The September Letters by Maeve Binchy

It was just a chance meeting at an airport bar while waiting for their flights.  They were an older couple who were minding their business until the younger couples' argument got violent.  When the woman breaks her drink glass and attempts to go after the man she's fighting with, they and the bar attendant step in.  When he's gone and she's had her cry, they chat a bit and then part to go their ways.  They share addresses and suggest they write once a year to stay in touch and to see if things are alright...

Edelweiss and Vintage Books gave me the opportunity to read this short story for review (thank you).  It will be published May 8th.

Ms. Binchy writes about common life and real people.  She sees into their souls and she never elevates them or makes them better than they are.  Consequently, it's like you are actually meeting the person, defects and all.  I enjoy stories like that.

In this story, the young woman was being led on by the man.  He gave her the standard song and dance about a wife that didn't understand him or his needs.  He promised marriage.  He lied.  They broke up in the bar and she went on without him.  For a while...

It's funny what people will do.  After that big scene and the knowledge he was never going to get divorced, she took him back.  She told the couple that, in her letters.  The barman never said anything about her personal life, just told her about how he and his wife were going to start a bed and breakfast.  The couple talked about what they were doing, traveling mostly.

As the years go on, the girl finally wises up and gets rid of the lover with no future.  When she finds another man and is building a new future together, the woman from the couple admits that she, too, was lying.  In that bar at the airport, more than one heart was breaking...

Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy

This is the last book from Ms. Binchy.  It's a series of short stories about folks living on a street in Dublin that she wrote in between things and stuck in a desk drawer.  It features some of the characters she's introduced you to in other novels living near each other and living regular domestic lives.  It reminded me a bit of her book "The Lilac Bus", which I loved.  Each chapter was devoted to a bus rider.  Everyone had opinions about everyone else but the rider's stories had nothing to do with assumptions.  That's how life is.

Alfred A Knopf sent me an ARC of the book for review (thank you).  It will be published May 6th, so make a note to grab a copy then.  Ms. Binchy's death has ended her writing, so be sure to get the book and a cup of tea and see what happens behind closed doors on Chestnut Street.

Each chapter is about another household.  Many of the characters know the others on the street and they are part of their stories.  I imagine this is a lot like any street.  You have happy people, sad people, distraught people, and life and death on a personal level here.

Ms. Binchy writes about real people.  They're just down-to-earth, homey people who are trying to survive.  Some are trying to climb up the ladder and leave Chestnut Street, some are happy right there, and others are just transients here temporarily.  They have normal human problems and I found a couple of stories where I questioned the author's endings.  Having the straying husband "die" did end that problem, but he wasn't ill.  He was also fairly young.  Then I wondered if his sweet wife knew and might have helped him along.  There's no real answer in that story.  She sometimes leaves things open in a story and that's part of her writing charm.

Here's your chance to walk down Chestnut Street in Dublin and see what common everyday life is like there.  Why not take a tour with Ms. Binchy?