Dublin 4 (by Maeve Binchy)

(Amazon UK link)

I decided the time had come to start re-reading the large collection of books I have acquired by the late Maeve Binchy. I couldn’t recall anything about ‘Dublin 4’, possibly because I last read it in January 2000, over 23 years ago. 

Many of Binchy’s novels and short stories were set in Ireland, and this book  is no exception. It’s not a novel, but four novellas - longer than short stories, but with just one overall storyline in each.  The first, ‘Dinner in Donnybrook’ features a middle-aged woman called Carmen who is planning a dinner party a month or so in advance. It’s clear from other people’s reactions that she’s considered a bit ditzy and disorganised, so it’s all the more surprising that she’s going into so much detail - even wondering about the correct seating for eight people around the dining room table.

The guests to be invited include two couples who are good friends of Carmen and her husband, and two others: Ruth, who’s considered the ‘most important’ guest, and Joe, who we learn about later in the story; he’s Carmen’s life-saver. It gradually becomes clear why Ruth is so important, and why the other invited guests are rather shocked about her inclusion. 

The writing is excellent and the characterisation sympathetic, if a tad caricatured in places. But the ending is more abrupt than I’m comfortable with, and left me wondering what the future might hold. It demonstrates that Carmen is much more intelligent - even devious - than anyone realised, but it would have been nice to have a few more pages.

The second story, ‘Flat in Ringsend’,  is about a young woman who’s taken on a job but is struggling to find somewhere to live. She is in a hostel run by nuns at first, then finds a flat-share… but it’s not what she was hoping for. She’s quite naive, but gradually learns more about life as a young single woman in a busy town. Again, the ending is a bit sudden but there is a conclusion of sorts and hope for the future.

The third story, ‘Decision in Belfield’, is about a teenager who has just discovered that she’s pregnant. She does not want to tell her parents, because she remembers what happened when her older sister announced the same news five years earlier. The story then takes us back, reminiscing about the family, and what has happened to both the older sisters. 

Again, the characterisation is good and I found myself quite caught up in the story… which comes full circle, quite suddenly, and - again - left me wanting more.  I suppose it’s a sign of good writing that the people got under my skin, but I find it frustrating when there’s no real conclusion to a story. 

Then the fourth, ‘Murmurs in Montrose’, features a man called Gerry who is an alcoholic. He finally admitted his problem and has been dried out and taught to cope without alcohol over six weeks. The story opens as he’s about to return to his family - a hard-working wife who loves him, and two teenagers who have clearly been emotionally damaged by their father’s behaviour, and are not looking forward to his return.

All seems to be going well at first, but I found this story rather depressing. Everything pointed towards Gerry being tempted too much and giving in. His mother keeps offering him spirits, his former colleagues are a bit scathing, people ask questions… and overall it’s quite a discouraging story, albeit probably realistic.

The book isn’t long - just 200 or so pages in all, with each story taking up about a quarter of it. And while reading each of the stories - except for the last one - I found them quite compulsive, and was eager to know what happened. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like tidy endings, and prefers uncertainty then you might well like this books; the writing is certainly good and the main people mostly believable. But in my view these are not some of Maeve Binchy’s better works - so I doubt if I’ll read them again. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews