Binchy seems to be a hit or miss for me, and this one is definitely a miss, Trite, syrupy, predictable, it doesn't have much to redeem itself. Even though it seems to be some kind of St Jarlath Crescent series, Binchy is determined to introduce all of Dublin to the reader: it's confusing and unnecessary, creating stereotyped, uni-dimensional characters. Even as light reading it's boring and bland. Pass. ( )

This was a warm and cozy read... a bit slow at times, shifting from one group of characters to the next. Yet, like most Maeve Binchy books, it was satisfying and enjoyable in the end. ( )

Binchy is nothing if not a fun read. I love the way she brings characters to live and interweaves their stories into a glimpse of an entire community of individuals without making us feel anyone has gotten short shrift. Another Binchy hallmark is finding a familiar character and seeing the next chapter of their tale unexpectedly.

No one would claim that Binchy writes cutting social commentary, but she does open up communities to let us see inside. She always makes me wish I could be there and know her people and share their lives. It is escapism of the finest variety. ( )

In Heart and Soul, Maeve Binchey created a terrible villian. A woman living with her mother and often drunk and physically abusive father. I think the book is worth reading for that alone because the wiley daughter was terrible indeed. Eileen forced her way into a overweight, shy and very kindly priest’s tiny home and acted like they were having an affair. The priest was shaken to the bone and convided in his friend. An alliance formed to save the priest. His friend, Johnny saw through her guiles immediately and arranged a wonder comeuppance for her. When I read it, I laid my book down on my lap and clapped my hands!

That is just one of the wonderful situations that exists in this book. Maeve Binchey wrote my comfort books.As I read her books, I keep a large index card in the book and I write down what I enjoyed.

Because my memory is not good, I track the characters and Maeve Binchey created oodles of them and I like how they end their story book. I was very happy with how Eileen evolved and Rosemary Walsh had an amazing change when she walked into the ladder.

I hope that you enjoy this book as much as I did. ( )

It's weird. I started off reading this book years and years ago. It was published back in 2008 and I just didn't like how it ended much. Binchy ended up changing up the ending, but I don't have that version in my Kindle version (grrrr) so I do know that she had a new ending that worked a lot better. That is the main reason why I gave this one 3 stars. We end up leaving a lot of characters in the lurch I thought. I also thought the whole thing with Clara and Hilary needing to "get" their two kids together was ridiculous. Additionally, the amount of jobs that the character Ania was working didn't even make sense since it sounded like at best she would only be getting about 2-3 hours of sleep. I know it was to show the contrast between Clara's one daughter, but it was a bit much.

Heart & Soul follows characters that many Binchy fans have been reading about for years. We have Aiden and Signora popping up (Evening Class (96) and Quentins (2002), Brenda (from Evening Class and Quentins), Grania and Tony (Evening Class), Fiona, Barbara, David, Vonni (Nights of Rain and Stars 2004), Maud, Simon, Cathy Feather (Scarlett Feather 2000) and Father Flynn (Whitehorn Woods 2006) and probably a whole host of other people I have forgotten.

We also have some new ones like Clara Casey, the new director of a heart clinic and Ania, a young Polish immigrant living in Dublin.

Though Binchy doesn't call out characters by chapter heading in this one, we do go back and forth to characters within chapters sometimes. So if we start off with Clara, we may also include another character like her daughter, her ex-husband, etc. I didn't mind it at all in this one, but I think I miss that we could just stick with a character through one sitting instead of bouncing around a lot with them. I found all of the characters to be good, but I was really happy with the follow up to Fiona and Barbara. I had really liked Fiona in Nights of Rain and Stars and we see that she has totally changes from who she was after the events from her last relationship that was depicted in that book.

As I said above though. I had a bit of an issue with Clara in parts of this book. We find out that she has been long separated from a cheating spouse who wants to divorce and marry his partner of several years. I know it wasn't great, but her reaction to it wasn't great either. I liked that she realized that her friends and family were tired of her hanging on to the guy and she needed to move on from him. She starts a new relationship in this one, that left me feeling meh, and it was good to see her realize that too. Her fighting with her daughter Linda though made me scratch my head. Her thinking that she needed to get married and settled with Hilary's son made me want to go huh. This was written in 2008, not 1988, so I didn't get why she thought her 21 year old daughter needed to settle down.

Ania's story was sad at first. We meet her and she's barely hanging on doing odd jobs in Dublin to obtain money to send back to her mother. We don't know what happened to her in Poland, but hints are it wasn't great. When Binchy reveals her tale, it was okay and all, but not Earth shattering. I just thought it was a bit much that Ania works at the heart clinic, at the laundromat, at a restaurant, helps with landscaping, etc. At one point I felt myself getting panicky at her jobs that she was doing. And her acting as if everything was super expensive (like some lace for sleeves on a dress) was making me go okay after a while. Ania is set up as some perfect person, but I was left a bit cold towards to her while reading.

We follow a new doctor named Declan in this one and we get to see his romance with someone that readers are familiar with (no spoilers). I liked Declan okay, but liked to see him push back on things later on in the book. He seemed a bit too perfect to me at first.

Hilary's story I found sad. I don't know if Binchy was going for clueless with her, but I definitely felt she was. We find out that she married a perfectly charming and handsome man who never worked. Her poor mother went and got more jobs to support them all (Hilary and her son Nick too) and Hilary works more to help. Things don't go well in Hilary's life I thought when we see that her mother is having some medical issues.

Father Flynn who popped up in Whitehorn Woods shows up here and his whole storyline was weird I thought. Leaving that one alone.

The book going back to Vonni in Greece and Aiden and Signora caused it to drag for me a lot too.

The writing was okay, but I am realizing that the flow wasn't great. Binchy jumping from character to character within a chapter didn't work as well for me in this one. I was looking forward to the ending which isn't like me usually.

The setting of the book revolves around the heart clinic doctors, patients, and friends of patients or doctors working there. Maybe if we stayed focused on the staff it would have worked more. It would still be nice to read about characters that were introduced in prior books still, but we could have focused on new characters more.

The book ends with a wedding and just kind of ends. I liked the new ending ( I happened to read it in a new paperback release one day at the bookstore) that showed some characters after the wedding and what something new is going on with all of them. ( )

Let me start by saying that I am a huge Maeve Binchy fan and love her writing. She just draws you right into the story and the characters. That being said, this was not her best effort. I enjoyed it, but then she started incorporating charachters from other book (Scarlet Feather, Quentins, Whitethorn Woods, Nights of Rain and Stars). I thought the book got a little disjointed from there and she lost the focus of the current book. I wished she would have focused on the current book and characters and delved more into their stories rather than reaching back to other books. ( )

Lovely book, wonderful characters, great narrator (lovely accent). A nice distraction from the crazy world of this moment. I like to relax and escape into this quieter kinder place. ( )

The Globe and Mail called this "Binchy's best read in a decade" and I would tend to agree. I didn't read her last book (Whitethorn Woods) because I was so disappointed in Nights of Rain and Stars. In this book Binchy brings together characters from some of her previous books with some new characters. One of the new characters is Clara Casey who is the newly appointed head of the Dublin heart clinic. Clara is separated from her husband but has her two daughters living with her. As if it wasn't stress enough to get the heart clinic up and running her husband wants a divorce so he can marry the pregnant woman (not much older than his daughters) for whom he left Clara. In order to stop thinking about the husband Clara plunges herself into the business of finding the right personnel for the clinic. One of the people she hires is Fiona who had a central role in Nights of Rain and Stars. Clara also hires Ania, a Polish immigrant who shows up in the car park next to the clinic one morning, to be the runner and general dogsbody. Quentins, the upscale restaurant from the book of the same name, makes several appearances and the catering couple from Scarlet Feather also show up. But the characters I was most happy to see were Nora and Aidan from The Evening Class. Aidan has a serious heart attack and they go to the clinic for advice on healthy living although Nora is convinced Aidan is going to die an early death. Clara manages to convince Nora to give the clinic a whole-hearted try for 6 weeks. Of course, before the 6 weeks is up Nora and Aidan are great supporters of the clinic.

There are romances between staff, between children of staff and between one staff member and the child of one of the patients. There are ups and downs in the romances but, in the end, those that should work out do. A very satisfying read. ( )

Very entertaining. ( )

It starts with the making of a heart clinic. We come to know a few new people. Then Quentins come up, that's not so surprising. And finally St Jarlath's Crescent rings a bell, and Fiona, and Barbara... that's like having news of frends. I just loved it. ( )

Dr Clara Casey really doesn't want to be the head of a new heart clinic. But, since she has accepted the role for a year, she is determined to make the most of it, to design the layout in her own way, to employ the kind of staff she wants, and most of all to confound Frank, the administrator of the attached hospital.

So she employs nice young doctor Declan, and two attractive nurses; she takes Ania, a Polish refugee, under her wing, and she arranges the new clinic exactly as she wants it, riding roughshod over everyone else's ideas - but she has the welfare of her patients in mind, and it all works surprisingly well.

The book follows the intertwined lives of several of the staff and their families, and also some of the patients who become regulars at the clinic. There were perhaps rather too many characters for a standalone novel, but many of them appeared in previous novels by Maeve Binchy, so I quite enjoyed the tying up of some loose ends, and the feeling of getting back in touch with old friends - even though it took me a while to recognise some of them!

The characterisation is good, and I felt it was a warm and friendly book. Almost four and a half stars.
( )

Audio book read by Sile Bermingham.

This is a story of family, friends, patients and staff whose lives intersect at a heart clinic in Dublin. Dr Clara Casey has taken on the job of director of this underfunded but much needed clinic. She agrees to a one-year contract because she has plenty of other issues in her personal life – two adult daughters with whom she has a difficult relationship, and an ex-husband who is trying to worm his way back into her good graces. The staff she assembles is eclectic and not without their own issues. Ania is a Polish émigré looking to escape her disgrace and find a way to help her widowed mother. Dr Declan Carroll is still in training and doing a rotation at the clinic; he has a natural empathy that helps both patients and other staff members.

This is my first Binchy book, though her books have been on my TBR list for ages. This was the right book for me at the right time – a gentle, engaging story that focuses on relationships. It is a sort of snapshot of a year in these people’s lives. We learn of past heartaches, their insecurities, their strengths, and emotions.

Sile Bermingham does a fine job of reading the book. Her pacing and inflections are right on target, and she brings the many characters to life.

Update, Oct 2017 - I re-read this one to fulfill a challenge. Despite its length, it's a fast read. I've read other Binchy books since first reading this one, and now realize that it is a sequel of sorts to book:Nights of Rain and Stars, with most of those characters appearing here as well. ( )

Weer zo'n verrukkelijk feel good boek, over allerlei mensen in een buurt in Dublin. ( )

As novels go, this was not my favorite one from Maeve Binchy. It tells the story of Clara, a middle age Dr who is chosen to head a cardiac clinic in Dublin. The story revolves around her and the staff she assembles to work at the clinic. Merely pleasant. ( )

I had forgotten how well Binchy weaves together stories. You just cannot put the book down because every character has a story you want to hear more of, so you keep going and going and suddenly it's 3am and you need sleep. That's how this book was for me. Reminds me that I need to read more of her stuff. ( )

Interest characters - all have their separate stories told around the nucleus of the St. Brigid's Hospital n Dublin - the Heart Clinic. Well woven. ( )

This novel centers around a newly built heart clinic. Like with all Binchy's novels, there is a big cast of characters, and we get a glimpse into a lot of different characters' lives. Clara, separated from her husband and with two grown daughters who still live at home and have issues of their own, runs the clinic. Declan is a young doctor who lives with his parents who never had a lot of money and think the world of their son. Aina, a Polish immigrant to Ireland, has a past she is ashamed of and wants to make a new life for herself. And there are many more...

I really enjoy Binchy's novels – the ones I've read. Although there are always lots of characters, she spends enough time introducing each of them that it's easy to remember who's who and they are interesting. I also like that she brings in characters from previous novels as part of the community, as well. ( )

I’m almost out of Maeve Binchy books to read and that makes me incredibly sad. The Irish author passed away last year after writing 16 novels and a handful of short story collections. After finishing Heart and Soul I now only have one of her books left unread. I’m sure I’ll return to her earlier books again, but I hate that I only have one completely new story left to discover.

Heart and Soul is set in Dublin and tells the story of Clara, who is starting a new heart clinic in the bustling city. Despite a frustrating ex, two bratty daughters and a penny-pinching boss, Clara manages to get the clinic up and running with an excellent staff. She handpicks everyone from the nurses and dietician to the security guard.

In Binchy’s trademark style we wander in and out of various characters lives, watching them fall in love, tackle new challenges and learn more about themselves along the way. This book includes many familiar faces. We reconnect with characters from her other novels, (especially Scarlet Feather, Quentins, Nights of Rain and Stars and Evening Class) and see how they are doing now. You don’t have to read those books to appreciate this one, but it’s a nice surprise to meet those characters again.

I particularly enjoyed Anya’s story. She’s a sweet Polish girl just hoping to find some work in Ireland. Her sincere joy at life despite her ups and down was lovely. A few areas in the story faltered, like a section with a priest and a woman who is avidly pursuing him, but that wasn’t enough to detract for the overall book.

BOTTOM LINE: If you love Binchy’s work then definitely pick this one up. She is a comfort read for me and I almost always enjoy her. ( )

One of the things I like about this book is that the characters from her previous books show up again - Brenda Brennan of [b:Quentin's] and Kathy & tom Feather of [b:Scarlett Feather|866240|Birds Of A Feather Osteological And Archaeological Papers From The South Pacific In Honour Of R. J. Scarlett|Atholl Anderson|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png|851641]. It makes the book feel like old friends are still in the picture. It is a good tactic. I love Binchy's books because there is little to no violence and the stories are of ordinary people going about their lives.

I actually read the unabridged audiobook, but it wasn't available as a format. The one odd thing was the reader, Sile Birmingham. I believe she read [b:Runemarks|633446|Runemarks (Runemarks, #1)|Joanne Harris|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1322757188s/633446.jpg|619740] as well and I kept thinking that one of the Aseer would show up, because of her distinctive voice. As the book got on, that became less of an issue. ( )

Heart and Soul is another slice of Irish life by Maeve Binchy, in this case detailing the lives of a group of people who come together to create a heart clinic attached to a local hospital, their patients and other individuals related to the staff. Clara Casey is the cardiologist who takes on the thankless task of setting up the clinic, which largely involves battling a hospital bureaucrat, Frank Ennis, to obtain the funds she needs to run the place; in addition, she is coping with her two young adult daughters and an ex-husband who continues to intrude into her life, even though they've been separated for years. She quickly recruits a young resident (Declan Carroll), two nurses (Fiona and Barbara), an office manager (Hilary), a physiotherapist (Johnny) and nutritionist (Lavender) and, finally, a young Polish girl, Ania, to be a sort of maid-of-all-work for the clinic. Very soon, the lives of all of these people become entangled with and enriched by each other and by their patients; romances bloom and fade, parents and children fight and reconcile (or not), and life continues on in all its messy glory.... I've come late to the joys of Maeve Binchy's writing, having only discovered her in 2012, but this is definitely a case of better late than never. Her stories are full of interesting characters leading ordinary lives; she doesn't sugar-coat the more depressing parts of life, but she doesn't dwell on the negative either, and instead she just shows how ordinary, complicated people are interconnected in so many ways. Recommended! ( )

Are there two Irelands? I know that the answer is yes but is the Ireland of Frank McCourt, Roddy Doyle, Neil Jordon and Sebastian Barry the same place as the one that the late Maeve Binchy inhabited? I know that things have changed recently but how can Ms. Binchy’s characters have no history of abject poverty or religious hatred? Where are the forced removals to convents ala Magdalene Sisters or the brutality of the Irish brothers? Even the Polish immigrants have a charmed lives and the McMafia of Eastern Europe is never mentioned.
Heart and Soul has a cast of hundred happy Irish souls going about their daily business with ne’er a worry about anything more serious than their daughter working in a shop that sells drag or what ruby ring the good doctor needs to buy for his lovely fiancé
Read at your peril ( )

Dr.Clara Casey has been offered the thankless job of establishing an underfunded heart clinic in Ireland. She has quite enough on her plate already with two difficult adult daughters and the unwanted attentions of her ex-husband, but she assembles a wonderfully diverse staff devoted to helping their often difficult patients. There is the infectiously cheerful nurse, the indispensable office manager who can't quite manage her own life, the young Polish girl who came to Ireland to escape a bad love affair, the young doctor who has a special touch with his patients and the physical therapist who takes on a different sort of therapy to deal with a stalker and the local priest. Together they make the clinic an essential part of the community, and Clara must eventually decide whether or not to leave the heart clinic where lives are saved, courage is rewarded and humor and optimism triumph over greed and self-pity. I truly enjoyed this story and give it an A! ( )

Started out rather slow, after the first 100 pages or so it was good. The book could have focused more on just a few characters. Some of them that were added in in the middle just didn't really have any connection to the story and the book would have been alot more pleasant to read. Even after finishing I didn't see the point of introducing the other characters. Too bad Maeve Binchy didn't focus alot more on the story line that developed in the beginning of the book. It kind of took a strange course that added nothing to the plot.
I am a big Maeve Binchy fan, just not of this particular book. ( )

Review for the abridged audiobook.

This audiobook was a bit like listening to several episodes of Emmerdale Farm, or some similar long-running soap. It kept my interest but never grabbed me. It may be that the abridgement took some of the life out of the book, but it felt like a series of events, rather than a novel.

The central character is Clara Casey, a heart specialist, who takes on the position of setting up a new heart clinic in St. Brigid's Hospital, Dublin. She is an immediately likeable person who holds everyone else together.
We also meet Anya, a Polish girl with a sad past, who is hoping to make some money to send back to her mother. She chances upon Clara in a car park where she is washing windscreens, and becomes employed at the clinic as general assisstant.
Declan Carroll joins the clinic for experience as a young doctor, only to fall in love and meet his wife-to-be.
Binchy also brought back some of the characters from Nights of Rain and Stars - Fiona, the Irish nurse and Vronni and Andreas from Greece, who both make a cameo appearance. I do like it when authors incorporate characters from past novels but it didn't matter at all if you hadn't read the book.

Most of the narrative revolves around the staff and patients at the clinic, which becomes rather a cast of thousands and a bit difficult to keep up with in an audiobook where it is much harder to refer back. In addition, the fact that it is abridged means that each of the characters is covered in much less detail.
I enjoyed it as company when driving but didn't find it earth shattering. I think I would have preferred an unabridged version but I won't be going back to the book to fill in the gaps.

I should add that I did enjoy the narration by Maeve's cousin, Kate Binchy, who has a soft irish accent that was a pleasure to listen to. ( )

Charming book centering around a group of people connected to a heart clinic. Maeve Binchy does a great job of describing Dublin and developing a variety of characters of all ages. ( )