Reviews

Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy

tidybex's review

2.0

I must admit that if this hadn't been a book group read, I would never have picked it up. Just goes to show that you should trust your instincts. To start with I enjoyed the short story concept; I thought it would be a great book to just pick up when you had a few moments. However, the short story concept tired about a quarter way through the book. By the time I reached half way, I had to steel myself to carry on reading! Some of the stories seemed to cut short as soon as they got interesting, which was a shame, whilst others seemed to have no real point at all; the fact that the book was published after the author's death seems quite telling. Sorry Maeve, you will never know how happy I was to finally finish this book; it became quite a chore.

nattyg's review

4.0

I always enjoy her short stories, but yet at the same time I wish some were longer. I get invested in them and want to learn more!! I guess that's a sign of a good writer.

pr727's review

2.0

Very, very short stories. Too short to learn enough about the characters to connect so it reduced to situations with
a mix of negative and positive outcomes.

lw_304's review

4.0

Another great Binchy book! The short story format is an easy read.

misscandice's review

2.0

Money grab?

I am not sure Maeve Binchy would have wanted these little snippets of stories published. A lot of the seemed to be unfinished. But I don't know this for sure.

tlt19's review

3.0

I normally love Maeve Binchy books but I didn't really get on with this one. I think it was the short story format. Some of the stories were good but a lot fell flat for me. Maybe I am too use to the thrillers I read now!!

msbups's review

5.0

Simple interesting writing, so sorry to have lost such a great author

sannamarilka's review against another edition

3.0

I'm not usually big fan of short story collections, but in some odd way this book held me captive. However, towards the end of the book, the parade of cheating, divorces and unlikable characters started to wear me out.

zimm_zamm's review

relaxing medium-paced

5.0

daniela_g's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25