Ladies' Night at Finbar's Hotel

by Dermot Bolger (Editor), Maeve Binchy, Clare Boylan

A novel by Maeve Binchy, Clare Boylan, Emma Donoghue, Anne Haverty, Eilis Ni Dhuibhne, Kate O'Riordan, Deirdre Purcell; devised and edited by Dermot Bolger.

A year has passed since the closing of Finbar's Hotel, a down-on-its-heels hotel on the Dublin quays. Now it has reopened its doors - as an ultra-chic Euro hotel. Ladies' Night describes, with inimitable Irish wit, one night in its newly illustrious surroundings. In one room a man surreptitiously helps his wife's friend get pregnant, while next door a businesswoman battles her father. And down the hall, a nun struggles with the most important mission of her life. A spirited mix of pathos and humor, this is a tour of the human experience, told with panache by Ireland's finest modern storytellers.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Ireland, Irish Literature, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Adult Fiction

257 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

About the author

Dermot Bolger is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet born in Finglas, a suburb of Dublin.

His work is often concerned with the articulation of the experiences of working-class characters who, for various reasons, feel alienated from society. Bolger questions the relevance of traditional nationalist concepts of Irishness, arguing for a more plural and inclusive society.

In the late 1970s Bolger set up Raven Arts Press, which he ran until 1992 when he co-founded New Island Press.

Reviews

[Amorfna]

Zanimljiv koncept,
u pitanju je zbirka od 7 priča ispričanih od 7 žena koje su se igrom slučaja našle u hotelu Finbar u jednoj noći.
S obzirom da je grupa autora sedam irskih književnica, priče su pisane po principu jedno poglavlje -jedna autorka.
Kao što rekoh, sjajna ideja posebno što je to produbljeno i time što je prevod na srpski takođe po istom principu, uradilo sedam prevoditeljki :)

Nažalost, rezultat je za mene bio mlak.
Podsetila me knjiga na detinjstvo, ako se sećate one igrice, jedna osoba nacrta glavu pa presavije papir, pa se druga na slepo nadoveže i nacrta trup, pa treća noge itd.
Super ideja ali na kraju smo uvek nekako bili razočarani jer smo očekivali bolje, smešnije, zanimljivije...
E to je ova knjiga.

Sve u svemu, ne bih Vam rekla da knjigu izbegnete , zapravo je sasvim dobar izbor za plažu ili neko kraće putovanje jer je benigna i čitljiva.
Samo je prilično prosečna a ja sam imala visoka očekivanja.

[Heather Meredith]

Great Stories but I am really frustrated because I want to know the author of each story. because I prefer the writing style of some over the others and would like to read more if their work.

[Nina]

Veoma mi se dopao koncept ove knjižice. Šest irskih književnica i jedan irski književnik (koji je jedini iz originalne postavke - prva zbirka smeštena na istu lokaciju) napisali su po jednu priču. S tim što je svaka smeštena u hotel Finbar.

Bilo je vrlo zabavno prepoznavati likove koji su se pojavili kao usputna osoba u jednoj priči, dok su bili glavni lik u drugoj priči.

Nekoliko njih je odlično oslikalo sam hotel i likove, ali nažalost ne znam ko tačno, jer nisu želeli da se zna ko je koju priču napisao.

Ono što mi je ipak smetalo su teme priča. Svaka žena je ovde bila ograničena svojim polom i to mi se uopšte nije dopalo. Jedna je očajnički želela da zatrudni. Druga je došla u hotel da se upozna sa svojim sinom kog je dala na usvajanje jer je zatrudnela kao tinejdžerka. Treća ne uspeva da uživa u svom poslovnom uspehu jer je mentalno oboleli otac opterećuje. Četvrta je saznala da je muž vara. Peta se udaje ali naleće na svog bivšeg koji ju je psihički maltretirao, pa opet prolazi kroz prošlost. I tako dalje, shvatili ste suštinu.

Ne kažem da ovakve priče nisu realne, ali mi se nije dopalo insistiranje na ovakvim temama, kao da su jedine uloge žene da bude nečija devojka, žena, majka, ćerka. Očekivala sam da to bude malo raznovrsnije i zanimljivije.

Ovo mi je svakako otvorilo prozor u irsku književnost koju tek planiram da istražim.

[Wendy Greenberg]

My overwhelming feeling was what a blast these great Irish female writers must have had when putting this together. You can almost hear the background guffaws of hilarity and arguments about who would have the nun/the unwanted pregnancy/the rural farm etc. It is playful and easy to read whilst also having gritty female protagonists with crises past and present in their lives for which Finbar's Hotel is the backdrop.

The seven writers rub their story and characters against each other in creative twists. A regular Pandora's Box of of lives lived. I enjoyed it.

[Anna]

This is the follow-up to Finbar’s Hotel. The Hotel has now been renovated by a Dutch rock star and his Irish wife and a new set of seven Irish writers, all women, take up the mantle of creating a character for a room, while interweaving the characters from the other stories. Sadly these stories are just as depressing as the ones in the previous book, although there were a couple which caught my interest for a while and raised my hopes that I might be starting to enjoy the book. I really felt like I should be enjoying this read but in truth I dutifully ploughed through it and was glad to reach the end. Again, incredibly talented authors contributed to the book but it really didn’t sit well with me.

[Rohase Piercy]

This is a delightful read which at times had me laughing out loud. Written by seven different (famous, female, Irish) authors and edited by Dermot Bolger, it presents seven scenarios taking place on the same evening in the eponymous Dublin hotel, a former dive recently re-opened under celebrity management and 'extensively refurbished'.

And so we are privileged to observe, in separate narratives, a woman's desperate attempt to conceive a turkey-baster baby, a chaotic father-and-daughter reunion, a bride-to-be encountering an abusive ex, a nun out on the razzle, a former chambermaid waiting to meet the baby she was obliged to give up, a middle-aged wife preparing to confront an errant husband, and a fading Hollywood actress with outdated delusions of grandeur. The stories are by turns moving, excruciating, fantastic and utterly hilarious, and extraneous details and minor characters are interwoven throughout – including a certain raddled, gravelly-voiced American singer/songwriter who wanders around complaining that he hasn't been given the penthouse suite. Oh, and although all of the authors are acknowledged, we aren't told who wrote which story – the reader has to work that out for herself. Wonderful stuff!

[Theresa]

This novel, authored by seven famous female Irish writers, is a collection of stories, each taking place in a different room of the recently refurbished Finbar's hotel in Dublin. Each chapter is written by a different author, so the style and content vary. The reader is left to determine who wrote which chapter, as there is no indication in the text. The guests have different reasons for being there. One guest is a nun, unsure of her vocation and registered under a false name. Her behavior on her one-night stay is quite “un-nun” like. Another is a businessman who is confronted by his suspicious wife who uncovers his deep dark secret and it is not what you would expect. A third guest is there to meet her 30-something son whom she had given up for adoption after her boyfriend stated that he wanted to be a priest. Another guest was spending the night before her wedding at the hotel and ran into her abusive ex-husband. Revenge is in the air! I enjoyed some stories more than others, but overall an interesting premise and a fun read. The writers must have had fun, too. On the back cover is a photo of the seven, sharing a hot tub spa!

[Melinda]

This book is about the lives of 7 people in 7 different rooms at Finbar's Hotel. Each room/story is written by a different author but they all sort of intertwine throughout the novel. I gave 2@2 stars, 4@3 and the 1 (the penthouse) got 4 stars, that one was hilarious. This was really an enjoyable read and there were some laugh out loud moments. Favourite sentence: "Her figure was still the same. It just wasn't in the same place." Haha.

[Badabada7]

Loved it! What a clever group of writers. They created a cohesive collection of feminine heroes; I became invested in a flash and rooted for each one. The Irish culture fascinates me and the people exhibit a warmth and sense of humor that I truly admire; Ladies’ Night brought back memories of my trips to Ireland and it’s calling me back. This book is a quick read, but you feel like you can savor it like a warm cup of tea, and a currant scone.

[Margaret Mary Lynch]

I enjoyed each individual story and they all knitted together well. Each room had a different story written by a different author and while the styles varied I could not decide which author wrote each story. Some of the characters appeared in many of the stories and some others were a bit far-fetched but never the less they were all likable. Overall a light easy-going read.

[Trudy Roy]

Dermot isn’t the author he’s the editor. This book consists of chapters written by seven different Irish authors including binchy and donogue. The first and seventh chapters were my favourites. Did they write those? Each chapter is about the goings in’s in one room with references to the characters in other chapters. Enjoyable. Fun concept.

[Heather]

An entertaining book - although I wasn't taken with the language in one of the 'rooms'. Not my kind of language at all.
Had a few giggles through the book and thought that really each chapter ('room') complimented the whole book.

[April]

Ladies Night at Finibar's Hotel Bolger, Dermot 4 F SS Short stories by Irish Authors including: Maeve Binchy, Clare Boylan, Emma Donaghue (dark), Anne Haverty, Ellis Ni Dhubbne, Kate O' reiordon, Deirdre Purcell 2016 6/7/2016

[Sarah Faulkner]

Quirky, fun read. Enjoyed some of the short stories more than others, but it’s a fun concept.

[Stacy Blomquist]

The last story made the book worth it.

[Kate Neville]

Not too impressed by any of the stories but the last one was a little funny

[Jackie]

Read 1.5 stories out of 7. Didn't like them.

[Judy Harris]

Different short stories by different authors. I liked some. Others not so much. Some were weird.

[Nicole]

Yuck

[Lien Dedeurwaerder]

Geen fan. Las niet vlot & bleef niet hangen. Saai..

[isidora]

3.5

I liked stories #1 and 7 the most.

[Emily]

It was okay. Liked the idea of multiple writers, creating a shared experience. However it didn't thrill me as I'd hoped.

[Lark]

Absolutely delightful short stories. The only drawback to reading these was I wanted more of the stories to continue.

[David]

No. Its absolute SHITE

[Ann Westcott]

Loved it. Just as good as Finbar’s Hotel. I read it in less than 24 hours and will, like the previous book, read it again straight away!

[Sue]

Great premise but thought the storytelling quality was very uneven.

[Sue Corbett]

A collection of short stories, various authors all writing for this specific title. Great idea.

[Sharon]

Easy enough to read but a very average book

[Linda Mcgurrin]

Quirky stories

[Catsalive]

The stories are entertaining but mostly quite bleak, & the humour, if any, is black. I was expecting something a bit more lighthearted. I'd to know who wrote what, although, I imagine "Touchy Subjects" is from Emma Donoghue.