Quentins by Maeve Binchy

Quentins
by Maeve Binchy
Pub. Date: October 2002
Genre: Fiction
488pp

Synopsis from BN.com:
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Why I Picked It:
Ireland seems like such a charming, beautiful and enchanting place. If I had my life to do over, I think I would live there for a year or two. But since I can't, I've become a huge fan of Ireland based novels. Especially those written by Maeve Binchy and Marion Keyes. Maeve Binchy's writing style is classic, fluid, comforting, and she writes compassionate, troubled, and compelling characters in the midst of personal battles we can all relate to intermixed with the triumph of the human spirit. Okay, that sounds very wordy, but it's true. I've read Binchy's Tara Road as well as Circle of Friends - both have been made into movies that were well done, but still, as most adaptations, inferior to the depth of the novel.

My Review:
Maeve Binchy's books are always a comfort read as you snuggle up on the couch and escape back into the lives of some friends we have met before and are introduced to new faces in the neighborhood. This book revisits in little bursts, Ria Lynch from Tara Road and the twins from Scarlet Feather (a book I have not read).

Ella Brady is a 5th grade school teacher who grew up in a sprawling home with a garden on Tara Road. Her parents spent their lives providing a charmed life for her, and Ella, unspoiled, is appreciative, competant and loyal. However, she is affected by the realization of her parents overly familiar and passionless marriage, and she dives into an affair with a married financial manager, Don Richardson. Their relationship ends abruptly in the midst of a public betrayal as he disappears, fleeing to Spain with his wife and family, devastating the financial savings and investments of many in the Dublin community, including those of Ella's own parents.

To get over her heartbreak, Ella throws herself into producing a documentary about the history of local restaurant Quentins. We learn more about Brenda and Patrick Brennan who run Quentins, hear the stories of many Quentins patrons over the years, and even meet Quentin himself. As you'd expect from Binchy, the stories are funny, sad, and heartwarming. The magic of Maeve Binchy is once again discovered. This book does not disappoint. It has been a perfect read against the backdrop of our own gloomy winter weather this week, and as I sit with my cup of tea, curled up on my sofa, it's a relaxing and charming read.