Saturday, August 24, 2013

Book Spotlight and a Giveaway! Echoes by Maeve Binchy


Echoes


"It was sometimes called the echo cave, and if you shouted your question loud enough in the right direction, you got an answer instead of an echo..."

Clare and David--divided as children by a rigid social code that branded her as shanty Irish and him as gentry...brought together as adults by a desire that knew no class, no barriers, only the urgent hunger of two people destined to love--and ready to defy a world determined to keep them apart.

Even at fifteen, David Power knew the echo would answer eleven-year-old Clare O'Brien's dearest wish, to win a school prize. But it was years before Dr. Power's cherished only son saw in the huckster's daughter the answer to his own heart's desire.

Here in Castlebay, perched precariously on the seaside cliffs, the lines between them were clearly drawn. Clare's only hope is to leave the town where time stopped, propelled by scholarships to Dublin, fueled by her own drive and brilliance, far from the insular, gossipy world of Castlebay and those in its thrall... Angela O'Hara, beautiful, isolated, a teacher trapped in the convent school, who risks everything to help Clare escape... Gerry Doyle, the town charmer who finds in Clare the woman he vows to have at any price... Caroline Nolan, the beautiful, rich outsider who comes to plunder...

For Clare, that was before the wild freedom of Dublin, and love. And David. Before fate drove them back to Castlebay, and the past... ~~ synopsis from Goodreads

About the author


Maeve Binchy was born on 28 May 1940 in Dalkey, County Dublin, Ireland, the eldest child of four. Her parents were very positive and provided her with a happy childhood. Despite the fact she describes herself as an overweight child it was her parents attitude that gave her the confidence to accept herself for who she is today.

She studied at University College Dublin and was a teacher for a while. She also loved travelling and this was how she found her niche as a writer. She liked going to all different kinds of places such as a Kibbutz in Israel and worked in a camp in the United States. It was whilst she was away that she sent letters home to her parents. They were so impressed with these chatty letters from all over the world that they decided to send them to a newspaper. They were published. She left teaching and became a journalist. She still writes columns today.

Maeve married Gordon Snell who is also a published writer. When they were struggling financially it was then that Light a Penny Candle was published. She became an overnight success. Her books deal with relationship problems. Many of them are set in the past in Ireland such as "Echoes" and often deal with people who are young, fall in love, have families then have relationship or family problems that readers can identify with. The main characters are people you can empathise with. Some of her later novels have been brought forward to the present day to become more modern. Her cousin Dan Binchy is also a published writer.

She passed away on 30 July 2012, at the age of 72.

Giveaway!

I realize this is an older book but Maeve's books are classics. 
I enjoyed this story and I know you will too.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!


9 comments:

  1. Thanks for the giveaway! I just read my first Maeve Binchy novel (her last book) and enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to reading her earlier work, too.

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  2. Gosh you are right I have read Maeve Binchy years ago and I have not read this one yet even though its been around that's what happens when you have kids and work, you don't get to read much, retired now so I have more reading time.. lol, course I am on the computer a lot too...

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  3. I love Maeve's books!

    lag110 at mchsi dot com

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  4. I have read a couple of her books and enjoyed them both so would like to read this one.

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  5. It has been a long time since I have read one of Maeve's books. This one sounds really good and I'd love to read it. Thanks for having the giveaway.

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  6. I know the contest is over, but I wanted to comment that I have yet to read a Maeve Binchy (oops) and really want to. I'm glad to find an author who wrote many books, and they are not a series, so I can just pick up one at random and enjoy. I will look for this title or another by her that interests me. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Thank you so very much for this I am anxiously waiting to read thank you again.

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