I was very excited to see that Maeve Binchy has a new book out called Heart and Soul. It seems that a few years back Binchy herself visited a heart clinic as a patient, and so decided to make it the setting for her new book.
I do love her work and have read all her novels. This one incorporated a lot of characters from earlier books. If you read Scarlet Feather, Quentins, Tara Road, or Evening Class (or others!) you will recognize characters and plot lines from those books.
This is not a short book – over 400 pages – and I read it in large print – 680 pages! – in order to get it more quickly from the library. In part this book is a series of vignettes, telling the background or behind-the-scene stories of the staff and patients who attend the heart clinic at the center of the book. Binchy fans all agree that Maeve is a veteran storyteller – with stories that leave you feeling warm and happy. She is beloved. However, Heart and Soul didn’t quite capture me. While I loved the stories, I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters in this book and had to think to keep them all straight. I was once taught that in writing all characters must serve a purpose, so I had to wonder about the inclusion of some of these characters (such as Tim – and I bet you’re saying ,”Wait, who was Tim??”) – except that it did lead to a somewhat tidy ending, with people paired up nicely and happily. I also felt that some of the characters were unevenly developed. I would have loved to learn more about Declan (who seemed to stop mid-novel), but I felt Ania was portrayed as a saint. I rather liked Bobby’s rude and abrasive wife, and would have liked to see her turnabout better portrayed.
In all, I would give this book 3 1/2 Stars. I liked it, but I didn’t love it as I have some of her other novels (Light a Penny Candle, Evening Class, The Glass Lake, Silver Wedding). Perhaps part of it is me as a reader – I love to read about “old Ireland” and Binchy has changed her style to reflect the new, modern Ireland, which I find less charming. Regardless, Maeve Binchy is still one of my favorite writers and I will look forward to her next novel!