Bibliofemme Bookclub An Irish Bookclub

When Maeve Binchy published Scarlet Feather in 2001 we were told it was her last novel. The loss of an Irish author of Binchy’s calibre has left a gaping hole on the shelves in many bookshops around the world; a hole which countless young female Irish authors have since tried to fill, with very little success. However in August of this year Maeve Binchy published Nights of Rain and Stars and we breathed a sigh of relief: Binchy is back.

Set in Greece in a small village called Aghia Anna, the story is told around six central characters, all with one thing in common; they are running away from home.

David is from England and is trying to resist entering his father’s brokerage business. Elsa is German and a successful television reporter, who has left her job and her partner behind. Thomas is a divorced academic from America, who wants to do the best thing for his son, but doesn’t know how. Fiona is an Irish nurse who has run away with her disagreeable boyfriend despite the views of her family and friends. Added to the mix is local tavern owner Andreas, whose son left home to go to America nine years ago and hasn’t been home since and Vonnie, an Irishwoman who has lived in the area for years.

They are all out for lunch one day in Andreas’ tavern when tragedy unfolds – an explosion on a local tourist boat in the harbour below. The event starts them talking to each other and their individual dilemmas are identified; they find mutual comfort and this group of disconnected people get a sense of belonging they haven’t experienced before.

Although one can never find too much fault with a Maeve Binchy novel, I do wonder why she chose to set this book in Greece. While all her previous books evoke an incredible sense of place and her vivid descriptions bring pages to life, Nights of Rain and Stars is flat and boring in comparison. There is only the barest glimpse of Greek life from the inside and these details give the impression of having been gleaned from a travel book. Her characters retain their usual warmth and the reader can identify with them, although they do all sound Irish – even though only three of them actually are.

Nights of Rain and Stars is not up to the standard of Binchy’s earlier work, but I think any Maeve Binchy novel is worth a read, and who knows this may very well be the last one (although we have heard that before).