MAEVE

I was in my early twenty's when I read Tara Road and was instantly hooked. Maeve Binchy's writing style of intertwined characters kept me intrigued throughout her books and my life. I have enthusiastically read all of her books and was quite saddened today when my husband emailed me this article sharing of her passing this week. BBC NEWS  She made me want to travel to Ireland; she made me want to travel everywhere. I, like many others, are emotionally drawn in and connect with every character. Even though I read some books years ago, I still remember these characters when she cleverly reintroduces them in her new books. 

I came across this interview on bookreport.com that perfectly sums up why I love her so much...

 "Maeve talks about themes common to many of her stories. She underscores the huge importance family has in the Irish culture and how families have a strength that comes from caring about each other. She also tackles class-consciousness, feeling strongly, since everyone in Ireland was a peasant at one time, the Irish have no right to be snobbish about position and class.

           

She also has a lot to say about courage and taking a stand:  “I also wanted to embrace the notion that courage is what makes people win. It’s not beauty or wealth, but simply people being courageous and strong in the face of adversity. That’s really the main theme of an awful lot of my books. . . and I think that’s why people seem to like them.”

            

A theme that runs through all of Maeve Binchy’s books is the power of love: “We’re nothing if we’re not loved. When you meet somebody who is more important to you than yourself, that has to be the most important thing in life, really. And I think we are all striving for it in different ways. I also believe very, very strongly that everybody is the hero/heroine of his/her own life. I try to make my characters kind of ordinary, somebody that anybody could be. Because we’ve all had loves, perhaps love and loss, people can relate to my characters.”

A beautiful person with such a wonderful outlook on life, love and courage. I will miss your stories Maeve Binchy. xox