The Glass Lake: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox book <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books --> |
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'''''The Glass Lake''''' is a 1994 novel by the [[Ireland|Irish]] author [[Maeve Binchy]]. The action takes place in a rural Irish village in the 1950s, as well as in [[London]]. It is notable as the last of Binchy's novels to be set in the 1950s. Binchy explores the roles of women in Irish society |
'''''The Glass Lake''''' is a 1994 novel by the [[Ireland|Irish]] author [[Maeve Binchy]]. The action takes place in a rural Irish village in the 1950s, as well as in [[London]]. It is notable as the last of Binchy's novels to be set in the 1950s. Binchy explores the roles of women in Irish society and inconstant lovers, and uses an operatic plot to hold the reader's attention. |
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==Plot |
==Plot== |
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Helen McMahon disappears when her daughter Kit is 12 years old, and it is suspected that she drowned in the local lake. Kit finds a letter from her mother and burns it before reading it, fearing that a suicide note will prevent her from meriting a church burial.<ref name=pw>{{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-385-31354-4|title=The Glass Lake|work=[[Publishers Weekly]]|accessdate=December 31, 2018}}</ref> In fact, Helen has left her kindly but unexciting husband Martin and two children to run off to London to be with her dashing lover.<ref name=kirk>{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/maeve-binchy/the-glass-lake/|title=The Glass Lake|date=December 1, 1994|accessdate=December 31, 2018|work=[[Kirkus Reviews]]}}</ref> |
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When the beautiful and glamorous Helen is deserted by her lover, she marries the kindly Martin McMahon and moves to the small village of Lough Glass. Although Martin and Helen have two children, Helen still pines for Louis, the man who broke her heart. Helen seems restless and unhappy living in Lough Glass. Then one day, Helen disappears, leaving behind only a note for Martin. Kit, Helen and Martin's 13-year-old daughter, finds this letter, and burns it without opening it. Kit knows that her mother was unhappy and assumes that her mother has committed suicide. A suicide note would mean that her mother could not be buried in 'consecrated' ground according to Catholic tradition. However, Helen hasn't committed suicide. Rather, she decided to run away to England with her former lover. |
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Kit |
Kit struggles to grow up without her mother and with the stigma of her mother's death. While Kit has many friends and mentors to help her grow, she forges a close relationship via a [[pen pal]] relationship with a woman named Lena Gray, who claims to have been a close friend of Helen.<ref name=kirk/> The story then traces the fallout of Kit finding out that her mother is not dead and is in fact Lena Gray. |
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==Characters== |
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Important characters in the story are: |
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''Kit McMahon''- The main character of the story. She is the daughter of Helen and Martin McMahon. A nervous little girl when abandoned by her mother, Kit grows up to be a strong woman. |
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''Helen McMahon/Lena Gray''- Kit's mother and Martin's wife. She is beautiful and is unhappy and restless living in Lough Glass until she runs away. |
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''Martin McMahon''- Kit's father and the town chemist. A kind man who makes an effort to raise his children with high regard for their mother. |
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''Emmet McMahon''- Kit's younger brother. His obsessive love for Anna Kelly mirrors his mother's obsessive love for Louis Gray. |
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''Clio Kelly''- Kit's best friend, though it is a contentious relationship. They fight with each other almost as much as they support each other. |
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''Louis Gray''- Lena's feckless lover. He is very handsome and has numerous affairs while posing as Lena's husband. |
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''Stevie Sullivan''- Kit's eventual boyfriend, a handsome young man with a stormy childhood who has had numerous affairs with women in the parish. |
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==Themes== |
==Themes== |
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Like ''[[Tara Road]]'', in which Binchy introduces an American character to an Irish town, ''The Glass Lake'' offers readers a look at the lives of women in another country – namely, England, to which Lena escapes with her lover. This plot device plays up the "Irishness" of the other protagonists and reinforces the self-identity of Binchy's Irish women readers.<ref>{{citation|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=quocyNYLbLcC&pg=PA21|chapter=Maeve Binchy (1940– )|first=Rebecca|last=Steinberger|title=Irish Women Writers: An A-to-Z Guide|editor-first= Alexander G.|editor-last=Gonzalez|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0313328838|page=21}}</ref> |
Like ''[[Tara Road]]'', in which Binchy introduces an American character to an Irish town, ''The Glass Lake'' offers readers a look at the lives of women in another country – namely, England, to which Lena escapes with her lover. This plot device plays up the "Irishness" of the other protagonists and reinforces the self-identity of Binchy's Irish women readers.<ref>{{citation|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=quocyNYLbLcC&pg=PA21|chapter=Maeve Binchy (1940– )|first=Rebecca|last=Steinberger|title=Irish Women Writers: An A-to-Z Guide|editor-first= Alexander G.|editor-last=Gonzalez|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0313328838|page=21}}</ref> |
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==Reception== |
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As of 1998, ''The Glass Lake'' was Ireland's best-selling book of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/1998/sep/01/fiction.maevebinchy|title=The Storyseller|first=Dina|last=Rabinovich|date=September 1, 1998|accessdate=December 30, 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 23:41, 30 December 2018
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| Author | Maeve Binchy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Romance novel |
| Publisher | Orion Publishing |
Publication date | 2 September 1994 |
| Publication place |  Ireland |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 608 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 1-85797-950-8 (first edition, hardback) |
| Preceded by | The Copper Beech |
| Followed by | Evening Class |
The Glass Lake is a 1994 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. The action takes place in a rural Irish village in the 1950s, as well as in London. It is notable as the last of Binchy's novels to be set in the 1950s. Binchy explores the roles of women in Irish society and inconstant lovers, and uses an operatic plot to hold the reader's attention.
Plot
Helen McMahon disappears when her daughter Kit is 12 years old, and it is suspected that she drowned in the local lake. Kit finds a letter from her mother and burns it before reading it, fearing that a suicide note will prevent her from meriting a church burial.[1] In fact, Helen has left her kindly but unexciting husband Martin and two children to run off to London to be with her dashing lover.[2]
Kit struggles to grow up without her mother and with the stigma of her mother's death. While Kit has many friends and mentors to help her grow, she forges a close relationship via a pen pal relationship with a woman named Lena Gray, who claims to have been a close friend of Helen.[2] The story then traces the fallout of Kit finding out that her mother is not dead and is in fact Lena Gray.
Themes
Like Tara Road, in which Binchy introduces an American character to an Irish town, The Glass Lake offers readers a look at the lives of women in another country – namely, England, to which Lena escapes with her lover. This plot device plays up the "Irishness" of the other protagonists and reinforces the self-identity of Binchy's Irish women readers.[3]
Reception
As of 1998, The Glass Lake was Ireland's best-selling book of all time.[4]
References
- ^ "The Glass Lake". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ a b "The Glass Lake". Kirkus Reviews. December 1, 1994. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ Steinberger, Rebecca (2006), "Maeve Binchy (1940– )", in Gonzalez, Alexander G. (ed.), Irish Women Writers: An A-to-Z Guide, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 21, ISBN 0313328838
- ^ Rabinovich, Dina (September 1, 1998). "The Storyseller". The Guardian. Retrieved December 30, 2018.