Circle of Friends (by Maeve Binchy)

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I have liked most of the books I read by Maeve Binchy, which I gradually acquired over the past twenty-five years or so. But I’ve only read most of them once or twice. So a few months ago I embarked on a gradual re-read. I’m aiming to read the novels in publication order, missing out a few of the earlier ones that I recall I didn’t particularly enjoy.  

I’ve just finished ‘Circle of Friends’, which was published in 1990. I last read it in 2008 and did not remember anything about it. This book features the residents of a small town in Ireland called Knockglen, and opens in 1949 when Benny Hogan is about to celebrate her 10th birthday. Maeve Binchy was a master of ‘showing not telling’, and in the conversation Benny has with the cook/housekeeper Patsy, we learn a great deal about her personality and circumstances. 

Benny is the only child of a quiet, devoutly Catholic couple who would have loved more children. Her father works hard at a gentleman’s outfitters, and her mother is at home full-time. Benny knows that they adore her, and she’s set her heart on a beautiful pink outfit that she has admired. However Benny is big-built, and it’s clear that she’s totally unsuited to pink velvet. It’s a deep disappointment to her when she’s presented with a nice but practical new jumper and skirt. But her mother is sure she will love it… and she hides her feelings and pretends to be happy about it.

All Benny’s local friends come to her party, and also Eve, an orphaned girl who has been brought up in the local convent. They haven’t had much to do with each other, but realise they are both lonely. After various incidents in the first chapter, they form what turns out to be a lasting friendship. 

The second chapter leaps forward eight years to 1957. Benny and Eve have just finished high school and are celebrating with coffee in the local hotel. Benny is going to university in Dublin, and Eve would love to go too, but there’s no money to send her. So she’s going to be apprenticed to a convent in Dublin. Benny is looking forward to her studies, but she won’t have much freedom as her parents expect her home every evening on the bus. 

The rest of the novel follows the first year at university for Benny and the people she gets to know.  There’s a large cast of characters, and at times I forgot who somebody was, but in most cases it didn’t much matter. The action takes place partly in Dublin, and partly in Knockglen and the novel is primarily character-based. Benny is kind, generous and a tad naive; Eve is loyal to her friends, but quite prickly and at times extremely hot-tempered. 

One of the first people Benny meets is a beautiful, poised girl called Nan. She doesn’t have a happy or secure family life, but she’s determined to rise about it. Nan has read every book she can find on etiquette, and she behaves graciously to everyone, always apparently knowing what’s the right thing to say, and when to keep quiet. It’s a testament to Maeve Binchy’s writing that I could see that Nan is a tad too good to be true, and inherently very self-centred. 

There are boys, too, of course: the handsome Jack, the jokey Aiden, the loyal Bill, and several others. Other girls in the class put out lures while Benny is sure nobody will fancy her. And if they do, they won’t have much chance to pursue a romance because she has to return to Knockglen every evening. 

Meanwhile in Knockglen, her father’s slimy assistant Sean has his eye on Benny, and two or three young relatives of other shopkeepers are determined to upgrade the shops and bring in more custom. I didn’t always follow what was going on, or recall who was related to whom. The action switches frequently from person to person, but it builds up a picture of a caring community. It also shows the tension between the older traditionalists and the younger generation who are full of creativity. 

There’s a lot that happens - the novel is over 500 pages long - and I found myself so engrossed in the different interwoven subplots that it was sometimes hard to put the book down. Benny matures a lot in the year, and learns a great deal about herself and who her real friends are.

The novel is warm, and encouraging, and ends in a positive way. It’s interesting from an Irish social history point of view - the author was, I’m sure, writing at least in part from her own experience - and the main characters are three-dimensional and believable. It’s not a quick read, but if you like character-based women’s fiction that revolves around a community of people, then I would definitely recommend this.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews