⇒ [PDF] Irish Girls About Town An Anthology of Short Stories Maeve Binchy Marian Keyes Cathy Kelly 9780743483018 Books

Irish Girls About Town An Anthology of Short Stories Maeve Binchy Marian Keyes Cathy Kelly 9780743483018 Books

Download As PDF : Irish Girls About Town An Anthology of Short Stories Maeve Binchy Marian Keyes Cathy Kelly 9780743483018 Books

Irish Girls About Town An Anthology of Short Stories Maeve Binchy Marian Keyes Cathy Kelly 9780743483018 Books

I figured, I should read more Irish authors and I figured, I should read more female Irish authors. So, I picked this book up, along with a few others, trying to fill a 4-for-3 quota. I read it all the way through.
(I adore short stories.)
These stories are utter rubbish.
Had they been written by men, the book and the authors would be excoriated for being misogynistic cretins obsessed with their own gender. As such, the book is filled with un-ironic slut-shaming, un-ironic figure-bashing, god-awful romance, some staying in an abusive relationship. Almost every single story is about or has a strong component of, why women need a man in their life.
Just one. And he’s the empowered one. He may screw around. She may not.

With that being written, here is a review of each story, in the order they appear:

Soulmates by Marian Keyes
The perfect couple slowly grows old together until finally their house of cards, or possibly house of wood, comes crashing down around them much to the chagrin of their neighbors/classmates in the insular world of the story.
“’So was it a disaster?’” Peter begged Tim. ‘Did they try to kill each other?’
Watched by seven avid pairs of eyes, Tim shook his head sorrowfully. ‘They got on like a house on fire. They’re going to do it again in July.’”
That should properly set the tenor.
Along with the attendant yawn. Boring!

De-Stress by Joan O’Neil
Main character Alex is made by whom she is with, and her world will be fulfilled once her boyfriend proposes to her. Then he doesn’t. She smashes his entitled apartment (so mature, and, if a man had done it, we’d be rooting for him to be thrown into jail, the violent bastard that he is).
She dates a younger man, a fitness trainer, who gets her in shape. She consistently apes the behavior her ex-boyfriend exhibited: looking down on a partner she thinks beneath her station and age.
The age difference? Eight years. Get a grip.
Trash.

The Twenty-Eighth Day by Catherine Barry
Woman on her period loses her mind and her husband is a nice gent who puts up with her hysterics and lets her subtly torture her poor child.
Blah.

Thelma, Louise and the Lurve Gods by Cathy Kelly
The protagonist, living in the shadow of her much-more-beautiful friend, is so bitter she can’t see the beautiful hunk of Irish man-meat right in front of her when she goes on a trip to America. She’s also super needy and unable to extract herself from a harmful relationship.
Blah. Why not fall in love with an American man? Introduce an American trip in the first act, but then no American man going off in the third?
(Also, notice how important it is that the men be hunks.)
Bummer.

Your place or mine? by Gemma O’Conner
Irish by a house in the French countryside, try to build it up, a boring ending. One story that doesn’t reek of clichés surrounding the sexes but proves itself to be plodding.
Yawn.

A Good Catch by Mary Ryan
Girl gets duped by her former roommates pimp, her parents are so ashamed of her, etc.
Etc., Etc.

About That Night by Sarah Webb
“’I’m never going to meet someone,’ Shona wailed. ‘Never, ever, ever.’
‘Would you get a grip,’ Kate smiled. ‘The whole airplane can hear you.’”

They’re off to a wedding and she needs a man and there will be some revealing done at the wedding because you can see it a thousand miles away. Look at the title.
Blah.

The Cup Runneth Over by Julie Parsons
My most hated story, because I can’t tell if the author meant it ironically or not. If not, total waste of time. Women? Crazy bitches. Can’t handle jealousy. Can’t be OK with open relationships.
If it is ironic, too bad.

Carissima by Maeve Binchy
One of the not-horrible stories in the book. Deals quite a bit with having a man in your life, but too, about the evil families inflict on their own. Worth the read.
Read it.

The Ring Cycle by Martina Devlin
Does the title always have to give away everything? Lady can’t get rid of her ring. Boring. Get over it, yourself.
Annoying.

The Unlovable Woman by Annie Sparrow
Forty-six-year-old woman can’t see the (married) man in front of her so she continues to spiral downward, making bad decisions, and mixing up sex for love or affection.
Shrug.

Moving by Colette Caddle
Men are such whores. Settle.
Boring.

Playing Games by Cathrine Dunn
Parable about greed.
Blah.

Girls’ Weekend by Marisa Mackle
Needy girl in a relationship meets a nice boy, loses boy, gets dumped, finds boy.
Puke.

The Union Man
Oedipus complex.
Boring.

An Independent Woman
Racist lower-class lady hits it off with retired Indian doctor.
Puke.


Tags : Irish Girls About Town: An Anthology of Short Stories [Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. An enchanting, heartwarming anthology of sixteen short stories about family, friendship, and love features contributions from such popular Irish women authors as Maeve Binchy,Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly,Irish Girls About Town: An Anthology of Short Stories,Pocket Books,0743483014,General,English fiction;Irish authors.,English fiction;Women authors.,Ireland;Social life and customs;Fiction.,Anthologies (multiple authors),English fiction,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Anthologies (multiple authors),Fiction General,Ireland,Irish authors,Short Stories (Anthologies),Women,Women authors

Irish Girls About Town An Anthology of Short Stories Maeve Binchy Marian Keyes Cathy Kelly 9780743483018 Books Reviews

I had checked this book out from the library, and subsequently checked it out a second time. When I found myself really wanting to read it a third time, I knew it had to be mine. So glad I bought it! Wonderful stories, wonderful collection.
One of my favorite authors until she passed. I have a copy of almost everything she published.
I like every story in this book. It was a pleasure to read.
Couldn't be better, especially if you love the authors, love feminine point of view writing, love all things Irish, and love a collection of wonderful stories that make you laugh, weep, and rejoice, sometimes all in the same story. These tales are as celebratory of female friendship as good heart-to-heart girl-talk. The best moments, to me, are when tradition-bound Irish mores come face-to-face with 'someone different' (read 'scandalous') - all seasoned with pink-cheeked Irish wit and red-nosed Irish charm.
A winner on all counts.
Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, and a host of other fabulous but unkown-to-this-reviewer Irish women authors pooled their talents to raise money for an Irish charity--and this fabulously wonderful book was the result.

Each short story is a gem unto itself, and absolutely nothing is boring, trite or blah. This is a perfect beach read, and makes me want to look up all the women of whom I knew nothing so that I can order each of their books!!!

This is a real treat for any fan of Brit Lit.
I love Marian Keyes (most of the time) and Maeve Binchy so I took a chance on these short stories. Love the Irish "dialect" and the length of each story is perfect for bedtime reading. My only criticism would be that most of the characters in the stories are women who seem to base their entire life on the man in their life. It would be nice to have a functional woman character once in awhile. Still very entertaining and a great escape from the daily grind and from more serious reading.
I am a fan of short stories and IRISH GIRLS ABOUT TOWN was certainly not a disappointment. This book is a collection of sixteen short stories of the newest and best Irish women writers of pop fiction. Each story is focused on some aspect of a woman's love or involvement with a man. Many are written with smart insights and witty humor which I enjoyed much. Among them there are several that resonated with me after I put the book down including "Soulmates" by Marian Keyes (envy is a negative human quality); "The Twenty-Eighth Day" by Catherine Barry (a very funny take on PMS); "The Cup Runneth Over" by Julie Parsons (marital affairs can burn both conspiring partners); "The Ring Cycle" by Martina Devlin (a wedding ring just won't go away); and "The Unlovable Woman" by Annie Sparrow (sometimes the best things are right before our eyes).
IRISH GIRLS ABOUT TOWN is an excellent means to get acquainted with Irish women authors who you may have previously been unfamiliar with. At the end of each story there is a short bio which makes it easy to pursue other works by authors that you enjoyed. In addition, there are also authors that are already well known such as Maeve Binchy. Another good quality of IRISH GIRLS ABOUT TOWN is that all benefits goes towards charity. As explained in the book's forward, The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Barnardo's are two organizations that brings great benefits to the people of Ireland, Britian and the world. Read this book, and you may just be as entertained as I was. Enjoy!
I figured, I should read more Irish authors and I figured, I should read more female Irish authors. So, I picked this book up, along with a few others, trying to fill a 4-for-3 quota. I read it all the way through.
(I adore short stories.)
These stories are utter rubbish.
Had they been written by men, the book and the authors would be excoriated for being misogynistic cretins obsessed with their own gender. As such, the book is filled with un-ironic slut-shaming, un-ironic figure-bashing, god-awful romance, some staying in an abusive relationship. Almost every single story is about or has a strong component of, why women need a man in their life.
Just one. And he’s the empowered one. He may screw around. She may not.

With that being written, here is a review of each story, in the order they appear

Soulmates by Marian Keyes
The perfect couple slowly grows old together until finally their house of cards, or possibly house of wood, comes crashing down around them much to the chagrin of their neighbors/classmates in the insular world of the story.
“’So was it a disaster?’” Peter begged Tim. ‘Did they try to kill each other?’
Watched by seven avid pairs of eyes, Tim shook his head sorrowfully. ‘They got on like a house on fire. They’re going to do it again in July.’”
That should properly set the tenor.
Along with the attendant yawn. Boring!

De-Stress by Joan O’Neil
Main character Alex is made by whom she is with, and her world will be fulfilled once her boyfriend proposes to her. Then he doesn’t. She smashes his entitled apartment (so mature, and, if a man had done it, we’d be rooting for him to be thrown into jail, the violent bastard that he is).
She dates a younger man, a fitness trainer, who gets her in shape. She consistently apes the behavior her ex-boyfriend exhibited looking down on a partner she thinks beneath her station and age.
The age difference? Eight years. Get a grip.
Trash.

The Twenty-Eighth Day by Catherine Barry
Woman on her period loses her mind and her husband is a nice gent who puts up with her hysterics and lets her subtly torture her poor child.
Blah.

Thelma, Louise and the Lurve Gods by Cathy Kelly
The protagonist, living in the shadow of her much-more-beautiful friend, is so bitter she can’t see the beautiful hunk of Irish man-meat right in front of her when she goes on a trip to America. She’s also super needy and unable to extract herself from a harmful relationship.
Blah. Why not fall in love with an American man? Introduce an American trip in the first act, but then no American man going off in the third?
(Also, notice how important it is that the men be hunks.)
Bummer.

Your place or mine? by Gemma O’Conner
Irish by a house in the French countryside, try to build it up, a boring ending. One story that doesn’t reek of clichés surrounding the sexes but proves itself to be plodding.
Yawn.

A Good Catch by Mary Ryan
Girl gets duped by her former roommates pimp, her parents are so ashamed of her, etc.
Etc., Etc.

About That Night by Sarah Webb
“’I’m never going to meet someone,’ Shona wailed. ‘Never, ever, ever.’
‘Would you get a grip,’ Kate smiled. ‘The whole airplane can hear you.’”

They’re off to a wedding and she needs a man and there will be some revealing done at the wedding because you can see it a thousand miles away. Look at the title.
Blah.

The Cup Runneth Over by Julie Parsons
My most hated story, because I can’t tell if the author meant it ironically or not. If not, total waste of time. Women? Crazy bitches. Can’t handle jealousy. Can’t be OK with open relationships.
If it is ironic, too bad.

Carissima by Maeve Binchy
One of the not-horrible stories in the book. Deals quite a bit with having a man in your life, but too, about the evil families inflict on their own. Worth the read.
Read it.

The Ring Cycle by Martina Devlin
Does the title always have to give away everything? Lady can’t get rid of her ring. Boring. Get over it, yourself.
Annoying.

The Unlovable Woman by Annie Sparrow
Forty-six-year-old woman can’t see the (married) man in front of her so she continues to spiral downward, making bad decisions, and mixing up sex for love or affection.
Shrug.

Moving by Colette Caddle
Men are such whores. Settle.
Boring.

Playing Games by Cathrine Dunn
Parable about greed.
Blah.

Girls’ Weekend by Marisa Mackle
Needy girl in a relationship meets a nice boy, loses boy, gets dumped, finds boy.
Puke.

The Union Man
Oedipus complex.
Boring.

An Independent Woman
Racist lower-class lady hits it off with retired Indian doctor.
Puke.