Maeve Binchy, who died a year ago, will still be much missed by her countless readers. It seems very soon for any really full and deep searching account of her life to appear. Certainly this is not it.
Indeed Piers Dudgeonís book reads more like a fanís notebook than a true biography. He has been collecting material on her for a decade or so, and he describes in broad outline the course of her complicated and astonishing life. He gives some impression of how the books derived from that life, but in truth he is not familiar enough with the Irish scene and its intricate relations to do full justice either to her career or her creativity.
This book will be read with interest by many. Others will perhaps wisely wait for something far fuller. But I suspect those who love her work might make better use of their time rereading her novels.
