A Twisting Path through the Woods

The sleepy Irish village of Rossmore gets a wake-up call when a planned road through nearby “Whitethorn Woods” threatens the local shrine to St. Ann, and while the thoroughfare is a common thread, each chapter of Mauve Binchy’s latest novel is a small story unto itself.
Binchy favors tales of the rural Irish, but in “Whitethorn Woods”, she employs a writing style somewhat reminiscent of Willa Cather’s classic “My Antonia,” and each section is a vignette that spotlights a particular character in the unfolding story. Having a road run through a religious shrine may sound like a political puff story, but Binchy offers her own brand of intrigue that includes disappearances, alcoholism, greed, and infidelity, surrounded by the small-town charm of a changing Ireland.
While all of the many characters bring their own piece of the story, particularly compelling are the wonderfully drawn players such as Neddy Nolan, who is sheltered through his young life as one who is “not the sharpest knife in the drawer.” Out on his own, however, Neddy exhibits a cleverness and a gift of uncommon common sense that almost begs a novel of its own.
St. Ann’s well, a shrine believed by some to have a miraculous power to heal broken arms, broken hearts, and broken dreams, becomes the center of the story as the village priest tries to decide which side of the debate will receive his support. Although he is almost embarrassed by the site’s continuing allure and the number of daily visitors, he eventually lays his own troubles at the well in seeking a solution.
Her Irish-flavored novels have been well-received for years, and Whitethorn Woods” is another superbly constructed tale, at once both compelling and tenderly affecting, aptly demonstrating that Maeve Binchy is among the sharpest in the literary drawer.