I’ve read a number of Binchy’s books, though none recently, and enjoyed them. Then a friend loaned me Star, a considerably more slender volume than Binchy’s usual offerings. Replete with the usual sprinkling of stock types, Star tells the story of the youngest child in a dysfunctional Irish family – her father is addicted to gambling, her brother’s a shifty ne’er-do-well, her mother holds the family together… and Star (so nicknamed because she brings light wherever she goes) is the adored darling who can do no wrong. Until she falls in love with the dashing young son of a widower who moves in next door.
So far this has the potential for an interesting story – there are certainly enough ingredients for one of Binchy’s standard novels, with multiple story lines and a relatively tidy conclusion, with characters experiencing growth, a happy ending for some. Star herself at one point looked like she was going to evolve in to a fully-fledged person.
But Star fizzles out – the characters never take on substantial reality, some of the decisions chosen are uncharacteristic and not explained, and the resolution is abrupt and unsatisfying. My overwhelming feeling on completing this novella was “what a waste” – of time, paper and ink and money (fortunately not mine). At least it wasn’t longer. – Alex
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