CAUTION: This review reveals some critical plot components, but should not render the book less enjoyable.

I stumbled upon "Quentins," by Maeve Binchy, in the hotel giftshop while on a weekend trip to St. Louis. I had left my current biography in the car and didn't want to track down the valet to retrieve it, so I headed to the gift shop to see what they offered in books. The paperback selection wasn't too large and this book, "Quentins," caught my eye. I had not read any of Binchy's other works before and was unfamiliar with her writing. But being bookless on a trip is not an option for me, so I bought it. And I read it. And I couldn't put it down.

The book is set in Dublin, and it paints an interesting picture of the people and the sensibilities of that city. The name "Quentins" is a popular and classy restaurant that has been around since the 70's. (The book is set in the mid-90s.) Quentins, like Dublin, has seen some changes, and so has the clientele of the popular haunt. It is these changes that Nick and Sandy, owners of a small film studio, want to capture in a documentary form.

But the plot of the book is far from being that simple. The principle character is Ella, and the reader meets her as a small child. We see Ella's family, her doting parents, her incredible self sufficiency as a small child that only deepens as an adult, her honesty and directness. Is Ella naive? I don't think so. I just think she assumes everyone is as direct as she is. Ella is intelligent, thoughtful, strong, focused, but also a bit insecure about her strong traits.

Ella's steady life, including a teaching post and a close relationship with her parents, is rocked when she meets and is pursued by Don Richardson. Don is a wealthy, attractive and connected financier. He convinces Ella she is his angel. He is also married to the daughter of his boss and has two children. He claims his marriage is open and he is free to be with Ella. Ella, her insecurity showing a bit, agrees to this arrangement, and she and Don embark on a two-year love affair, marked with Don's occasional and mysterious secretiveness.

When Don's actions rock Ella's world, everything turns upside down. So as not to spoil the story, I'll say that Ella's entire life and lifestyle are impacted, as well as her parents and several of her friends. Part of the result is that Ella takes on every job she can find to pay a debt the situation has forced upon her. One of those jobs is with Nick and Sandy's film company, Firefly Films.

Firefly is working on receiving a grant from a U.S. foundation to fund a film about Dublin. Their plan focuses on the restaurant, Quentins. The idea is to feature the restaurant, it's chef and hostess (husband and wife Brenda and Patrick), and some of the customers and their stories. With a varied clientele and a long history in the community, there are plenty of interesting stories to tell from Quentins.

Ella works with Nick and Sandy in fleshing out those stories, and it is through this process that we meet, albeit briefly, many of the characters of the book. Binchy keeps the story of Ella moving along, never letting it get dull, but at the same time interspersing that storyline with the smaller lines of the customers and employees of Quentins. Each story is so different from the other, yet all have the same theme...they happened in part at Quentins. There are stories of love and romance, stories of character tested, of dreams broken, of eyes being opened. These are told in such lovely prose that even the smallest morsels of characters are devoured hungrily and, though not large, prove to be completely satisfying.

Ella's life continues to take interesting turns. She goes to New York to pitch the film idea to the U.S. foundation but also to get out of Dublin where her reputation has become a bit sullied through her association with Don. Here she meets Derry King and his former wife, Kimberly. As the head of the foundation, Derry's support is critical to the success of Firefly's film. How Ella handles the pitch, when back at home other elements in her life are about to fall in around her, is amazing. How she handles her life after the pitch is a lesson in grace under pressure. Even when she has been betrayed and abandoned, Ella is concerned with maintaining her character and not causing further hurt to an already painful situation. Ella is not a doormat, but a person who is very aware of her behavior and its impact on those around her. Her impact on Derry, himself fighting demons he believes were initiated in Ireland, is yet to be seen but will be divulged by the end of the book.

Ella's friends in the story become your friends as well: Deirdre, her friend who exudes loyalty and wisdom; Nick and Sandy who care deeply for Ella and show strong faith in her; Ella's parents, a unique couple that showered so much love and attention on their daughter they almost used it all up and left nothing for their own marriage; Brenda and Patrick, hardworking and innovative, smoothing out the edges in their customers lives while serving them delicious food; Blouse, Patrick's brother, who blooms and grows in the story in ways that surprise even his own brother, and others equally interesting but too numerous to mention.

And what about Quentin? He is an actual person, whose own story is fascinating. In the earlier portion of the story you meet Quentin and discover his passions, his troubles and his path to owning the restaurant. Then he fades into the background, embarking on a new adventure, while Ella and her story take the center stage. He reappears later, but mainly the tale belongs to Ella and her interesting and eclectic friends and the characteristics of Ireland they portray.

I usually enjoy books by English and Irish authors, and "Quentins" was no exception. Binchy's writing, however, was different than many other books I've read. Her style enables her to divulge a lot about each character without a lot of space. Her word economy doesn't short change the character; on the contrary the bits and pieces she does dole out are meaty and satisfying. Her style is not flowery or laden with unnecessary detail. Each sentence, each phrase serves a purpose and I think this contributes to her story being fleshy and full bodied. I enjoyed her Irish phrases and slang very much; it helped to put you in the place of the story. Binchy does tend to use sentence fragments quite often and this caused me to re-read sentences on several occasions, but it was not such a problem that it lessened my enjoyment of this wonderful book.

I give "Quentins" five stars for its interesting storyline, its variety of characters, its descriptive writing with streamlined style and the "fresh" feeling I felt when I waded into this book. I read it in less than two days and was left wanting more.

Please check out my other book reviews:

The Church Ladies
http://www.epinions.com/content_113636642436

The Kennedy Women
http://www.epinions.com/content_113209609860

The Universe and The Teacup
http://www.epinions.com/content_113144008324

Maneater
http://www.epinions.com/content_110309576324

The Night of January 16th
http://www.epinions.com/content_107452403332

Capital Classics-Recipes from the Jr. League of Wash. DC
http://www.epinions.com/content_104334921348

All the Presidents' Children
http://www.epinions.com/content_103249317508

The Last Brother - a biographer of Ted Kennedy
http://www.epinions.com/content_91330743940

The Patriarch - The Rise and Fall of the Bingham Dynasty
http://www.epinions.com/content_91067551364

Catch Me If You Can
http://www.epinions.com/content_89177558660

Embers
http://www.epinions.com/content_88622927492

Lindbergh
http://www.epinions.com/content_88079175300

Mrs. Bridge
http://www.epinions.com/content_87304081028

Mr. Bridge
http://www.epinions.com/content_87096659588

Recommended: Yes