This weekend, I finished Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy. Binchy, who also wrote Circle of Friends among many others, sets her novels in Ireland. Anyone who has been to Ireland can tell you what wonderful people the Irish are. I fell in love with them when I was there, and am still smitten. I'm not sure if there is a more friendly type of people in the world.
Binchy does a wonderful job creating a community in Dublin, Ireland, of exactly the kind of people you would want to find there. In her own words, " I wanted to make it cheerful and positive and funny, which is what we all need." She did it smashingly. It was like visiting somewhere and staying long enough to become familiar, but leaving while you still like it enough to be eager to plan your return. I hear people describe Binchy's novels like a warm bath, or a comfortable chair with cozy blankets. So far, I agree; and this will not be the last of Binchy on my bookshelf. Heart and Soul was pleasant and enjoyable. One would think that a story in which there was nothing particularly suspenseful would lose it's hold on the reader. Not so in this case, and what's more--I was sad to leave it. I am thankful for the lack of tension in the reading. If there had been more, it would have been impossible for it to be so charming.
Five Coconuts
xo,
The Coconut Librarian
* This book fulfilled task 10.1 of my list for The Book Challenge.
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