Product Description

Clara Casey has more than enough on her plate. Her daughters Adi and Linda were no problem at all during the usually turbulent teens. Now in their twenties, Adi is always fighting for or against something: the environment or the whale or battery farming; while Linda lurches from one unsatisfactory relationship to the next. As if this wasn't enough, Clara, a senior cardiac specialist, has a new job to cope with... For Ania, meeting Clara Casey is a miracle: she had never intended to leave her beloved Poland, but after the love of her life has turned sour, her world seems rather empty. Perhaps a new job in a new country will mend her broken heart? Declan is looking forward to joining the clinic - but what should have been a straightforward six-month posting brings him far more than he expected. Then there's Father Brian Flynn, whose life is turned upside down when his reputation is threatened; and the beautiful, cheerful nurse, Fiona, who can't leave her troubled past behind . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #96323 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Review
'Maeve Binchy's latest novel is packed as usual with wonderful characters ... Full of warmth, caring and commonsense.' --CHOICE

About the Author
Maeve Binchy was born in Dublin and was the London Correspondent for the IRISH TIMES. Her first novel was LIGHT A PENNY CANDLE, and she has now sold millions of copies of her books around the world. She lives in Dublin with her husband, Gordon Snell.

Customer Reviews

Warm and real
It's something comforting about Maeve Binchy's books. The cliché about a book being like a good friend, is so very right in her case. Of course, one is interested in finding out what happens to the characters, but there is no hurry. In the case of this book, it is much more preferable to sit down with a cup of tea and read quietly a couple of hours before going to bed.

"Heart and Soul" is a book to be devoured and there are many actors on the stage in Dublin. First there is Clara Casey, senior cardiac specialist at a new heart clinic at St. Brigid's Hospital, Clara's two daughters Adi and Linda, who in their twenties are having trouble settling down and finally her ex-husband Alan, who is asking Clara for a divorce in order to marry a much younger woman.

Coming to work at the clinic is also Ania, a young girl who has travelled from Poland in order to mend a broken heart. Young Doctor Declan Carroll was originally meant to spend a six-month posting but meats beautiful nurse Fiona. And then there is Father Bryan Flynn, whose life is turned upside down when his reputation is threatened.

Extra spice is added when we also meet old friends from both Scarlet Feather, Evening Class, Nights of Rain and Stars and Whitethorn Woods. Nora who is still always called Signora & Aidan, and Brenda at Quentins, where Declan takes Fiona out to dinner for the first time.

"Heart and Soul" is a book about ordinary people with ordinary lives. Joy and sorrow, struggle and hopes. And as always, the author shows us the importance of the small things in life - which often do not prove so small after all.

Maeve Binchy is a wonderful storyteller, who has once again written a book which grows on the reader and is slowly creeping into our heart and soul.

Enjoy!

A feast for the heart AND the soul
When I picked this book up, I knew it would contain characters who would become important to me and situations I would think about. I was not disappointed. I found Clara Casey to be a thoroughly engaging central character and the focal point of a clinic was a good choice, with the dramas and lives of the staff and patients providing a great narrative.

However, the real joy was in picking up the threads of other characters from Scarlet Feather, Nights of Rain and Stars and also Whitethorn Woods.

I was hooked until the end and am now almost desperate to book a table at Quentins - Early Bird menu for me though! Thank you Maeve.

A comforting, satisfying read!
I love Binchy's books and eagerly awaited this one. I wasn't disappointed - soon I was back in her world of quirky Irish characters. I didn't want this to end and felt the book stopped a little too soon. I loved the reference to characters from past books and the overlapping lives, making me remember the characters as friends I'd met long ago and were happy to be re-acquainted with. Binchy weaves a colourful, vivid tale that I most thoroughly enjoyed. If you like character driven novels, this one is for you!