Light a Penny Candle

One of the few books I would willingly pick up to re - read!!
Read this if you can!!!


Irish life   November 11, 2002
 11 out of 13 found this review helpful

This book reminds me so well of the many holidays - especially Christmasses - that I have spent in Ireland. The descriptions of rural family life are brilliant, and as a solitary English girl whose best friend is the oldest of 7 Irish children, I found the relationship between Elizabeth and Aisling totally convincing. When I first visited Ireland - many years ago now - I was overwhelmed by the difference of it all, the Catholicism, the huge families, the social networks which (as a child of suburban London) I had never experienced. I still love Ireland, and this novel was full of the reasons why. It does deal with issues - domestic violence, divorce, alcoholism - which dispel the myth of Ireland as a utopian paradise, but it still manages to be a really good story, and one which you don't want to end - is there a sequel? I would love to know what happened to the girls in the end.


Unmissable   August 14, 2001
 5 out of 10 found this review helpful

This book shows Binchy at her best. It's warm loving characters make it impossible not to become deeply involved in their lives. I was mortified to read the last few pages, it was like losing a group of friends. The book is fantastic and you will not be able to put it down from the first page.


Friends forever   April 2, 2000
 6 out of 8 found this review helpful

Elizabeth is quiet and shy; Aisling is loud and boisterous. In 1940, aged ten, Elizabeth is evacuated from London to an old friend of her mother's in Ireland. There she meets Aisling, the same age as her, and they become fast friends. The book deals with the next twenty years of their lives as they fall in love, have to deal with many problems, and turn to each other for support and friendship. It's brilliant.