Maeve Binchy wrote a collection of short stories, tales from inside the lives of the people living on Chestnut Street in Dublin. And in this, what will unfortunately most likely be her last published original work, those stories are collected.
It is difficult to review a short story collection, there is so much at the same time that there is so little. So I’ll just mention a couple of my favorites. Bucket, the window cleaner who goes everywhere on his bicycle and will do anything for his delinquent son. Liberty, the frustrated girl whose parents are worried about everyone’s freedom but deny hers. Dumpy Dolly and her perfect mother, who may not be so perfect after all. Lillian with her kind heart, letting people step all over her, and with a fiancé that no one likes. Nessa, whose American aunt may not be as cultured, well-off, or understanding as she seems.
What happens behind the closed doors of the homes on Chestnut Street is life, in all its beautiful ugliness. Each story left me wanting more, a whole book that would tie all of these stories and all of these people together. Because is as the case with so many short stories, it seems like someone forgot the ending. Nevertheless, these are captivating glimpses into life for an array of interesting characters.
Author: Maeve Binchy
Genre: Fiction, Short Stories
Pages: 384
Publication: Knopf, April 2014
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