Fiction Book Review: Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy

It is hard to pick a favorite book from among the wonderful books that the incomparable Maeve Binchy wrote. I could read them all, one after the other, and then upon finishing the lot, start over at the first one again.

Reading her books is like having a picnic with your favorite foods in a grassy meadow surrounded by chirping grasshoppers with a beloved pet curled up beside you. Clouds lounge in the sky and off in the distance you see the faint smear of rain, but it’s far off and moving away from you. Whatever that feeling is. Contentment, satisfaction, pleasing without being boring, interesting without being overly dramatic.

She creates a cozy yet fresh world with real characters who do normal things which, for some reason, are enthralling. Her characters are surprisingly multi-faceted. Their motivations are often mixed. Some do bad things for good reasons. Few are true villains. But some of them are scoundrels or thieves or kidnappers. Yet their reasons for their behavior always make sense to them. And you, the reader, understand, and so you keep reading.

I could review all 17 novels in the order she wrote them here on the blog, but I think instead I’ll just review them randomly. I don’t really have a favorite.

If you only read one Maeve Binchy story, though, Scarlet Feather is a great one to read. The structure is most like a novel. Most people will have heard of Circle of Friends, which was made into a movie in 1995 and that one is very good, too. But the main characters in Circle of Friends are younger for most of the book – college aged.

Scarlet Feather is the story of two caterers, Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather, who start their catering business in Dublin after catering school and a few years preparing, working restaurant jobs, and catering on the side. As they work to establish their business, they deal with their home lives, which not only include their significant others but also parents, siblings, in-laws, and other relatives, plus friends, neighbors, co-workers, and the odd social worker or hired help.

So a lot of characters, which is Binchy’s forte.

Reasons I like Scarlet Feather, other than the fact that Maeve Binchy wrote it and it has her unique voice and stamp upon it:

1. It takes place in a single year’s time. Great organizing principle for a book/story.
2. It’s loaded with family dynamics. Again, great source material for story.
3. It is not a love story although there is romance in it. In the same way there is romance in life. Our lives are not love stories, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t falling in and out of love. Same with this book.
4. The main character has a difficult mother-in-law. I can (could) so relate.
5. Most of the characters are middle class. There are no rich over the top heroines or heroes who work in glamorous offices, live in penthouses, ride around in limousines, and eat caviar every night in a big fancy twinkling city. There are some rich people in the book, but no glamorous ones.
6. The character problems are normal things – starting a business, trying to make it in a career, coping with needy relatives, family misunderstandings, dealing with alcoholic and neglectful parents, distant relatives, juggling career and relationships, renovations, parties, and weddings.  
7. Some of the characters face issues around family, caregiving, and loss.
8. Characters of all ages, but the main character is in her thirties.

It’s also hard for me to pick a favorite character. Nearly every character has a character arc. There are so many plot lines in the book and they all interweave masterfully.

I don’t know if the fact that so many of her books are set in Dublin adds to their appeal, but I thought I’d take advantage of the wonder of the internet to look up the city. Maybe see where some of the events in the book take place.

Maeve doesn’t specify where in Dublin Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather end up opening their catering business. But it might be in one of the 10 neighborhoods in this article. I think Cathy’s mother-in-law lived possibly in Donnybrook (#5) or Ranelagh (#4).

St Jarlath’s Crescent where Caathy’s parents live is first mentioned in Scarlet Feather and appears again in Minding Frankie and possibly Evening Class. I won’t link to them, but I found real estate listings for houses on the real St Jarlath’s Crescent that were fun to look at.

The novel is absorbing, delightfully long, down-to-earth, and entertaining. Find a copy of Scarlet Feather and read it. You’ll be glad you did.

book cover by carynwrites
Doors by falco from Pixabay/filtered from original