November 2017 LibraryReads PickIn the bestselling tradition of Fannie Flagg and Jenny Colgan comes Felicity Hayes-McCoy’s U.S. debut about a local librarian who must find a way to rebuild her community and her own life in this touching, enchanting novel set on Ireland’s stunning West Coast.As she drives her mobile library van between villages of Ireland’s West Coast, Hanna Casey tries not to … Coast, Hanna Casey tries not to think about a lot of things. Like the sophisticated lifestyle she abandoned after finding her English barrister husband in bed with another woman. Or that she’s back in Lissbeg, the rural Irish town she walked away from in her teens, living in the back bedroom of her overbearing mother’s retirement bungalow. Or, worse yet, her nagging fear that, as the local librarian and a prominent figure in the community, her failed marriage and ignominious return have made her a focus of gossip.
With her teenage daughter, Jazz, off traveling the world and her relationship with her own mother growing increasingly tense, Hanna is determined to reclaim her independence by restoring a derelict cottage left to her by her great-aunt. But when the threatened closure of the Lissbeg Library puts her personal plans in jeopardy, Hanna finds herself leading a battle to restore the heart and soul of the Finfarran Peninsula’s fragmented community. And she’s about to discover that the neighbors she’d always kept at a distance have come to mean more to her than she ever could have imagined.
Told with heart and abundant charm, The Library at the Edge of the World is a joyous story about the meaning of home and the importance of finding a place where you truly belong.
“Heart-warming . . . reminiscent of Maeve Binchy and Roisin Meaney.”—Irish Examiner
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A charming and heartwarming story.
The Library at The Edge of the World is a delicious feast of a novel. Sink in and feel enveloped by the beautiful world of Felicity Hayes-McCoy.
I didn’t much like Hanna Casey, the main character in The Library at the end of the World. I didn’t like her at the beginning of the book, and though Hanna was less churlish at the end, I still didn’t much care for her. Hanna Casey returned to Finfarra peninsula in Ireland after her husband’s betrayal. She learned that almost since the beginning of her marriage, he’d been having an affair with her friend Tessa. It’s been five years since she returned home to be the librarian of Lisbeg’s small library attached to an old convent school. While she may have loved reading, she was a repressive force in the library: no talking, no cell phones, no chewing gum, no lingering, no book clubs were just a few of her rules. Somehow, after meeting Sister Michael and after meeting Oliver, who was searching each shelf for a book he’d loved that had a dog on the cover, somehow Hanna loosened up and started paying attention to her community. She began to lose her sanctimonious attitude and consider someone besides herself or her daughter Jazz. The book has an unrealistic fairy tale ending, but I still didn’t like this book nearly as much as others have.
It was a nice, easy read and a good story.
I really enjoyed this sweet story.
I didn’t finish it. Pace was too slow and didn’t grab my interest.
Great story and fun, witty people. Next door friend fun!
Loved this book.
The title intrigued me. The description hooked me. The book cover made me smile and hit download. I can’t put into words how much I loved this book, the characters, the descriptions, the behind the scenes political machinations–the sheer richness of community caring. I felt like I’ve been welcomed into an Irish village, and I never want to leave.
For those of us who love stories about Ireland and her whimsical characters, this one is a winner!
A delightful, uplifting story of a woman who left her small Irish coastal town to venture to London for her dream of a career as an art librarian. Hanna Casey leaves behind her dream to marry and become a mother. Life doesn’t turn out as she planned and she finds herself back in her small Irish hometown once again living with her widowed mother. She isn’t happy and lives a solitary, somewhat unhappy life until fate brings a chance at living on her own in a family homestead left to her by her recluse of an aunt and the opportunity to bring her community together to build their town stronger. Will the town of Lissbeg be the same? Will Hanna be the same? Pick up the book and meet Hanna, her cranky mother, Mary, coming of age daughter, Jazz, enthusiastic co-worker, Conor, sweet and smart nun, Sister Michael, council planning officer, Brian, rough and straight spoken handyman, Fury, and his devil of a dog aptly named Divil. An excellent read! I need to buy the next two in the series right away because I’m not ready to leave these people or this wonderful Edge of the World.
It has been a while since I read this book, but I was very touched by it. The book shows what we can do when we are determined. It also reminds us of the power of books to open new worlds to us.
I thought the author did a great job of tying all the characters together in both a satisfying and believable ending.
I loved the setting for the story and admired the strength of the main character.
This book made me want to travel to a far off county in the British Isles and find a tiny library to get lost in. The character development was well done and I was often on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen.
This is really an exceptional book that is a fabulous character study of really intriguing characters. Just the title alone made me want to read it and how it got to be the Library at the end of the world. It’s not a happily ever after read, but it is a book that strikes me as being “intriguingly ever after”. I didn’t want the book to end, I fell in love with the characters and the sense of the place in time in which they lived. I’d love to go back and visit. 🙂
It’s been a while since I read this book but I really enjoyed it because I am a retired librarian!
Some books take you on a wild heart-pounding adventure ride filled with sudden plunges and death-defying Rapids. Others worm their way into your darkest emotions and leave you breathless. The Library at the Edge of the World takes you on an unhurried cruise past still waters, with a bit of turbulence now and then, past some snags that slow your progress, an unexpected dip that makes you gasp. Everything is not sweet tea and crumpets, but there’s a feeling of confidence that reigns.
The characters wrap around you with understated charm and the sea air tang and rural coziness of Lissbeg – the central Irish town – fill your senses with comfort and security. Here the people care for each other, watch out for each other, despite their eccentricities or annoying habits. I fell in love with Hanna’s (the librarian) reticence, Conor’s (her assistant) bumbling, Mary’s (Hanna’s mother) bite and snap, and Fury’s (the contractor) superiority. Life on this Finfarran Peninsula seems as raggle-taggle as a band of gypsies, but as the people come to life and the story meanders through those rocky shoals, you develop a liking for their plights, their perseverance, their dogged determination.
This is not a quick read. The lilting deftness of the writing style carries you along at its own pace. (There were times I got impatient and almost stopped. I’m still not a fan of lots of different points of view.) But hang in there – I’m so glad I did – because the author creates an ending you won’t want to miss.
Hannah Casey has come to a crossroad in her life–as has her entire town when a company comes in that wants to change everything! The setting is in Ireland, which means there is language and slang that isn’t obvious to the typical reader (like me). Hannah goes from being an adult daughter who is being pushed around by an overbearing mother to a strong woman who pulls together everyone in the town to push back against a builder who cares nothing for the town or its people. A satisfying ending is what you’re in store for here!
Loved it!