With the success of her debut novel, Light a Penny Candle (published in 1982), Maeve Binchy successfully drew in a forever crowd of devoted, predominantly female, followers. Twenty-eight years and sixteen novels later (not to mention countless novellas and short stories), she has yet again managed to captivate thousands with her newest work of art, Minding Frankie (first published in 2010 by Orion).
Brief Synopsis
Noel is a full-time alcoholic and part-time factory worker; unwilling to move from the house he grew up in with his extremely devout Catholic parents, he spends his his free time either alone or with a bottle of Jack. Needless to say, when he learns that his former fling is terminally ill and pregnant with his child, his world is turned upside-down.
She wants him to step up and be a father, but Noel has some serious doubts about the whole thing, up to and including the paternity of the child. After some intense soul-searching (alone and with his cousin Emily), he decides to make some major changes in his life; he will quit drinking and become a member of Alcoholics Anonymous; he will enroll in night classes in order to obtain a better position at his job; and he will take over custody of the child, Frankie. But there is absolutely no way he can do it alone, especially with Sarah, the obsessive social worker assigned to the case, scrutinizing his every move.
Character Overview
"Fortunately, he has a competent, caring network of friends, family and neighbors: Lisa, his unlucky-in-love classmate, who moves in with him to help him care for little Frankie around the clock; his American cousin, Emily, always there with a pep talk; the newly retired Dr. Hat, with more time on his hands than he knows what to do with; Dr. Declan and Fiona and their baby son, Frankie's first friend; and many eager babysitters, including old friends Signora and Aidan and Frankie's doting grandparents, Josie and Charles." Ebook Reviews "Retrieved on March 18, 2011"
Let's not forget about Simon and Maud Mitchell, the young, quirky twins who made their debut in Scarlet Feather, as well as Cathy and Tom Feather, and Cathy's parents Muttance (Muttie) and Lizzie Scarlet. Father Brian Flynn of Whitethorn Woods was also a prominent character, and the role he played in the story served a huge purpose; essentially, he brought Frankie to Noel. And without Frankie, there would be no story.
Unique, Inventive Storytelling
Maeve Binchy manages to incorporate quite a few characters from her many other novels into this one intensely emotional, "curl up with a cup of hot cocoa" story. You get to know her characters; they're a great "Circle of Friends". You feel for them and you grow to love them - sometimes you are even lucky enough to watch them grow from children into adults. You watch them live and laugh and love, you watch them die and you watch them mourn. You're swept along for the ride and helpless to stop it. This is one of those rare instances where I have found myself loathe to put the book down.
Throughout the novel you also come across references of Maeve's other novels (mainly Whitethorn Woods and Scarlet Feather) and, for anyone who has read them, the comments in this book are nice surprises. For example, we now know that Tom Feather and Cathy Scarlet married and had a child! That was an interesting development, to say the least.
However, like any story out there, I found there were certain small disappointments. For example, when Muttie receives upsetting medical news, his daughter Cathy was not nearly as prominent in the aftermath as I would have expected her to be. And as far as the ending is concerned, I feel the letter written to Frankie from her mother, before her birth, was extremely vague and impersonal. Let downs are to be expected though, and in Minding Frankie they lie few and far between.
Overall, I would have to say this is a great read, and Maeve Binchy did justice to her name as a story-teller once again. I would not recommend starting to read it until you have a decent amount of spare time, however. Once you begin to read Minding Frankie, I guarantee you will not want to stop.
Shayna Archer - Shayna is an aspiring young novelist and children's story-teller, and first time writer for Suite101. As a mother of two, the only time ...
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