A review by meghankg
Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy

3.0

As my favorite author, I often find it incredibly difficult to objectively rate and review Binchy's novels, but in this case my rating was fairly easy to determine. In many ways I had the same problem with this "novel" that I did with both The Lilac Bus and The Copper Beech - it lacked a true central narrative that I could allow myself to become absorbed in, which is something I've always enjoyed about so many of her other books (Tara Road, Firefly Summer, Light a Penny Candle...). While I appreciated that each of the vignettes focused on two characters, thus giving two sides to an individual story, the attempt to connect them together with the over-arching debate surrounding Rossmore, the new road, St. Ann's Well, and Father Flynn's dilemma was ultimately too tenuous, and I often found myself having to flip back through the book to remember which characters belonged to which story and had relationships with each other. Overall, while as usual I enjoyed Binchy's authentic style and characters, this is one that I don't see myself wanting to revisit, but would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading collections of short stories.