NIGHT OF RAIN AND STARS by Maeve Binchy
Maeve Binchy can create an involving story better than just about anyone writing today. And she can get the reader into a story quicker and more completely than anyone else. Her latest novel, NIGHT OF RAIN AND STARS, is a solid example of these traits.
The story starts with a tragic boating accident that involves visitors and inhabitants of the small Greek Island village of Aghia Anna. Four tourists watch the tragic incident from the mountaintop restaurant where they are dining. These four - David, Thomas, Elsa and Fiona - are bonded by the incident. They also become instant friends with Andreas who runs the restaurant.
Each tourist is running away from something. Thomas' marriage has ended and he has left California in order to give his son Bill a chance to bond with his new stepfather. Elsa is fleeing a love affair that has gone bad. David does not want to be absorbed into the family business. And Fiona has fallen in love with Shane and her family does not approve.
The four tourists, plus Shane, stay on the island for a while and try to sort out their lives. All are influenced by a woman named Vonni, who came to the island following her heart; and then stayed after it was broken. Vonni's life impacts on the lives of each of the four tourists who she befriends.
Not a lot happens in this story but that doesn't matter. Binchy writes with such skill that the reader is fascinated by even the little things that occur. Plus you grow to care about these characters in such a way that you crave every bit of information you can gain. And when the story has ended you still want more.
If Binchy has an interest in creating a sequel then the readers of this book would certainly gobble up another installment on the lives of these people. They are each and every one worthy of further revelations. And if ever a book made you want to travel to and visit a while in the Greek Islands then this is it. They are described in such a way as to seem like Paradise on earth.
There are no gunfights, no car chases, no murders per se in this story, but it will keep you glued to each page more than any thriller ever could. Maeve Binchy writes about real people with real problems. She looks inside their hearts and sends them inside ours.
NIGHT OF RAIN AND STARS is published by Dutton Books. It contains 294 pages and sells for $25.95.