Maeve

My favourite novels by Maeve Binchy, an update on the Read Irish Women Challenge, and a reading update.

Hallo, it’s me, Laura King. You must be thinking, Laura, Taylor Swift released a 31 song album on Friday morning, with so many literary and historical references to analyze, surely you have not had a second to write and record a newsletter? I hope that this is proof of my love for Maeve Binchy and my commitment to celebrating books by Irish women that I took a break (but I do wonder if “My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys” is about Jack Foley from Circle of Friends). Last week I wrote about Norah Hoult, a once popular author who went out of favour and eventually, almost faded into obscurity. A few months before I’d written about Maeve Brennan, who in her younger days was a glamorous one to watch until everyone turned away from the difficult, “mad woman” she became. The subject of this week’s newsletter needs no introduction or rehabilitation, Maeve Binchy is still one of the reigning queens of fiction by Irish women twelve years after she passed away.

 I’ve gone on a bit of a journey with Binchy over the years. I remember my Lady Mother had some of her books at home and recommended them to me as a teenager. I really enjoyed the few I remember - Tara Road and Scarlet Feather, mostly - but then I went off to college and was exposed to lots of new work and didn’t really read much for fun. I don’t think I actively looked down on her writing, but I definitely would have thought of it as “light, chick lit” and remained fond of her but didn’t really think of her anymore. I don’t think it’s useful to try to argue that Binchy’s work was more “literary” than it was, because books don't have to win high brow prizes in order to be good or enjoyable, but I think her reputation suffers because of the cosy vibes and older, bland covers  that people don’t tend to look beyond.

I returned to Binchy, borrowing audiobooks of books I’d read before and books new to me, a few years ago when Caroline O’Donoghue interviewed Sarah Maria Griffin for a live interview on the Sentimental Garbage podcast about Circle of Friends. I was a fan of that podcast and both authors already, and their friendship really comes through when you’re listening to the show, and I felt like I was in on the conversation, having a great laugh with pals. From memory they discuss their relationship with Binchy - I think they are similar enough in age to me or slightly older -  and had similar experiences of reading Binchy because she was a household name and were maybe a little young to appreciate her fully.

I thought this a lot as I read Circle of Friends, which I know is on the Leaving Cert, or is some years at least, but I was glad that I read that when I was a bit older, because if I’d read it as a teenager I think I would have just read it at a surface level. This experience taught me that there are loads of layers in Binchy’s books, and you can really happily enjoy them just taking them as they are, but on closer look they’re a little more complex, and a more attentive reading is very rewarding. In Circle of Friends, we see a generation of women at a time of great change, more independent than their parents before them, but they’re still very constrained too.  I think this novel in particular works so well because the premise and a lot of the feelings have remained relevant to young people over the years. Bennie Hogan is an endearing if sometimes frustrating main character, and Binchy widens the scope of her narrative to show us the different people in Bennie's life, in seemingly irrelevant passages that come together to make up a whole world in these 700 pages. Circle of Friends seems like a big block of a book, but it's so immersive and a real treat, certainly comforting in the way great stories are, but it is not without its darker moments, and deals with grief, disappointment and shame alongside themes of friendship, growing up and first love. 

O'Donoghue and Griffin had a follow up podcast episode on Evening Class, when I was deep in my Binchy reread. I was also deep into a migraine spanning a few days when I listened to it, and I remember thinking it would cheer me up and keep me company while I was bedbound, which it did in a way, but I laughed so hard at the two authors skitting about Nora and Mario that I made my migraine twice as bad, but still wasn't mad at it. This novel tells the story of a group of people who come together to set up and take part in an Italian evening class in the local school, from the  ambitious school teacher who has been overlooked and the mysterious Irish woman who has been living in Italy for years, to a whole cast of wonderful characters with their own rich, surprising and sometimes shocking backstories and their various motivations for learning Italian. I was surprised at how secrecy and shame hangs over many of these characters, perhaps the main takeaway of the book is how in any group or setting, you just don’t know what exactly the people around you are going through, a recurring feature in Binchy’s work. And in her trademark style, she rewards the characters who are kind and brave enough to try to help someone else, or help themselves.

I think the book I remember best from reading as a teenager, probably because I also saw the film adaptation, was Tara Road. I think this is a great start for those new to Binchy, and will be a familiar enough premise for fans of the film The Holiday (two heartbroken women swap houses, and continents, and get a chance of a fresh start and meeting new people). I found the friendship between the two women incredibly moving even if it only takes place towards the end of the book, and the moment where they finally meet in person at the very end felt more emotional and rewarding than any romantic reunion possibly could have.  Like all of Binchy's books, Tara Road is light and comforting in one light, but as always has a darker side to it. Binchy never flinches away from domestic problems but the reader knows everything will be ok in the end (and if it’s not ok, it’s not the end).

At the moment, I’d say my favourite Binchy novel is Quentins, which I felt was unsurprising as I loved the mentions of this glamorous, high end restaurant with a homey feel in all the books. Many of Binchy’s books are set in the same universe, and while some characters only pass in and out, the elegant and welcoming restaurant, with the capable and sometimes clairvoyant seeming hostess Brenda, is surely a staple in this comforting Dublin of Binchy's novels. Brenda always knows the right thing to say, how to make every night at the restaurant so special, and is incredibly adaptable and discreet when a scandal breaks out at dinner (i.e. in every single book). Brenda doesn't narrate all of this book, which is a pity, but just serves to make her seem more elusive - however we do get to learn more about her by the people who have loved her or been helped by her over the years. Through Quentin's you also get to revisit the characters you loved in novels such as Evening Class and Tara Road, which is such a delight because Binchy’s characters do feel like old friends. 

Read Irish Women Challenge Update 

15. A book from your to be read pile: The Colony by Audrey McGee

16. A book with an animal on the cover: As You Were by Elaine Feeney

17. A book of fantasy, mythology or science fiction: Tangleweed and Brine by Deirdre Sullivan

18. A book featuring physical or mental health issues: Who Walks These Halls by Amy Clarkin

19: A book that talks about injustice: Republic of Shame by Caoileann Hogan

20. A book with several locations: Nora by Nuala O’Connor

21: A book that went viral, or focuses on social media: This Is How You Remember It by Catherine Prasifka

Reading Update:

Physical book: Private Rites by Julia Armfield is every bit as unsettling and compelling as I've come to expect from her, and she just gets better with every book. It comes out in June from 4th Estate. 

E-reader: I've just started The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, which is about a woman working with refugees from history, as part of a time travel experiment by the British government. A bit of a different one for me but I'm definitely intrigued and it's already getting a lot of praise even though it's not out until May, when it will be published by Hodder and Stoughton.

Audiobook:Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeane O’Donnell, which is really interesting historical fiction/kind of fantasy set in Victorian London, though I have been finding it a little slow. 

Thank you for reading, and I hope you join me next week for a new installment of LauraEatsBooks… Marian.