A distinct lack of sparkling stars (Nights of Rain and Stars - Maeve Binchy)

Name: Delicate_Orchid1

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Nights of Rain and Stars - Maeve Binchy
Date:	29.10.05 (244 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: average read, some very good characters

Disadvantages: a very forgettable read, some very weak characters

As a caveat, I should probably explain that I have never been a fan of Maeve Binchy. But I also never disliked her. I read a couple of her books before reading “Nights of rain and stars” and I liked them, but they did not overwhelm me at all. So what did I think of this little part of her wide collection?

By complete coincidence, five tourists vacationing in the Greek village of Aghia Anna meet at a taverna. Two are from Ireland, one from the United States, one from Germany and one from England. All five of them left home in search of something different, leaving friends and family behind.

Fiona and Shane are from Ireland. Fiona is a young girl who is desperately in love with Shane, who was never accepted by her family – hence she had to leave home to be with him in peace. Thomas is from the United States. After he split up with his wife, he decided to take a sabbatical and sort out his life. His main confusion is with respect to his young son - Thomas is simply does not know whether it is better for him to stay away from his son or to be around him. For now he is giving his son space. Elsa, who had a successful TV career in Germany, abandoned her job and the love of her life because of a disagreement between the two of them – but will he be easy to get rid of? And David from England has escaped home because he found himself to be very different from what his parents would want him to be – he simply does not want to run his father’s business that he inherited.

In Aghia Anna, these five individuals meet Vonni, and Irish woman who lived in the village for decades and turns out to be a very interesting influence on their lives. Will they listen to the advice she imparts, even though it may not be the solution they hope it to be? Or will they ignore her? Will they be happy? Or will their lives remain in turmoil?

I must say, the distinctly average nature of this book is seen immediately when looking at the characters. Half of them are brilliant and the other half are bland. I found that Binchy had it easier with the female characters – Fiona came across as naïve and confused, Elsa as beautiful, successful and headstrong and Vonni as loveable, intelligent and motherly. I disliked Fiona, Elsa made me grin and Vonni was the one character I found some kind of attachment to. As for the male characters – they completely left me cold, to the extent that I could not even remember their names after putting the book down.

During the course of the story, Binchy has scenes where she only deals with some of the characters – and then there are scenes where all characters are present. One of the problems I found with the book is that the jumping from scene to scene was sometimes a little rough. It just did not quite fit. It was not like a cliffhanger that made me want to read on to return to the story – it just left me unfulfilled and not caring about that part of the story.

Another flaw with the book is definitely the predictability of it all. I do not think that any of the conclusions of the individual storylines on the individuals came as a surprise to me. And the ending was extremely unrealistic – heartwarming, but unrealistic. But what does one expect from this genre? Most books end in this kind of fluffy way.

On the upside – there are worse books you could choose to read. It is an easy read, not particularly full of images that are overwhelming and beautiful, but enjoyable enough. It has 17 chapters – but the book is written in such a way that interrupting a read in the middle of the story and picking it up a little later is not much of a problem. And yes, in the end it is just one of those feel-good stories.

So would I recommend it? If you are a Maeve Binchy fan, I am sure you will like this one, too. It is very similar in make-up and feel to books such as “Tara Road” and “Scarlet Feather”. If you generally do not like fluffy reads – this one is a lot less nauseating than some other books of this genre, so you may about be able to stomach it. But if you are looking for an unforgettable read – steer well clear. It’s not going to be that memorable night of rain and stars that you are looking for.


***Further information***

Orion Books
Pages: 392
Price (paperback): £6.99
ISBN 0-75286-536-6

Summary: A very average read with some great characters and some very poor ones.