Sue’s review of Light a Penny Candle > Likes and Comments
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thanks for your review. I was glad to see someone had the exact same opinion as myself
Hurray for people who thought exactly the same! I was reading till the small hours last night to finish the book and it left me feeling somehow cheated - such a great book and such an "out of character" ending for both Elisabeth and Aisling, as if it suddenly went from very detail-oriented descriptive fiction to a superficial crime novel. The book was very enjoyable untill the last chapter.
The end also left me wondering if Elisabeth pushed Henry (intentionally-?) and if she could have beeing going barmy like her mother did before...
I wondered that too about Elisabeth. And, I think it was so unbelievable that Aisling would have had an affair with a married man. It just wouldn't have happened. It was almost as though, no matter what, they were supposed to be two widows wandering together. No matter how unbelievable or how out of character they needed to be to get to that ending.
Could not agree more about Aisling as well, I think Johnny is one thing (although may be a bit of a stretch), but an affair with a married man is completely out of her character and background plus having two lovers at the same time is completely not like her (she is very open and direct in expressing her emotions, so when does she become such a smooth operator then?). And a development like this practically does not leave her with any chance of coming back to Kilgarret which I think would be the logical place for her to go eventually. There are too many things which seem "not natural" in the final chapters of the book - hard to believe that Elisabeth who is such a good judge of human character would fail to see a really nervous person in Henry if he were it deep down (she had too much experience of her own father), hard to believe that their relationship could go from total happiness and love to being so sour in a course of a couple of years only (her parents' relationship was never a sunny one to start with, in contrast to how she and Henry were), much of Elisabeth's descriptions in the final chapter seemed to be " copy-paste" from the descriptions of Violet as well.
I have seen another comment from someone that the book was enjoyable but the bitter end was like "a bad dream" which has potential to spoil your day unless you think about it and imagine how it could end in a more positive way - well this is exactly how I was today, feeling the need to work through what I think the ending should have been, yet feeling a little disappointed that I had to do it, because the book was so enjoyable up to the end bit... I read 4 more Binchy's books and enjoyed them thoroughly, this is the first one where I felt that the end did not really work with the rest of the book. The only reason I could think of was that Light a Penny Candle was the first book Maeve Binchy published afterall!
What was your favorite Maeve Binchy book? This was the only book I've read of hers and haven't been able to try reading any of her other works.
I liked Tara Road, Scarlet Feather and Quentins - if you read them, do read them in this order otherwise you will know some of the plot twists and endings before you want it :) The other one I read was The nights of Rain and Stars, which was also enjoyable but somehow a little less than the trilogy.
Im reading this book now, and am dying to get to the parts you all are talking.about. I read Tara Road, the only other Maeve Binchy title ive ever read and totally kived it, so I assumed her most notable works would be equally as enthralling.
I too was stunned by the ending of Light a Penny Candle. It was almost like she suddenly had to end the book and just scribbled anything on paper. I read 13 of Binchy's novels and loved them so much that I started a Maeve Binchy book collection to pass on to others in the family. But disappointingly I've recently read 5 that haven't been good with weak plots: The Lilac Bus; Firefly Summer; Silver Wedding; The Return Journey and Light a Penny Candle. But her excellent ones still make me a great Binchy fan. In addition to the excellent titles suggested by Maria above try these as well:
Circle of Friends; The Copper Beach; The Glass Lake; Evening Class; Echoes; Minding Frankie
I think Elizabeth lied as she had pushed him. She states he hadn’t been in their apartment at all, when clearly he had. Harry was complicit.
Henry’s demise was little loss!
An over-emotional bore!
Yep! She pushed him because he threatened to take baby Eileen.
I felt exactly the same.. so used to read happy endings in her books.. this one seemed incomplete
I actually never finished reading Light a Penny Candle. I have read many, many other Maeve Binchy books and loved them but found this one very slow and dragging.
After reading some of the comments perhaps I made the right decision to stop reading it.
Yes, I agree! Very disappointing ending! It was as if Aisling and Elizabeth turned into two different people.
I so agree! I was swept away by the story but the ending chapters were a bit of a disappointment. As soon as Aisling started the affair with Johnny, really. I just couldn't wrap my mind around where the story was heading after that. I felt like I was reading about totally different characters. It definitely took away from the story BUT I was caught up in the drama until the final page 😉
I agree. I have just finished it and feel completely underwhelmed by the ending.
Oh my gosh, I've only just begun reading this book, and there's so many spoilers!
That’s how all of her books go. 75% in, I love them. I finish them and almost always hate them.
Am 1/3 way in and began to wonder if it was me or the book. Reading your comments are so helpful, I’m not going to continue with the book. There are too many other things in my TBR pile. Thank you for your comments. You saved me hours of reading time. 💗
I am struggling with the end. I have a couple of chapters to go and not liking what I’m reading. I’m disappointed in Aislings character. Yuck!
I did enjoy her writing and will read another book of hers.
Now finished! It was a looooong story! The outcome wasn’t what I anticipated. Oh, well! On to the next. 3/5
About one third of the way into this book I began to skim. I did finish it, but it was slow and very long.
I'd gone halfway through the book at 55% around half a year ago. I'm afraid it got a bit too distressing for me so much my friend suggested I stop. I've been reviewing my list for the next year and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep going forward if this is where it's going.
Thank you all for your comments. I mean they are spoilers but sometimes being spoilt is better than being heartbroken beyond repair.
Agree, the last chapter was very unsatisfying. It's like she got tired of writing about these people and just dropped a weird ending. It certainly doesn't hold a candle to The Copper Beach. I immediately dropped it into my box of books to take to the Little Free Library (where I found this one).
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Heather
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Mar 02, 2009 08:24AM
thanks for your review. I was glad to see someone had the exact same opinion as myself
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Hurray for people who thought exactly the same! I was reading till the small hours last night to finish the book and it left me feeling somehow cheated - such a great book and such an "out of character" ending for both Elisabeth and Aisling, as if it suddenly went from very detail-oriented descriptive fiction to a superficial crime novel. The book was very enjoyable untill the last chapter.The end also left me wondering if Elisabeth pushed Henry (intentionally-?) and if she could have beeing going barmy like her mother did before...
I wondered that too about Elisabeth. And, I think it was so unbelievable that Aisling would have had an affair with a married man. It just wouldn't have happened. It was almost as though, no matter what, they were supposed to be two widows wandering together. No matter how unbelievable or how out of character they needed to be to get to that ending.
Could not agree more about Aisling as well, I think Johnny is one thing (although may be a bit of a stretch), but an affair with a married man is completely out of her character and background plus having two lovers at the same time is completely not like her (she is very open and direct in expressing her emotions, so when does she become such a smooth operator then?). And a development like this practically does not leave her with any chance of coming back to Kilgarret which I think would be the logical place for her to go eventually. There are too many things which seem "not natural" in the final chapters of the book - hard to believe that Elisabeth who is such a good judge of human character would fail to see a really nervous person in Henry if he were it deep down (she had too much experience of her own father), hard to believe that their relationship could go from total happiness and love to being so sour in a course of a couple of years only (her parents' relationship was never a sunny one to start with, in contrast to how she and Henry were), much of Elisabeth's descriptions in the final chapter seemed to be " copy-paste" from the descriptions of Violet as well. I have seen another comment from someone that the book was enjoyable but the bitter end was like "a bad dream" which has potential to spoil your day unless you think about it and imagine how it could end in a more positive way - well this is exactly how I was today, feeling the need to work through what I think the ending should have been, yet feeling a little disappointed that I had to do it, because the book was so enjoyable up to the end bit... I read 4 more Binchy's books and enjoyed them thoroughly, this is the first one where I felt that the end did not really work with the rest of the book. The only reason I could think of was that Light a Penny Candle was the first book Maeve Binchy published afterall!
What was your favorite Maeve Binchy book? This was the only book I've read of hers and haven't been able to try reading any of her other works.
I liked Tara Road, Scarlet Feather and Quentins - if you read them, do read them in this order otherwise you will know some of the plot twists and endings before you want it :) The other one I read was The nights of Rain and Stars, which was also enjoyable but somehow a little less than the trilogy.
Im reading this book now, and am dying to get to the parts you all are talking.about. I read Tara Road, the only other Maeve Binchy title ive ever read and totally kived it, so I assumed her most notable works would be equally as enthralling.
I too was stunned by the ending of Light a Penny Candle. It was almost like she suddenly had to end the book and just scribbled anything on paper. I read 13 of Binchy's novels and loved them so much that I started a Maeve Binchy book collection to pass on to others in the family. But disappointingly I've recently read 5 that haven't been good with weak plots: The Lilac Bus; Firefly Summer; Silver Wedding; The Return Journey and Light a Penny Candle. But her excellent ones still make me a great Binchy fan. In addition to the excellent titles suggested by Maria above try these as well:Circle of Friends; The Copper Beach; The Glass Lake; Evening Class; Echoes; Minding Frankie
I think Elizabeth lied as she had pushed him. She states he hadn’t been in their apartment at all, when clearly he had. Harry was complicit.Henry’s demise was little loss!
An over-emotional bore!
Yep! She pushed him because he threatened to take baby Eileen.
I felt exactly the same.. so used to read happy endings in her books.. this one seemed incomplete
I actually never finished reading Light a Penny Candle. I have read many, many other Maeve Binchy books and loved them but found this one very slow and dragging. After reading some of the comments perhaps I made the right decision to stop reading it.
Yes, I agree! Very disappointing ending! It was as if Aisling and Elizabeth turned into two different people.
I so agree! I was swept away by the story but the ending chapters were a bit of a disappointment. As soon as Aisling started the affair with Johnny, really. I just couldn't wrap my mind around where the story was heading after that. I felt like I was reading about totally different characters. It definitely took away from the story BUT I was caught up in the drama until the final page 😉
I agree. I have just finished it and feel completely underwhelmed by the ending.
Oh my gosh, I've only just begun reading this book, and there's so many spoilers!
That’s how all of her books go. 75% in, I love them. I finish them and almost always hate them.
Am 1/3 way in and began to wonder if it was me or the book. Reading your comments are so helpful, I’m not going to continue with the book. There are too many other things in my TBR pile. Thank you for your comments. You saved me hours of reading time. 💗
I am struggling with the end. I have a couple of chapters to go and not liking what I’m reading. I’m disappointed in Aislings character. Yuck!I did enjoy her writing and will read another book of hers.
Now finished! It was a looooong story! The outcome wasn’t what I anticipated. Oh, well! On to the next. 3/5
About one third of the way into this book I began to skim. I did finish it, but it was slow and very long.
I'd gone halfway through the book at 55% around half a year ago. I'm afraid it got a bit too distressing for me so much my friend suggested I stop. I've been reviewing my list for the next year and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep going forward if this is where it's going.Thank you all for your comments. I mean they are spoilers but sometimes being spoilt is better than being heartbroken beyond repair.
Agree, the last chapter was very unsatisfying. It's like she got tired of writing about these people and just dropped a weird ending. It certainly doesn't hold a candle to The Copper Beach. I immediately dropped it into my box of books to take to the Little Free Library (where I found this one).
