The same friend who loaned me the disappointing Star brought over Nights for me to read while recuperating from a dramatic but inconsequential injury (which is allowing me to plough through books as though I were Ray Gordon surrounded by naked women – who knew I could get in a Red Hot reference!). It was with understandable trepidation that I embarked on this more substantial novel.
Four young travellers meet by chance in a taverna high in the hills above the small Greek village of Aghia Anna. Planning on just passing through, they witness fire breakout on a tour boat in the ocean far below – a boat they had been on just the day before. Helpless, they watch in horror as an international tragedy unfolds and, out of respect for the village, decide to stay on until the funeral services.
Andreas, the taverna owner, insists they ring home, to allay the fears of their no doubt anxious families, a task that is difficult for them all. As the narrative progresses we learn what each of them is fleeing – German Elsa needs space to think a man who says he loves her but has kept their relationship a secret from colleagues and family for two long years; Mancusian David is escaping the pain of an industrialist father who wants a protégé rather than a son whose hopes, talents and interests are vastly different; American Thomas thinks he’s giving his young son space to adjust to a new stepfather, but is hiding from his own fear and rejection; and Irish nurse Fiona is running from friends and family who don’t understand that her much-loved boyfriend Shane is hurt, misunderstood and vulnerable – he only hits her if she distresses him, he’s really a good man.
As Aghia Anna, particularly Irish import Vonnie, take these young tourists into their hearts and help them to work out what really matters, the villagers begin to resolve old hurts and losses.
This is Binchy at her best – the characters are well drawn and distinct, the plot is plausible and captivating, the problems are intricate and real, and the resolution is satisfying without being unrealistically neat. I wasn’t wholly convinced by Elsa’s back story, but otherwise a highly enjoyable and readable interlude, and a welcome relief after the dismal effort that was Star. – Alex
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