It was the quiet ones you had to watch. That's where the real passion was lurking.

Aidan Dunne, a Dublin Latin teacher, always meant to go back to the Italy he visited as a youth. But as the years passed, he concentrated instead on the usual struggles of daily life, like vying for the job of headmaster at his school, keeping memories of Italy in the back corners of his mind. At 48, emotionally distanced from his wife and baffled by his two grown daughters, Aidan Dunne might have given up entirely if it hadn't been for the evening class. His class. A class called Introduction to Italian. A class where people from every walk of life come together. A class where long-buried hopes come alive again. The teacher is Signora, a vivacious, eccentric woman with an irrepressible nature and a buried past. Her real name is Nora O'Donoghue, a Dublin native who abandoned Ireland decades before to follow her mysterious lover to Italy. Having defied her parents' Catholic conventions, she ended up in a village where tradition dictated everything -- including how a woman could love or grieve. Now, as she meets Aidan Dunne and the men and women who come together each Tuesday and Thursday night, Signora begins to learn their secrets and their dreams. And slowly she transforms each of their lives. Suddenly Aidan Dunne's last chance, his evening class has become a place of intrigue and revelation.

This ray is CLOSED!

MsPooh -- Texas
Soraidh -- Missouri
Mandali -- Washington
Sossap -- Portugal
mfa -- Portugal
starbytes -- Malaysia (int'l but prefer Asia/Australia)
reader1212 -- Washington (no int'l if possible)

Released on Monday, September 08, 2003 at BookRay in Round Rock, Texas USA.

Out the the first player, Soraidh

Just got this in the mail last week (finally got around to opening it! eek!) and am planning on starting it tomorrow. Hopefully I can get this one done before the other ray I'm on comes!

Only the second Binchy I've read, I had problems getting into the book. More than once I thought of just sending on the book to the next person in the group and maybe buying it at a UBS to read at my leisure. But the the book finally got my attention after the first part, which was necessary to set up the entire scenario. Ultimately, the book was a great read and I'm glad I signed up for the ray.

I found myself wishing each little part would go on a bit more, telling me more about the people involved. In order to really get into and enjoy the book I discovered I needed to read it at long settings rather than a few pages here and a few pages there. Because of this I think I might go back and try another of Binchy's books that I have and see if reading more at once gets me into the book.

Sent out to the next player on 10/9/03

I just received this today, thanks so much. I will read it as soon as I have finished the book I am currently reading. Will journal more later.

Another engrossing read by Maeve Binchy. I like how each new character is incorporated into the story, each one fitting like a piece of a puzzle. I was almost sorry to have it end. Thank you MsPooh for sending this book on its journey.

Just mailed this to Sossap in Portugal. It will take awhile to get there as I sent it by surface mail.

Just arrive with a nice msg and gift from Mandali. Thanks to you and MsPooh. I'll comment about reading after.

sossap made sure i got this book through a common bookcrossing friend, tho. thanks to both of them and to mspooh. i must confess i've got a couple of rings ahead... unbeliavably, since i haven't joined a single one in some 18 months!

light, but entertaining. i had the feeling i was reading a brazilian soap opera, with its miryads of characters that end up coming accross each other in a faity tale kind of way. i can't help finding the characters too dichotomic: either good or bad, quiet or wild, boring or fascinating.
the most interesting bit was that i had come across signora before, in some irish short stories book i've also read through bookcrossing. it's interesting how a short story can develop into a whole novel, or how you can cut a slice of the novel and have a tale with a life of its own.
i'll post it to starbytes tomorrow.
please excuse me for the delay.

merry christmas everyone!

I finished it the same day I received it(almost)! What a great read! I had actually been in a reading rut recently, and haven't been reading books the way I used to, with passion! This book got me out of my rut. I started reading it to pass the time while in the doctor's waiting room, and I couldn't stop. I stayed up last night until five in the morning to finish it! The characters just pulled me in. What a wonderful web Maeve Binchy wove between all the characters in the book. Thanks for sharing, MsPooh, and thanks to mfa for sending it to me! Will pm reader1212 for their address.