Minding Frankie

November 29, 2010
Bestseller Binchy is a national treasure in her homeland of Ireland, and her latest novel is a perfect illustration of why. Old-fashioned and newfangled are totally compatible in contemporary Dublin, where lonely, hard-drinking slacker Noel Lynch discovers he's about to be a single dad now that the one-night-stand/mother of his child, Stella, is dying. Suddenly, the salt-of-the-earth residents of St. Jarlath's Crescent and Noel's resourceful American cousin, Emily, spring into action to keep Noel sober, fire up his ambitions, appease militant social worker Moira, and help raise baby Frankie. It's a hair-raising, heartwarming juggling act for Noel, his quirky roommate Lisa, do-gooder Emily, and a neighborhood crowded with eccentric characters and adorable pooches—including one with a handsome inheritance. Binchy (Heart and Soul) straddles improbable and possible in her touching saga, and if your mind can't quite wrap itself around St. Jarlath's Crescent, your heart will have no trouble recognizing the landscape.

As is the case with many of Irish author Maeve Binchy's works, this is a novel about community--about family, friends, and neighbors who care for one another. These are ordinary people who join together to offer help in extraordinary circumstances. When a baby, Frankie, is born to a woman dying of cancer, the neighborhood unites to "mind" the child. Narrator Sile Bermingham transports listeners to Dublin with a sunny Irish lilt that's perfect for the characters, many of whom will be familiar to Binchy's fans. Without ever becoming sentimental or maudlin, Bermingham expresses the genuine goodness of the characters, despite their daily problems and seemingly insurmountable differences. A cozy listen filled with heart and human decency. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine