“A Week in Winter” by Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy’s last novel “A Week in Winter” was published posthumously. And it didn’t surprise me that this book set a record for the most pre-orders ever for a book on Amazon. Readers’ love for this excellent storyteller is not only understandable but also absolutely justified.

Maeve Binchy writes about people. She doesn’t write to shock or to entertain. Her stories are like a mirror of life itself, with its glorious moments and happiness as well as bitter downfalls. Her characters seem real. You read and you can easily imagine meeting the owner of the most popular restaurant next time you’ll go out for a meal in a fashionable place.

“A Week in Winter” is a story about different people trying to find their true place in this world. The most diverse company of strangers meet in a new hotel in a remote Irish coastal town. The reasons why they ended up in this place outside the holiday season are vastly different but at the same time, curiously similar. They all are not happy. And they are desperately trying to find that anchor, which would tie them back to their dreams and hopes. Which would let them see that something bright is waiting for them in the future.

“A Week in Winter” is written in Maeve Binchy’s trademark style. Several seemingly unconnected stories get woven into a multi-layered blanket of what is called – life.

As it happens every time when I read one of this author’s books, I cried, and smiled, and felt elated. I went through the hardships and moments of happiness together with its characters.

I recommend this book to everyone who needs their faith in common miracles to be revived.