A Week in Winter

By: Maeve Binchy

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Stoneybridge is a small town on the west coast of Ireland where all the families know one another. When Chicky Starr decides to take an old, decaying mansion set high on the cliffs overlooking the windswept Atlantic Ocean and turn it into a restful place for a holiday by the sea, everyone thinks she is crazy. Helped by Rigger (a bad boy turned good who is handy around the house) and Orla, her niece (a whiz at business), Chicky is finally ready to welcome the first guests to Stone House’s big warm kitchen, log fires, and understated elegant bedrooms. John, the American movie star, thinks he has arrived incognito; Winnie and Lillian are forced into taking a holiday together; Nicola and Henry, husband and wife, have been shaken by seeing too much death practicing medicine; Anders hates his father’s business, but has a real talent for music; Miss Nell Howe, a retired schoolteacher, criticizes everything and leaves a day early, much to everyone’s relief; the Walls are disappointed to have won this second-prize holiday in a contest where first prize was Paris; and Freda, the librarian, is afraid of her own psychic visions.

Sharing a week with this unlikely cast of characters is pure joy, full of Maeve’s trademark warmth and humor. Once again, she embraces us with her grand storytelling.

©2013 Maeve Binchy (P)2013 Random House Audio

Great Read

Would you listen to A Week in Winter again? Why?

Maeve Binchy does not disappoint with this last It is a gem.

What did you like best about this story?

More of all of my favorite characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

Every one!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I could not help but cry at the end knowing this was Binchy's last book. She will be missed.

Any additional comments?

Absolutely loved this book!

Life has much to offer

What made the experience of listening to A Week in Winter the most enjoyable?

it opened a thought process about what people let slip away from their lives.
These people found love and enjoyment by the getaway from their present world.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

How these people found out the reasons,they were afraid of a different adventure
Finding the unknown, then learning they could develop happiness and a better life.

Charming

If you could sum up A Week in Winter in three words, what would they be?

I listened to this book with sadness, knowing that it's the last one that Maeve Binchy ever wrote. It is quintessential Binchy - full of charm and character development and people overcoming the obstacles in their lives. Loved it!

What did you like best about this story?

The characters are almost all captivating

Nice story

It is a nice story even if a little contrived. Enjoyable escape read. Would recommend it to a friend.

A Week in Winter is a fantastic plot and storyline

A Week in Winter is a fantastic storyline and plot. Ms Binchy uses plenty of sensory details of imagery where it makes me feel like I'm her story. The performance of the narrator does an excellent job. The tone of her voice is smooth and relaxing..

Enjoyable Story

Loved the story, character formation and paconv. Maeve Binchy dies a wonderful job of building her characters and their stories by eluding to them in other characters stories in the periphery. Character struggles and reactions are believable and engaging. Rosalyn Landor does a wonderful job in pacing and with different accents to differentiate the characters. It was a lovely book to listen to.

Mixed review on narration

As a Binchy fan, I enjoyed this book, although not quite as much as some of her others. It blends stories of people who come to stay in a newly formed B&B. My only complaint is with the narrator, who is excellent with her Irish accent for the women's voices. But she put on such a deep affectation for the male voices that they all sounded like 60-year old stodgy businessmen. I'd give her 5 stars for the women's voices and 1 star for the males.

Note to all narrators: You DON'T have to change your voices so dramatically for members of the opposite sex!!! Just talk in a normal voice. We're intelligent. We'll figure it out.

A week in winter was the perfect adventure story.

Maeve Bunchy skilfully brings each character to life and makes a believable story of a week in an old estate in Ireland on the Atlantic coast. The tail was so real I wanted to visit Ireland to enjoy the Birds, pub's and music seen for myself!

Heartwarming

This is a nice, heartwarming book. Light and entertaining. The narrator is excellent. I will listen to more of Mauve Binchy’s books!

Pure Joy

Maeve Binchy did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life. Rosaly Landor narrated the story so well, it felt as though I were in Ireland surrounded by friends. The end came far too soon!