ALL OF THEM!
Dear Friend,
I MEANT to write to you about my favourite Maeve Binchy novel, but as I thought over each one and how it affected me, I found I couldn’t choose a favourite. Each book represents a world full of meaning, a haven for my soul, a time in my life and a place within my heart. Each book has stayed with me and still pops up in my mind from time to time. So I am going to write about that instead — what Maeve and her books mean to me, although that could almost be a book in itself.
Maeve is one of us, a writer, a soul with something to say to the world, her soul’s expression continuing even after she has departed from it, in her many short stories, essays, and novels. She puts her own mark on what it means to be a writer, with her direct, simple and witfilled conversational writing style cutting straight to the core.
She does not get caught up in impressing readers with difficultto-read fancy literary fluff, or even proper grammar at times. She opts instead to be approachable, relatable, and enjoyable for a wide audience and to create a deeper impression where it really matters: their hearts.
She makes the case for why it is worth being human, why a human life is worth living and saving, and why human relationships are worth having. She uses her many characters and their stories to take us through the best and worst parts of people, life and society, speaking in some way to and about us all. In a changing world where human lives and values seem to be rapidly depleting, Maeve tells it all and fills the heart with hope for humanity and its restoration.
In reading Maeve’s books, I began to perceive one of the greatest humanitarians and philosophers of our time. I now see her as a modern-day Aesop — there are important lessons to be learned in the stories she tells.
It’s satisfyingly fitting that she lived in Dublin, home of the greatest writers, and I loved feeling the connection to Ireland, a special place and people key to her work.
I found a kindred spirit in Maeve, as her words spoke to my soul and situation with the love of a trusted friend, counsellor or even a mother who knew exactly what I felt and needed to know. To savour when things work out perfectly, to carry on when things fall apart, to discover what love really is, to heal heartbreak, to emerge better, stronger, and wiser, to trust yourself, to take a chance, to laugh and cry, to realise the magic in the world, and to feel deep peace when life is good, the stars are out and you’re alive and part of it all.
I hope that, as her soul reached mine in the pages of her books, my soul somehow reaches her now, to express my thanks, and as it found you, it will find her too.
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