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Start giftingMaeve's Times
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Learn moreFive decades of selected writings from the Irish Times by the beloved and best-selling author, filled with her hallmark humor, candor, and wisdom-a timeless gift to her legion of fans.
Maeve Binchy once confessed: "As someone who fell off a chair not long ago trying to hear what they were saying at the next table in a restaurant, I suppose I am obsessively interested in what some might consider the trivia of other people's lives." She was an accidental journalist, yet from the beginning, her writings reflected the warmth, wit, and keen human interest that readers would come to love in her fiction. From the royal wedding to boring airplane companions, Samuel Beckett to Margaret Thatcher, "senior moments" to life as a waitress, Maeve's Times gives us wonderful insight into a changing Ireland as it celebrates the work of one of our best-loved writers in all its diversity-revealing her characteristic directness, laugh-out-loud humor, and unswerving gaze into the true heart of a matter.
Maeve Binchy is the author of numerous best-selling books, including her most recent works, Chestnut Street, A Week in Winter, Minding Frankie, Heart and Soul, and Whitethorn Woods, as well as Circle of Friends and Tara Road, which was an Oprah’s Book Club selection. She began working for TheIrish Times beginning in the early 1960s, and she wrote regularly for the newspaper in the decades that followed, including a weekly column that won her the hearts and minds of readers. Married to Gordon Snell, she lived in Dalkey, Ireland, until her death in July 2012.
www.maevebinchy.com
Reviews
“A brilliant anthology [and] a real godsend to those of us inspired by good reporting and increasingly frustrated by the rarity of it these days. . . . Whether she was writing descriptively, critically, forensically, amiably, sadly, optimistically, cynically (or in any other state of mind), Maeve Binchy the journalist always had something meaningful to say, just as much so in 1964 as in 2011. . . . If you’re among the few people on this planet who have never read a Maeve Binchy book, start with Maeve’s Times. Then you’ll truly understand how the outstanding reporter formed the iconic novelist.” —Pauline Finch, Bookreporter.com“Maeve’s fresh voice and spirit are captured in these pieces [with] wonderfully clear, caring and humorous prose.” —Michael D. Langan, Buffalo News
“Binchy’s trademark warmth, humor, and humanity characterize this volume. . . Wit, sarcasm, and big-heartedness emerge as hallmarks of [her] ‘direct and uncluttered style.’ . . . While the collection makes an enjoyable read on the merit of humor alone, editor Ingle’s selections capture Binchy’s journalistic apprenticeship, record an intelligent woman’s perspective on a changing world, and offer entertaining glimpses of a biography that Binchy fans will adore.” —Publishers Weekly
“Spanning five decades, this collection of Binchy’s trademark columns celebrates her unabashed delight in the human condition, yes; but it also uncovers a much sharper wit and a more trenchant observer with a more cynical attitude than she ever divulged in her fiction. For the legions of fans who mourned her passing, this revelatory collection of essays brings a little of their cherished Maeve back, and then some.” —Carol Haggas, Booklist
“Delightful. . . This warm, down-to-earth collection…works wonderfully. Fans of the author’s novels will enjoy learning more about her early life and about an earlier Ireland.” —Henrietta Verma, Library Journal
“This selection of her work represents Binchy's eclectic interests, infectious sense of humor and wry take on social change. . . . A blithe, entertaining collection that will surely delight [her] many fans.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Maeve's Times is funny and clever and kind, which are excellent qualities in both books and people. . . what this wonderful collection of her work for this paper makes abundantly clear is that she was a superb journalist.” —Anna Carey, The Irish Times
“Brimming with Binchy's intelligence, incisive wit, straightforwardness and incomparable charm.” —Pam Norfolk, Burnley Express
“Like the best journalism, Maeve's newspaper pieces stand the test of time.” —John Spain, Irish Independent Expand reviews