Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

Minding Frankie Reviews

• 
  Carolyn Hill

  Maeve Binchy has always been a favorite author of mine, as I tend to prefer novels set in Ireland and the UK (the Old Country is so much more romantic somehow). However, my fondness for Binchy is wearing thin, and I much prefer her earlier works. I have read all her books, so I was familiar with the characters from her previous novels who showed up here, and there are a lot to keep track of. I'm beginning to find it irritating how she flits from one character to the next, lightly touching down before flying off to the next one. She only grazes the surface, and I don't feel there's any real character depth. I also find it exceedingly unlikely that one of the major characters, Emily, a New Yorker visiting relatives she's never met, manages to transform their lives and every thing she touches, even giving life-long Dubliners directions on where and how to find anything. She's some kind of miracle worker, intervening and solving problems and becoming so essential that everybody becomes dependent on her, but we really know nothing about her character. I think as nice as she seems to be that I would find her to be an interloper who's just a tad annoying. Funny that none of the characters think this, because she's too perfect, and everyone adores her. (To be realistic, aren't fictional characters supposed to have some flaws?) And I also found it unbelievable when she becomes romantically linked with a character who's barely mentioned. That could have been a wonderful part of the story, but it comes totally out of left field, with no development at all. As in Binchy's other recent novels, characters' lives are magically transformed, the hard-working deserving lower class receive financial windfalls, the demons of addiction are easily dispensed with, better jobs always await those who show initiative, family issues are happily resolved, and nearly everyone finds the right romantic partner. It's a reassuring world Binchy creates, but her slice-of-life stories resemble more of a fairy tale than real life. I like happy endings but I don't like feeling manipulated. Still, I enjoy the pleasant diversion of spending time in Binchy's world, even if it does have a rosy tint.
• 
  Tea Jovanović

  As expected, another warm, human story from my favourite Irish writer... about small community gathered around an orphaned newlyborn babygirl... Standard warm novel from great lady!
• 
  Sharon

  Struggling with his own demons of alcoholism, Noel must find a way of pulling himself together to look after his baby daughter, Frankie after her mother passed away not long after giving birth to her.
  
  With the support from family, friends and neighbors, Noel's starts to get his life back on track. Having Frankie in his life has turned Noel's world upside down in a positive way and he couldn't imagine life without her. But could this all change when a prying social worker has doubts that Frankie is in the best care. Noel will have to do all he can to convince the social worker that Frankie is in the best place, but will it be enough?
  
  A beautiful, heartwarming story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommended.
• 
  Suz

  This is a story that I will re-read soon. Maeve's books just are special. She's the type of writer that you feel you have a kinship with as her stories are just so good! This was no exception ** I just found my brand new copy of this amongst the too many kids books I have jammed in my shelf. Definitely a re-read ASAP!!!! I guess this is when my silly jam packed book/homewares shelf has it's positive side!
• 
  La Crosse County Library

  This review was originally published on May 20, 2011
  
  After reading a brief description of Maeve Binchy’s new book, Minding Frankie, I was hoping that this latest novel of hers would be another wonderful, cozy, cheerful tale in her well known Irish tradition. It is all this and so much more!
  
  In typical Binchy style, a large cast of unique and quirky characters are introduced. I love how they all eventually have some contact with each other (a Binchy trademark). They all live in a snug Dublin neighborhood called St. Jarlath’s Crescent. The book cover shows the neighborhood and as the story progresses I can picture Noel, a young alcoholic, leaving his home to work at his boring job, attend school and AA meetings, and juggle his life around his baby daughter, Frankie. How he became a father to Frankie is the center of the story.
  
  Noel’s American cousin, Emily, is a super-woman in the areas of organization and insight. She sets a plan in motion for the neighborhood to support Noel in his new roles. Along the way she re-directs Noel’s parents to a more purposeful life, advises various young people (without being pushy), is a bridesmaid for her best friend back in America, and surprises herself with a life-changing decision.
  
  Then there is suspicious, nosy, social worker Moira. She is convinced Frankie would be better off in a foster home. She is all business and appears to be un-feeling and cold. As her own story unfolds, the reader will discover she has her own sad family history. The more she performs her job as a social worker the more she discovers about human nature and the kindness of people. Moira learns a lot about herself as she observes the lively, caring neighbors in the old Dublin neighborhood.
  
  Minding Frankie truly proves that “it takes a village to raise a child.” There are many wonderful characters united by friendship, faith, and family. Some are from previous Binchy novels and that’s one thing I really enjoy about her writing. It’s not necessary to have read any of her previous books to enjoy this one, but I would highly recommend any of Maeve Binchy’s colorful, charming stories. You won’t be disappointed.
  
  This title and many others by Maeve Binchy are available at La Crosse County Library locations in Bangor, Campbell, Holmen, Onalaska, and West Salem. Check out our website at
  www.lacrossecountylibrary.org.
  
  Find this book and other titles within
  our catalog.
• 
  Cyndy Aleo

  At some point, I will accept that there were Maeve Binchy books that I loved and stop trying to find more Maeve Binchy books to love, because this is a goal I am never going to achieve.
  
  MINDING FRANKIE is one of Binchy's later books, and I truly believe after the success of books like Circle of Friends and the Oprah selection
  Tara Road (which I was also not a fan of), she got stuck in the rut of "how do I keep writing the same thing over again so people will keep buying my books?"
  
  If you had told me MINDING FRANKIE was a Binchy parody, I'd have believed you.
  
  For starters, there is a huge cast of characters. Huge. There had to be at least 11,000 characters and I don't even think I'm exaggerating. I lost track of them all. There's Noel, who's apparently an alcoholic. And he gets a call from this girl he shagged while drunk who claims he got her pregnant. And then she, in some bizarro fashion, is going to die when she has the baby.
  
  I can't even make this up. Binchy surely had access to Wikipedia to look up things like "dramatic cancer-related death of woman during c-section" and then... didn't.
  
  So Noel has to dry out and take care of this baby and he does so with this pathetic bunch of people who are all inexplicably saved by this American cousin of his who was fired from her teaching position in the States (because Binchy also doesn't understand things like "tenure") and comes to Ireland to learn more about her family.
  
  And there are other factors like Noel's parents having this huge fund drive to build a statue for some rando saint and his roommate, who left her job to do things for this guy who does everything but hand her a copy of He's Just Not That Into You to convey his feelings, and his social worker has so much time on her hands she drops in on EVERYONE in this village in her Wicked Witch of the West routine to Separate Noel From His Child.
  
  Not to mention that everyone both dresses and acts like it's still the 1950s (when many of Binchy's earlier books took place) and this book is confusing as all hell.
  
  I watched soap operas for years, and there was less drama when Reba Shane was cloned on Guiding Light than there is in this 400-page book.
  
  The thing is, Binchy always makes you care at least about ONE character, and I kept going because a) I paid for the book and b) I needed to make sure Noel ended up okay with his kid. But the rest? I need to remind myself to NOT BUY ANY MORE OF HER BOOKS and satisfy myself with the two I loved.
• 
  Cher

  Ok...so maybe it's not the most realistic story...or maybe it could be. Man (Noel) finds out an ex-fling he barely remembers (Stella) is dying and is pregnant...she pronounces Noel the father! Noel is an alcoholic, lives at home with his parents and his job is hanging on by mere threads. But of course he agrees to be guardian for baby Frankie when Stella dies during childbirth. And of course as chance would have it, many in the neighborhood (in Dublin, Ireland)are retired or are willing and able to give their time along with Noel's family, (including an all but unknown American cousin, Emily, who shows up on his doorstep more like Mary Poppins than even Mary Poppins) to rally together and "mind Frankie". So, while this sounds good in theory there are bound to be a few glitches...and if you throw into the story a social worker who is determined from the start that Frankie would be better off in foster care, you have the basic story.
  
  So, yes, it seems a rediculously simple story line. YET...I loved this book. Loved the bit of Irish flavor that came through. Loved the characters. Loved that the story didn't get bogged down with details that didn't matter (or even those that might have mattered!) This is not a book that will teach you about history or educate you about another country; it's not a book that has some hidden mystery or unsolved crime. It's a simple "day in the life of" story of the first two years of day to day events of raising a child. And sure, things happen (Frankie goes missing for awhile, Noel questions his paternity, Noel goes missing for awhile, etc.) but what child has ever been raised in a perfect world without some mistakes made? :)
  
  I highly recommend this book as a "cuddle up with a hot cup of cocoa and just relax" type reading!!
  
  
• 
  Rachel

  Every single time I pick up a Maeve book, it is like coming home after a long exhausting trip and falling into that comfortable easy chair, with the endless cups of hot tea at your side and all the favorite characters in Dublin hovering around ... if only life can be that comforting!! I read Maeve for the reasons I have stated above and for the fact that she really is a talented writer, who manages to keep the reader's interest in ordinary characters. Ordinary characters with ordinary concerns and issues ... and yet somehow she makes them special and interesting. She writes compellingly of life in Ireland that some day I must go there and see with my own eyes the beautiful land she loves so deeply.
  
  I was so excited to get this advanced copy that I managed to read this within two days ... it helps that I am snowed in as well. I hated to see the end of this book as I didn't want to let go of the characters. I hope Binchy will write another one soon ... especially about that annoying social worker, Moira. I'd like to know what happened to her!!
  
  Maeve's fans will love this book as well ... so don't hesitate to pick up this book!!
• 
  Petra

  I listened to this while jogging and found it a perfect match for the activity.
  The story is so warmly told, with wonderful characters. As I listened along, I remembered many of these people from
  Quentins and
  Scarlet Feather. It took me awhile to recognize them and I may have not recognized others. It's been ages since I read these. I really enjoyed hearing how these people are doing.
  In essence, this tells the story of a man who becomes a father unexpectedly and how that one little girl changed his life and the lives of others, banding them together into a wonderful family group.
  
  A very warm, heart touching story.
• 
  Ena u zemlji knjiga

  Predivno! Roman koji vraća vjeru u ljude.
• 
  Marianne

  Minding Frankie is the 16th book by popular Irish author, Maeve Binchy. This audio version is narrated by Kate Binchy. When Noel Lynch, an alcoholic in a dead end job, is told he is the father of Stella Dixon’s baby daughter, Frankie (Frances Stella), it turns out to be a major turning point in his lacklustre life. He makes some big decisions and, with the help of his American cousin Emily, his parents and a multitude of friends, he is determined to raise Frankie to the best of his abilities.
  
  His friend from night college, Lisa Kelly, needs to escape from her family home and helping out with Frankie seems a small price to pay for sharing the flat with Noel. Of course, Moira Tierney, the unfriendly social worker, is convinced that it will all end badly and maintains a dogged surveillance on Noel, Lisa and everyone involved in Minding Frankie.
  
  In this novel, Binchy illustrates beautifully that saying “it takes a village to raise a child”. While this story can be enjoyed without reading Binchy’s prior novels, fans will be rewarded with appearances (some cameos, some major) of characters from previous novels including Scarlet Feather, Evening Class, Tara Road, Quentins, Nights of Rain and Stars, Heart and Soul and The Whitethorn Woods.
  
  This novel has births and deaths, weddings and funerals, long lost sons, major bequests, happiness and heartache. Reading a Maeve Binchy book is like coming home: it feels comfortable and you’re coming back to people you know and love. Binchy must have been close to seventy when she wrote this novel, but her characters and plots have moved with the times: she has lost none of her magic.
• 
  Melindam

  It was an OK read, but for me it just cannot compare to earlier Binchy books.
• 
  Ivonne Rovira

  Minding Frankie excels due to what it is not. Noel Lynch is, indeed, an invisible office drone at a company called Hall’s, a burgeoning alcoholic slowly sliding toward ruin — a man rescued from despair and set on the path to sobriety by the birth of a daughter, but the novel isn’t grueling
  Permanent Midnight, although there are relapses and dark times. His American cousin, Emily Lynch, sweeps into the life of Noel and his ultra-religious parents and sets everything to rights, but Minding Frankie isn’t
  Cold Comfort Farm, although it’s amusing, as well. The Lynches’ entire circle of friends does rally around the newborn Frankie — christened Frances Stella Dixon Lynch — but the novel never comes off as maudlin.
  
  Instead, Minding Frankie paints a portrait of the residents of St. Jarlath’s Court, a working-class Dublin neighborhood, who help each other through births, abandonments, bad romances, new loves — and, of course, looking after the delightful infant girl Frankie. While comforting, Minding Frankie never descends to cliché or easy resolution. In other words, it’s yet another perfect
  Maeve Binchy novel.
• 
  Trish at Between My Lines

  This book is the literary equivalent of wrapping yourself up in a warm blanket, settling yourself on an old but comfy couch and having a long gossip with a good friend. There is a very familiar cast in this book that you will already know and probably love from previous books. I always get a bit of a thrill when I see a character I already know and enjoy the little update on their life since we last saw them. Minding Frankie is a light, easy, comfortable read but not one that overly excites me. I much prefer the earlier novels like Echoes & Light a Penny Candle which I consider to be 5 star reads as those books dig much deeper into the character’s emotions. But still, I enjoyed this while I reading it, it entertained and held my attention and if you are a fan of Maeve Binchy I have no doubt but that you will enjoy it.
• 
  Karina

  Love her. The story unfolds from a small town in Ireland. You get to meet all the characters and then some. This is a story of how an active alcoholic gets to be a father to a baby. With all the odds against him can he stay sober to keep little Frankie? It takes a village is a reality in Noel's life.
  
  Love me some Binchy. This was a feel good during this horrid Rona time.
• 
  Tonya

  As usual Maeve Binchy doesn't disappoint with Minding Frankie. We are introduced to Noel, a single man living at home, drinking too much and in a dead end job. Then he gets a request to come see a woman he doesn't remember, Stella at the hospital. Stella is dying of cancer, and says that the baby she is pregnant with is his. She wants him to take care of Frankie when she passes. Noel thinks she is crazy, but his cousin from America, Emily, thinks otherwise.
  
  Everyone should have an Emily in their lives! Emily is one of my favorite characters now! Emily helps everyone, without a lot of times really doing anything but being a shoulder to cry on and someone to listen to them. She helps Noel's parents, and many other characters we come to know and love.
  
  There is a social worker making sure Frankie has a good family to go home to, and she has her eyes on Noel. She just knows he is going to fail! I mean how can a drunk living with his parents take care of a child? What Moira has no clue about is the people that are there to support Noel, as her own family is torn apart in many ways. Moira was a character I had mixed feelings about. I could see why she had the mask on, but sometimes she just went overboard.
  
  I could go on and on about this wonderful read that will end way too soon, but the best thing would be for you to pick it up yourself! You won't be sorry. You will feel the same way Emily does, like coming home!
• 
  Hilary Tesh

  It feels like sacrilege to criticise the wonderful Maeve Binchy - but this book is such a disappointment compared with her earlier full length novels. It's interesting that, after "Scarlet Feather" was published, Maeve Binchy announced she was retiring, but then went on to publish several more books before she died. Sadly, I think her first instinct was correct and she should have left us wishing for more!
  
  The setting of "Minding Frankie" is a stereotypical Binchy-esque version of a Dublin suburb, peopled with generic characters that will be familiar if you have read the author's other books or short stories - the woman who, with apparent ease, can sort out everyone's problems, the charming but shallow man who uses the woman who's besotted with him, the 'decent poor eejit' and the devout Catholic couple, etc etc. What's more, there are numerous characters and places in the background that were the subjects of previous novels - it all a complete muddle, which detracts from the main point of the story, the attempts by a reformed alcoholic to cope with raising a small baby with his friends' support.
• 
  Abril Camino

  Me ha gustado muy poquito, la verdad. Las novelas corales suelen gustarme, pero en este caso mi problema ha sido que no he comprendido casi ninguna actitud de los personajes; me ha dado la sensación de que puntos muy importantes de la trama se han pasado casi por alto y a otros menos relevantes (casi absurdos) se les han dedicado páginas y páginas. Además, aunque el libro no es demasiado antiguo, me ha parecido muy anticuado en formas de pensar, actitudes y mensaje. Bien narrado, entretenido, me lo he leído en la playa y no ha sido una tortura, pero... poco más positivo puedo decir.
• 
  Brittany (Britt's Book Blurbs)

  2.5 stars
  
  Unfortunately, I'd probably be rating
  Minding Frankie 2 stars if it wasn't for the focus on Muttie, Lizzie, Simon, and Maud; the raw emotions here (almost) made up for everything else going on.
  
  The hardest part to overcome is Moira's extreme prejudice against Noel despite all the evidence he is doing everything he can to provide for Frankie. No matter how many times he proves he's an excellent father, Moira can't see past her own history. Her personal attacks get more vicious and unfounded over time, to the point that her parts in the book made me uncomfortable. On top of this, I'm over Binchy's need to have strong, intelligent women try to throw their lives away for pathetic men who don't deserve them. With both Moira and Lisa being poor examples of strong female characters, I struggled to get through
  Minding Frankie.
  
  Review originally posted
  here on Britt's Book Blurbs.
  
  
  

  
  Blog |
  Bookstagram |
  Reddit |
  Twitter
• 
  Mae

  Clearly Maeve Binchy knows how to tell a story. Her writing easy to read and pleasant enough. I read the whole book in a day, watched TV, ran errands, cooked and blogged. I wanted to find out what happened to the characters, and all in all I found out. However, two of the most interesting characters where left up in the air. Does she do this normally? Is this meant to leave us thinking? That is not what I felt. I felt, she finished the book because she was running out of ideas, or paper or ink. It was not one of those classical French endings... it was worst, because all other issues where resolved, finito... but two characters where left out without even a mention.
  This is my second Binchy book, it provides you a nice story and intro into Irish mentality and way of life. But, although amusing, it feels like when I eat some chinese foods, I love it while I am eating it, but I am hungry again, an hour later. But I have to say, she managed to set me into a great Irish neighborhood, and not once did she mention the weather or weather issues! That was good.
• 
  Ghost of the Library

  Another sweet and poignant tale from the pen and imagination of the lovely Maeve Binchy.
  It may not be as finely tuned as Evening Class, a personal favorite of mine, but it doesn't fail to deliver the warmth and genuine love that all her books are known for.
  She was an expert at telling tales from real life, for her characters maybe be fictional but any given point we have all met someone who matches one of them - the married couple, the loner, the unlucky in love...anyone of us goodreaders might be a match :)
  Where this one comes a little short is in the way it ends...the flow of the story is very good and easy to read up until when one of the main characters suddenly seems to disappear and then the "big twist" is somewhat flat and lacking in credibility - apologies if i make no sense but...spoilers! :)
  Still, if you want to be easily entertained, shed a tear, smile a lot and maybe even make a resolution or two about your life...Maeve Binchy does not fail and delivers all that in a nice package called Minding Frankie.
  
  Happy Readings!
• 
  Kara Hansen

  3 stars. I have long been a Maeve Binchy fan, but have given this book only three stars. Like many reviews I have read, I find I prefer her earlier works. Light a Penny Candle, The Lilac Bus, and Evening Class among my favourites.
  In this book, Minding Frankie, we are introduced to several characters~ among them Emily, Noel, Lisa, and last but not least Baby Frankie. And while their lives intertwine many a time throughout the course of the book, I found the story almost bordering on boring. It seemed the characters and storyline was going in circles, and not much getting resolved.
  Overall, disappointed. I have a few of Binchy’s earlier works on my bookshelf- I’m going to give those a read. Hopefully they remind me why I enjoyed her writing so much in the first place. As for her later books, and ones published after her death, I’m going to leave for now.
• 
  Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies

  Pleasant, enjoyable, and thought-provoking, as Maeve Binchy books often are. I do not have a great deal of respect for slice-of-life books, but there are authors who do it very well. Maeve Binchy is one of them. Her observations about people are hilarious and spot-on. The characters are endearing and relateable; even her antagonists have redeeming qualities. I did shed a few tears while reading this book; overall, a thoroughly enjoyable bit of light reading, although as with most books, I find the ending is not as I would have wished. But then again, real life always goes on, without neat conclusions, so I suppose that it is appropriate to leave it open-ended after all.
• 
  Krissy

  Too long. Too many POVs. Plus Moira was horrible and I couldn't stand her.
• 
  Susy

  Reading a Maeve Binchy novel is best done curled up in an overstuffed chair while enjoying a cup of tea; it's just such a feeling of comfort. I substituted reading it on the couch where I could stretch out & give my aching ribs more room to heal which didn't actually help the ribs but was pretty darn comfortable. Binchy's more recent novels tend to follow a pattern of introducing a group of disparate characters and then ensuring that their lives intersect. This novel is no different but the reason this group band together is to help watch over an infant girl who is left in the care of her father from birth. Hence the title, Minding Frankie. True to form, Binchy also weaves in the narrative of personal challenge; life changing decisions and brings back a few characters of earlier novels to enrich the plot. What I loved about this story is that it reinforces how friendship expands the family ties; I really believe that friends often are the best family especially in transient society where families move far away from where they were raised. In Ireland, that's not as true as in the USA but still the need exists to supplement blood ties with ties of friendship.
  
  If you like Maeve Binchy's previous reads, this will not disappoint. If you've not read her other books and you have any interest in Irish culture, this is a great introduction to her. I am so ready for a trip to the Emerald Isle.
• 
  Carre Gardner

  This review is addressed to readers who have been following Binchy's characters since Scarlet Feather. (Through Quentins; Nights of Rain and Stars; Whitethorn Woods; Heart and Soul.) They all reappear here, like a family reunion you've been waiting years for, and there are new ones to meet and love as well: Noel, the alcoholic who makes the very unwelcome discovery that he's going to be a father soon, and the mother of his baby is someone he hardly knows, who is on her deathbed. There're Noel's Irish Catholic parents, who've just won a huge sum of money, and plan to use it all to build a grand statue to an obscure saint; There's Emily, the American cousin who moves in and manages them all quite capably; There's Moira the social worker whose unhappy childhood makes her relentless in her quest to find something wrong with Frankie's caregivers, and of course there's Frankie herself, the baby who draws them together and brings out the best in each of them.
  
  Back to those of you who already know and love Binchy's characters: (Muttie and Lizzie Scarlett; the twins Maud and Simon and their dog Hooves; Brenda and Patrick from Quentins...need I go on?) Be sure you read this with a box of tissues at your side, and prepare to howl.
  
  I have no other comment than to say that the day Maeve Binchy stops writing is the day the world will become a poorer place.
• 
  Yvonne Mendez

  Reading Maeve Binchy is so restful, she's an amazing story teller and since I've read and re-read most of her previous books I recognize most of the secondary characters and it's like visiting friends and knowing how they were doing. You can also tell the passage of time in Ireland, when once the country was thriving, now it's on a recession. Now people can speak with their relatives via Skype and e-mails, text messages and mobiles are part of everyday life, while still keeping the traditions and Irish sense of family, friends and community.
  
  The plots are not about saving the world, political conspiracies, murder mystery or crime. It's just everyday life with everyday struggles where everyone carries on with life and change. As you read the book there will be parts where you'll laugh, or cry, or completely understand what the character is going through, recognize some of the mistakes they're doing as mistakes you might have done at one time, but at the end you will be left with a sense of peace....and then you carry on with life.
• 
  Anne

  Another heart warming tale from Maeve Binchy, this is the story of a baby born in the most difficult of circumstances, her mother dies shortly after her baby is born. Frankie is to be raised by her father, Noel, who is not best equipped to deal with a baby, he is an alcoholic with problems, but baby Frankie is the making of him.
  
  Along with his family and friends, he is able to find redemption, through work, study and caring for his daughter. Luckily the community support he finds is amazing. The various characters in this book are well rounded humans. Even those who are at first glance far from likeable, turn out to have background issues which have led them to their current character and attitude problems.
  
  Some of the characters figured in Heart and Soul, Dr Declan for one, and the priest, Brian Flynn. The heart clinic also again is at the centre of the story . I was pleased to learn more about these characters and become acquainted with some new ones.
  
  Moira initially is introduced as an unpopular controlling social worker, but as we learn more about her, it soon becomes apparent that she has her own problems and issues, and as the story unfolds, the reader can see that she is beginning to soften her approach. Even Frank Ennis, the penny pinching hospital administrator is not all bad as we learn more about him and his back story.
  
  There is sadness, heartbreak and trauma, but through it all, there is hope and optimism, an uplifting story that will gladden the reader's heart.
  
  I loved reading this book and can recommend it to readers of romance, drama and tales of family, or to anyone who enjoys a great story.