Shancarrig: From "The Copper Beech"

by Maeve Binchy

From Ryan's Hotel to Father Gunn's Church, the little Irish town of Shancarrig is outwardly placid and peaceful – some might even say dull – but peel away the layers and all sorts of unexpected things come to light...

In this extract from her collection of stories, The Copper Beech, Maeve Binchy gently uncovers the secrets hidden in the heart of one of the people of this ordinary town, with warmth, humour and her characteristic understanding of human frailty.

Genres: Novella, Fiction

58 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1995

About the author

Anne Maeve Binchy Snell was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, and speaker. Her novels were characterised by a sympathetic and often humorous portrayal of small-town life in Ireland, and surprise endings. Her novels, which were translated into 37 languages, sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Her death at age 73, announced by Vincent Browne on Irish television late on 30 July 2012, was mourned as the death of one of Ireland's best-loved and most recognisable writers.
She appeared in the US market, featuring on The New York Times Best Seller list and in Oprah's Book Club. Recognised for her "total absence of malice" and generosity to other writers, she finished third in a 2000 poll for World Book Day, ahead of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Stephen King.

Reviews

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 2 out of 5]

This small Phoenix 60P paperback is entitled Shancarrig and it is an excerpt from Maeve Binchy's (1940-2012) novel The Copper Beech. According to one of the reviews of Copper the novel starts with the description of a copper tree. Then the novel is divided into several sub-stories told by several narrators. In this one, Shancarrig, that narrator is Leonora "Leo" Murphy. At the beginning of her story, Leo is a toddler and at some point she witness a tragedy involving her parents and that night becomes entrenched in her mind forever and affects practically all the major decisions, especially love decisions, she has in her adult life.

The prose is easy to understand like that of Katherine Mansfield's but not as lucid as that of Rose Tremain's. Prior to this book, I did not have any idea who Binchy was. Binchy was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, and speaker best known for her humorous take on small-town life in Ireland, her descriptive characters, her interest in human nature, and her often clever surprise endings. Wiki further says that her books have outsold those of other Irish writers such as Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, W. B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Edna O'Brien and Roddy Doyle. If that is the case, Binchy is either a genius or has a good marketing partner or maybe a combination of both.

I mean, the book is not bad at all. It is okay. But I will still complete my current reading of Samuel Beckett's Centenary Edition of his selected works. I read and enjoyed Ulysses and Finnegans' Wake. But I have no plan yet of buying and reading another Binchy. Unless, there is a GR friend who will argue with me and tell me the merits of reading her works.

[Erica Smythe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read Maeve Binchy in a long while. Enjoyed this quick read.

[Goldie · Rating 2 out of 5]

No my cuppa tea got about 10 pages in

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a gorgeous gentle read. Read it in one sitting. Covers serious issues; Class structure, greed, grief, murder, love, forbidden love, honesty, women's rights/roles the price of war etc. Just loved it.

[Felicity · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of 60 pages long, you can read it all in an easy sitting, or for someone just starting to read, it's a light, enjoyable story of family secrets, and growing up.

[Lesley Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maeve Binchy is a comforting read. Humorous and good characters.