Maeve Binchy has the knack for making stories about ordinary people be very interesting. She is like Anne Tyler in this.
Echoes is no exception to the usual Binchy “Aga saga” formula, and it is just as absorbing as her later books. It is the story of Clare O'Brien, a shopkeeper’s daughter in a second-rate Irish beach town, and David Power, the son of the town’s only doctor. The two have mostly divergent, post-war childhoods, but meet up in Dublin in the early 1960s when Clare goes to college and David is in medical school.
It feels like Binchy took a look at an older couple she knew in the present day, went back, and told the story of how they grew up, met, and fell in love. Their lives are not extraordinary, but their story keeps your attention.
OTHER REVIEWS
(If you would like your review of this book, or any other Maeve Binchy book, listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.)
NOTES
This counts as one of my books for the Chunkster Challenge. I am not doing so well with this challenge and think I over-committed. Luckily, the punishment for changing my participation level at this late stage is . . . nonexistent. That's the thing about blogging -- it is not obligatory.
You're right Binchey can make anything sound interesting!
ReplyDelete