The Library at the Edge of the World (Finfarran 1): 'A charming and heartwarming story' Jenny Colgan (Finfarran Peninsula, #1) (Finfarran)

by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

"A charming and heartwarming story."-Jenny Colgan, New York Times bestselling author of The Cafe by the Sea
Hanna Casey, local librarian on the West Coast of Ireland's Finfarran Peninsula, is wondering where it all went wrong ...

As she drives her mobile library van between farms and villages she tries not to think of the sophisticated London lifestyle she abandoned after finding her barrister husband in bed with another woman. Or that she's living in the back bedroom of her mother's retirement bungalow in the small town she walked away from in her teens.
Now with her daughter Jazz travelling the world, and her relationship with her mother growing increasingly fraught, Hanna is determined to reclaim her independence.
But when the threatened closure of the library puts her plans in jeopardy, she finds herself leading a battle to restore the heart and soul of Finfarran's fragmented community.
Hanna's about to discover that the neighbours she's always kept at a distance have come to mean more to her than she ever could have imagined. But will she find the new life she's been searching for?

"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."
-Cathy Kelly, bestselling author of Between Sisters and Secrets of a Happy Marriage

• ISBN10: 1473621062
• ISBN13: 9781473621060
• Publish Date: 2 June 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 10 August 2021
• Publish Country: IE
• Imprint: Hachette Books Ireland
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

My rating of this book might not quite be fair; it probably deserves a higher rating, but this is one of those books that left me floundering a bit.  I got the story I was expecting based on the back cover, but not the atmosphere.   Hanna Casey is not a likeable MC; she's bitter and not really very strong.  She made it hard for me to want good things to happen for her, although I never actively disliked her.  She seemed to recognise how hateful she was being, but never really did much to correct it.  And she's a terrible librarian.  Her mother is so. much. worse.  At no point did I find her sympathetic, although I suspect I was meant to.  Truly, her mother was awful.   But boy did I fall in love with the Finfarrin community the author created.  This story is timely, I think, as at its heart it's a story about a community taking itself back and actually becoming a community again.  Hanna's the catalyst, but really the story didn't come alive for me until it stopped being so much about her and more about Finfarrin.   It's a slow paced, well-written story with a happy, hopeful ending, just without the happy, upbeat tone.  Nobody is plucky in this book.  That's ok, it's probably better for it; it's just different from what I was expecting and that's likely reflected in my rating.