off I decided it would've been a 5 star if I did! I will think about this book for a long time

[Emma Thornsberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favorite romance. Classic and timeless!

[Julie Chartrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le début du livre est lent. S'étire dans le temps pour finalement nous mener vers une intrigue intéressante.

[Panthère Rousse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Par hasard, à cause de la proximité alphabétique, en regardant une fois de plus les Maeve Binchy à la bibliothèque, je me suis retrouvée avec ce livre. Je l'ai lu jusqu'à la fin, mais j'ai failli sauter des bouts. Je ne le recommande qu'aux amateurs de romances et aux maniaques de chevaux et de courses de chevaux. Je lis assez bien l'anglais normalement, mais j'avoue que le vocabulaire me manquait dans un domaine que je ne connais pas du tout.

Si vous êtes prêt(e) à aimer un livre où une fille maltraitée toute son enfance part à New York, trouve tout de suite un emploi au grand magasin Bergdorf Goodman et est très vite demandée en mariage par un bel Irlandais éleveur de chevaux de course, ce livre est pour vous - à condition que vous vouliez vous taper des pages et des pages de description de courses, y compris les cotes pour les paris. Une bonne partie du livre se passe dans les années 60, mais on se croirait souvent au début du 20e siècle.

[Elīna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, dear. This giant was insufferable and boring. The reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 2, was that there were some things that I found quite enjoyable. But most of them were just so silly and predictable, that I wanted this book to end so bad. Too many horses, not enough of the characters. I felt completely detached from their emotions, and I didn't really care if someone died. Because it just wasn't even remotely sad or upsetting in any way. Even the villain was annoying, which doesn't happen very often. So why did i gave it 3 stars? Well, I guess I liked some of the points/life lessons mentioned and some bits were funny-ish. And that's all. I guess I feel a bit sorry for myself for wasting my time with this. Overall,it was a below average read with disappointing characters.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cassie has a miserable childhood, brought up by a grandmother who despises her. But she finds friends at school and eventually falls in love.

Her life is full of ups and downs, with some very striking moments and unexpected twists to the plot. I liked it more than I expected to, and felt the ending was nicely rounded.

[Maya Kabbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one heck of a roller coaster of emotions;on one chapter I found myself laughing uncontrollably, and on another I was an emotional wreck...It's truly touching and I constantly catch myself daydreaming about it❤️

[Ladan F · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was excellent,I just couldn't put it down.very exciting,very emotional at times.you can't wait to turn the page

[Lamis]

One of the best romatic books i've read when I was a teenager.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the first "adult" books I read as a kid - I must be feeling nostalgic.

[Edith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si vous avez la passion des courses de chevaux ce livre est pour vous. Le début où sa fausse grand-mère la maltraite semble être hors contexte.

[Zimels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love, love, loved it. Could not put the book down.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first proper novel I read. My sons middle name is Tyrone after Cassies husband :)

[Jennifer Aiello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book and found myself often not wanting to put it down. Am going on to the sequel next.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I read that actually made me sob, in public, on a train!!!! Just loved it - one of Ms Bingham's best - Keeper - to be read again and again (with tissues).

[Lorna Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not want this book to end so kept reading the last chapter even though I was distraught. In my top 10.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sort of sweet love story that was way too long. I would not have finished it but for the bits about horse racing and training horses.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

found the book interesting. lots of talk of horses. got extremely frustrated at the lack of parenting!

[Shirley]

another reread.