Book Review: Maeve's Times

As soon as I noticed this book on the recent acquisitions shelf at the library I snatched it up. I have been so sad since Maeve Binchy's death, in July of 2012, to think that we will never receive another dose of her fine writing. Thus, I eagerly plunged into this collection of pieces she had written for The Irish Times over the years.

While some of them were of no interest to me (the political pieces especially), they were all well-written and full of Binchy flair. Each piece created a tiny microcosm of a world and then concluded with a statement about that microcosm or thought. I laughed out loud a time or two and generally enjoyed the time spent with another Binchy book (even though it is quite different from reading her novels - which would be my preferred fare). Several of the pieces were vignettes of characters or individuals she had met. I think those were my favorite of the brief essays compiled in this book.

If you've never read anything by Maeve Binchy before, please start with one of the novels (like Tara Road). But, if you are already a Binchy fan, then you will probably enjoy this non-fiction book of her pieces. As far as I'm concerned, you can't go wrong with Maeve Binchy's writing.