Book Review: A Week in Winter (by Maeve Binchy)
December is the month of steaming hot chocolate, presents under sparkling Christmas trees, and flurries of snowflakes… in honor of the cozy atmosphere of December, this month I’ve chosen to read a holiday themed book! I searched long and hard for a sweet little story that’d warm my heart during this frigid season, and that is exactly what I found in Maeve Binchy’s writing.
A Week in Winter starts off with a young woman named Chicky who lives in the west of Ireland, in a quaint town called Stoneybridge. There she meets a tourist of the name Walter Starr, a young American man travelling the world. Instantly enamored with his welcoming personality and showers of compliments, Chicky is convinced to move across the world to L.A. and live with him. Her family refuses to speak to her after the sudden departure from her childhood home, but Walter and Chicky make do in their small shared apartment.
Chicky works incredibly hard to earn money, and though she enjoys living with Walter at first, she soon admits that the facade wears away to reveal a reckless, apathetic man. Eventually, he leaves her to travel to yet another city, where he probably meets another woman just like Chicky.
Though the first couple of chapters of the story are rather jarring in their swift destruction of the characters’ lives, it draws you close to the characters just as quickly. You feel for them and their struggles, making the plot very effective.
Chicky finally makes her way back to Stoneybridge under the guise that Walter died, and that she’s now widowed and ready to restart her life. Back at Stoneybridge, she begins to renovate Stone House, a large manor owned by an old lady of the town named Miss Queenie. Miss Queenie convinces her to turn the house into a hotel of sorts, resulting in the start of the preparations.
Stone House is the life of this book, and the stories after Chicky and the hotel’s early beginnings all center around the manor. Relatives of Chicky become staff at Stone House, and after frantic preparations, the hotel officially opens for its first guests.
The latter half of the book consists of the lives and stories of the first guests to stay at Stone House. The chapters begin with descriptions of the lives that they’re living, and as one thing leads to another, each and every one ends up staying at Stone House. Together they make an odd bunch of people, regardless of their differences.
A Week in Winter was an absolutely lovely read! I especially enjoyed the lengthy illustrations of the scenery as well as the atmosphere surrounding Stoneybridge and Stone House. As I read the story, I pictured a massive brick manor with a large chimney, crackling fireplace, green armchairs in the sitting room, and a long wooden dining table for all the guests to cram around. It was a heartfelt book and made me think of the word ‘sonder’- the profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, have a life as complex as one’s own.
After last month’s rather depressing read, A Week in Winter was just what I needed to cheer me up in preparation for the holiday season. Regardless of what you do or don’t celebrate this season, I wish you all a happy and warm winter!
Arya.
