Over the years, Binchy's novels have chronicled the changes in Ireland as well as the lives and loves of its citizens. Like many of the other lead characters in Binchy's novels, Ella is a strong and warm young woman living in the new Ireland. More serious fans will probably appreciate knowing a little bit more about what happens to these beloved characters.īinchy does have a knack for creating strong, believable characters and the main character in Quentins, Ella Brady, is no exception.

Therefore, I found this a bit distracting, something akin to a singer throwing in previous hits on a new CD. I have read several of these works, although I couldn't recall much about them. Binchy's fans will recognize Signora from Evening Class, Ria from Tara Road and several others. However, Binchy makes that a difficult task here because she incorporates several characters from her previous novels into the action at Quentins. When I review books, I try hard to evaluate each on its own merits and not compare different works from the same author. It also boasts a bushel of happy endings. It's called ' Quentins,' (the missing apostrophe is intentional) and tells two stories one about young Ella Brady and her ill-fated love life and the other about a stylish Dublin restaurant, Quentins. I'm giving you this heads up because Maeve Binchy, who I call the Queen of Happy Endings has a new book out.

You're the ones who want to remake Casablanca so Ilsa leaps off the plane and into Rick's arms, the ones who cheer when Dorothy returns wto Kansas, the ones who break out in a cold sweat just thinking about Anna Karenina. (Reviewed by Shannon Bloomstran OCT 31, 2002)

Quentins by maeve binchy