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    Minding Frankie
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    Minding Frankie
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    Minding Frankie
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    Minding Frankie

    Written by Maeve Binchy

    Narrated by Sile Bermingham

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Maeve Binchy is back with a tale of joy, heartbreak and hope, about a motherless girl collectively raised by a close-knit Dublin community.

    When Noel learns that his terminally ill former flame is pregnant with his child, he agrees to take guardianship of the baby girl once she's born. But as a single father battling demons of his own, Noel can't do it alone.

    Fortunately, he has a competent, caring network of friends, family and neighbors: Lisa, his unlucky-in-love classmate, who moves in with him to help him care for little Frankie around the clock; his American cousin, Emily, always there with a pep talk; the newly retired Dr. Hat, with more time on his hands than he knows what to do with; Dr. Declan and Fiona and their baby son, Frankie's first friend; and many eager babysitters, including old friends Signora and Aidan and Frankie's doting grandparents, Josie and Charles.

    But not everyone is pleased with the unconventional arrangement, especially a nosy social worker, Moira, who is convinced that Frankie would be better off in a foster home. Now it's up to Noel to persuade her that everyone in town has something special to offer when it comes to minding Frankie.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 1, 2011
    ISBN9780307713612
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Minding Frankie

    3.5/5

    404 ratings51 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Loved this book :)
    • 4/5
      This one is a little different to her usual genre - quite a good read.
    • 3/5
      This was quintessential Binchy, a good-sized group of people, all-interrelated and many from her previous books. It's a guilty pleasure. You know from the beginning that everyone will live happily ever after, but everyone is so unfailingly wonderful that you want to know the details of the current dramas in everyone's life. It definitely falls into the "beach read" category.
    • 1/5
      I'm finding this book incredibly boring.There are a lot of characters, all pretty flat, the story does not have any depth.
    • 2/5
      The author created interesting characters, but the premise of the book was flawed and the story lines were predictable.
    • 3/5
      In this story by Maeve Binchy we meet Noel who lives with his parents who are devout Catholics so to avoid spending time with them he spends his free time at the pub. When he is contacted by a pregnant woman who is seriously ill his life changes for ever. Apparently they had a liason which resulted in the child and she wants him to look after the baby, Frankie, as she knows she won't survive labour.

      In many ways I did enjoy this book especially as old friends crop up so we learn what happened to them but it is rather silly at times. The character of Moira the social worker just isn't credible as she is far too involved in what happens to Frankie. Also the idea that a virtual stranger could come from America and instantly start deciding how things are managed just doesn't ring true to me at all. the ending is also very unsatisfactory including a twist which spoiled things for me.

      I did enjoy the interaction between Lisa and Noel looking after Frankie but for an intelligent woman she was very naive and unbelivable sometimes.

      Please don't judge the author by this book she has written much better.
    • 4/5
      Always enjoy Maeve Binchey's books. You can count on a happy ending.
    • 3/5
      An entertaining, easy read.
    • 5/5
      This was an excellent story. I loved how all of the characters came together throughout the story. I also loved the Irish setting.Maeve Binchy is a wonderful storyteller and her characters are so enjoyable.
    • 3/5
      I have read almost all of Binchey's books except for the last couple, so I thought I'd get this one read. It's a gentle little story that mentions characters from previous novels with some others added. The story line hops around more than I'd like, but it wasn't difficult to follow. A friendly neighborhood in Dublin chips in to help care for a baby girl, a little girl who end up affecting many lives around her. This is a sweet story of people helping each other and sticking together. I did want to strangle Moira though. If you read the book, you'll agree with me!
    • 4/5
      A periodic serving of comfort food from one of the masters. I love being back in Dublin with all my old friends and neighbors. It is nice to make new friends as well. That way I can look forward to catching up with them in Ms Binchy's next book. Keep them coming!
    • 3/5
      Good heartwarming story. Easy read.
    • 4/5
      I listened and found I could appreciate the brogue and the story a little better.Also....I'm simply time constrained this summer and listening works.This was a pleasant ,feel good story..........all loose ends tied, all fences mended.I don't know about anyone else...but I need this occasionally.
    • 5/5
      Maeve Binchley is one of my most favorite authors and yet I have only read Circle of Friends. I loved this one so much more. Minding Frankie kept making me think of Hillary Clinton's book, It Takes A Village To Raise A Child.The child is Frankie and her parents were very different. Her mother was dying of cancer and made an arrangement for the child to be delivered when she was very close to death. Stella was very pretty and but promiscuous. Stella wanted her daughter to have a least one good parent and not have to suffer orphanage care. She contacted one of the men that she had a fling with in the past and invited him to where she was on her deathbed and told him that he was the father and she wanted him to raise the baby who was already named Frankie.That man was Noel, an alcoholic batchelor barely hanging on to his boring job. His parents had wanted him to be a priest but he had no interest in religion and quit school. Around this same time, a much older cousin in America wrote his parents that she was retiring and would be coming for a visit. That woman, Emily is my most favorite character. Emily, is smart, very organized, personavle and very caring. Emily knits together a vast array of characters and makes sure that Frankie is well cared for by most of the people she meets. Emily made the book magical for me.
    • 3/5
      It's a bit of a strange potpourri, this life on St-Jarlath Street. It has everything from an Irish-speaking American Mary Poppins to neighbours that seem to keep bumping into each other at every corner, making Dublin seem like a tiny village. If it weren't for Binchy's narrative skills this book would be a series of unbelievable coincidences. Somehow it all works, however, especially if the reader is sick in bed with no wish for any kind of intellectual strain. Not Binchy's best, but honourable.
    • 4/5
      Book Description When Noel learns that his terminally ill former flame is pregnant with his child, he reluctantly agrees to take care of the baby girl. Along with the help of a caring network of friends, family and neighbors—including Lisa, his broken-hearted classmate, and Emily, his American cousin—Noel adapts to his new responsibilities. But when a nosy social worker decides to get involved, she threatens to ruin their unconventional but special arrangement. It will be up to Noel to persuade her that everyone in the neighborhood has something to offer when it comes to minding Frankie.

      My Review This was another fun and entertaining read from Maeve Binchy. It was another visit to so many wonderful characters from her other novels. This book is timeless and a classic that transcends time. I love her books and look forward to reading my next one.
    • 3/5
      I would call this book a nice, light read. I enjoy books like these interspersed with some of the literary works that are so intense. While she delves into her characters somewhat, for me it's just enough to moderately care what happens to them. Noel is told he's the father of an unborn girl that will be named Frankie by her dying mother. He is introduced us as an drunken, empty young man with no hope for a future. He is then transformed into an active, member of a loving community save for the ever-suspecting social worker Moira who constantly puts a damper on his role as a father.
    • 3/5
      ** spoiler alert ** Another good Binchy read...though nothing else compares to Circle of Friends. I could have done without the "twist" at the end where it turns out Frankie wasn't his daughter...because that just seemed unnecessary. And it's unfortunate that Moira just turned out to be a horrible person...whatever happened to at least one redeeming quality?
    • 3/5
      This book surprised me. Never read anything by this author - always looked a bit too twee. But, having read one, that is doing her a disservice. This book follows the first year of young Frankie's life. She doesn't have the best of starts, being an accidental child, conceived on a presumed drunken night out. Her mother has terminal cancer and, as expected fails to survive the cesarean section. Thus Frankie comes into the world motherless. but she does have a father. Noel is one of life's drifters and is in a dead end job and a drunk. But, somehow, Frankie manages to pull him out of himself and he determines to turn life around. in this he is helped by a whole cast of characters in the street. there is a fly in the ointment, and that's the Social worker, Moira, who is portrayed very much as being the enemy - always looking for every slight slip that Noel might make as an excuse to remove the child from his care.

      Initially I thought this was far too twee. I don't know that communities of this sort really exist any more (not to say that's a good thing), but as the book progressed, it became clear that appearances are sometimes deceptive. Real life things do happen in this community, jobs are lost, true love fizzles and turns sour, children of settled family are nothing of the sort, it all happens. There is something to be said about a child being brought up in a loving, if unconventional household, rather thane being brought up in a conventional family, albeit completely without love, care & affection. And this point was made from several angles. It's a cast of thousands, but they're all somewhat believable. And, I will admit to being reduced to tears by the death. That would be the way to go, if one had to go at all.

      So, in summary, better than I had expected. Not afraid to dodge reality, even if there is still a sense of things falling into place. It's not a fairytale ending, but you do leave the book thinking that they'll muddle through and that things may well just turn out alright in the end.
    • 4/5
      Though she is only briefly in the pages of this book, Stella is the catalyst that drives the plot. She sets in motion a chain of events that affects nearly everyone in the tale. She convinces Noel that he is the father of her unborn child, Frankie, and should assume guardianship of the soon-to-be born child. Frankie eventually becomes part of everyone’s life in this small village in one way or another. As people rise to fill the need that caring for Frankie necessitates, their lives change in ways that enrich the community as a whole and its residents as individuals. This novel is rich in characters as well as story threads, and if the author is a bit manipulative in weaving them together, it is forgivable as the result is a marvelous story that should not be missed.
    • 4/5
      Noel is struggling to find a bit of meaning in his life. He has a mediocre job, lives with his parents and drinks away his boredom each night. Then he finds out that a one night stand from a few months before resulted in a pregnancy and his impending fatherhood forces him to get his life in order. Noel is surrounded by family and friends who are willing to support him and help, but a social worker named Moira is convinced he can’t be trusted with the child. This one failed to really hook me. The whole time we’re suppose to hate Moira, which I did, but that doesn’t make for a great story. There were so many different characters and plots that the story kept loosing focus. I liked the American cousin and some of the other supporting characters, but it was too disjointed for my tastes. BOTTOM LINE: If you’re a die-hard Binchy fan you should read it. If you aren’t but you’d like to check her out, start with Circle of Friends, Evening Class or Tara Road.
    • 4/5
      Set in Dublin, this heartwarming story develops around the birth of a little girl named Frankie and the many people who come together to "mind" her during her first year. There's a large cast of characters and many subplots, all drawing the reader into the Irish neighborhood in which they live.
    • 3/5
      Maeve Binchy writes in her usual uplifting style about people who work through life's problems with the help of friends and family leading to a happy ending for almost everyone. A pleasant read.
    • 5/5
      When Noel learns that a former flame is terminally ill and pregnant with a child that she claims is his, he agrees to take care of the baby girl once she is born. A recovering alcoholic who is barely keeping his inner demons at bay, Noel is perhaps not the most promising of fathers but despite everything, he could well turn out to be Baby Frankie's best hope.Luckily, Noel has a very close network of friends and family who are ready to help him raise Frankie. There is love-starved Lisa, who becomes his round-the-clock partner in little Frankie's care, his American cousin and pep-talker, Emily, as well as a host of eager babysitters from all around the close-knit Irish community of Jarlath Crescent, Dublin who are ready to step up and offer their services to Noel.The unusual arrangement works out well for everyone concerned until a nosy social worker, Moira arrives. She is convinced that the best thing for Frankie is to be raised in a foster home and she has the power to make that happen. However, she has her own secrets to hide. Now the entire community of Jarlath Crescent must come together and prove to Moira that they each have something to offer in the raising of little Frankie.I really, really enjoyed this book and found it to be extremely heartwarming and a true feel good story. I gave this book an A+! and happily put it away on my bookshelf. I will probably reread it in a couple of years time. I was very surprised to learn from her website that Maeve Binchy passed away on July 30, 2012 after a short illness. As I've probably said before, Maeve Binchy was one of my favorite authors and in my opinion, she will be sorely missed by readers all over the world. God bless you, Maeve. may your soul rest in peace.
    • 4/5
      I'd recommend this book to anyone who had given up on the world. Maeve Binchy inhabits a cozy Irish world where neighbors help neighbors and people, generally try to do the right thing. Those who are outside this realm usually get their comeuppance, or see the light through some kind of epiphany. None of her books are going to win the Pulitzer or the National Book Award, but this story of a down-at-the-heels alcoholic young man who finds himself the father of a child whom he doesn't remember conceiving, and then finds that he has strengths that he never imagined himself to possess, is uplifting and heartwarming. It's the perfect read for when one finds the world to be completely hopeless.
    • 5/5
      Maeve Binchy has done it again!! She writes of the real world with all the trials and tribulations. She does not avoid complications and unhappy situations but always leaves me with the feeling that people and life are good and worthwhile. What a wonderful storyteller!
    • 3/5
      Ultimately a heart-warming story of community and family that evolve from need. A terminally ill pregnant woman pleads with Noel, an aimless alcoholic, to take responsibility for her unborn child. The concurrent arrival of his cousin from New York sets a series of events into motion that surround Frankie, the baby girl, with love and devotion and commitment. Of course, it's a bumpy road along the way for most of the people involved, but in Binchy fashion the resolution is satisfying.
    • 3/5
      I used to love Maeve Binchy novels, and now I can't think of why I did. Were they better in the past? Did I get pickier?The book centers around the birth of a child whose mother dies of cancer as the child is born. A lot of drama revolved around the fitness of the single father as a parent. He's harassed through the whole book by a social worker with way too many opinions. Subplots were tied up in one or two sentences at times, and the central question was resolved with no apparent explanation. It was way too "light". The characters were nice, but with a cast of thousands (ok, it just seemed like thousands) it was hard to keep track of who many of them were. I'd rather read Marian Keyes.
    • 4/5
      Binchy's books have become somewhat formulaic but she still pulls at my heartstrings with her stories of down-to-earth people and their problems.The "Frankie" of the title is Frances Stella Dixon Lynch. Her mother, Stella, was hospitalized with cancer while Frankie was still in the womb. Stella phones Noel Lynch shortly before her due date and asks him to come to the hospital to see her. Noel hasn't seen Stella since a drunken night together and he has no idea of her condition. So he is understandably gobsmacked when Stella tells him he is the father and she wants him to look after Frankie. Stella knows that she will not survive the Cesaerean section that will give birth to Frankie and she wants everything settled. Noel reacts by running out of the ward, not what Stella was hoping for. But he then comes back and agrees to try to look after Frankie. Noel is an alcoholic and he understands he must give up "the gargle" in order to be able to raise Frankie. His American cousin, Emily, is a major help to Noel and, indeed, to everyone in the neighbourhood. It is not all smooth sailing but everyone pitches in. As the saying goes "It takes a village to raise a child". The only one who doesn't believe Noel should have Frankie is the social worker, Moira. She keeps showing up for surprise visits hoping to find Noel drinking or the baby being neglected.Some characters from Binchy's other books appear in this one and it's nice to meet up with them again. They don't have major roles but it's like going home and catching up on the neighbourhood gossip. I imagine Noel and Emily and Moira will probably appear in some future book and that will be nice.
    • 4/5
      This is why we like her.