[Review] Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy

Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy
Publisher: Orion Books
Publishing Date: 2005
Format: paperback, purchased
400 Pages
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Goodreads rating: 3 stars
Dates read: July 29 - Aug. 2, 2015

Synopsis 

In a Greek taverna, high over the small village of Aghia Anna, four people meet for the first time: Fiona, an Irish nurse, Thomas, a Californian academic; Elsa, a German television presenter; and David a shy English boy. Along with Andreas, the old man who runs the taverna, they become close to each other after witnessing a tragedy when a pleasure steamer catches fire in the harbour. NIGHTS OF RAIN AND STARS is the story of one summer when Fiona, Thomas, Elsa and David all have to face the particular life crisis which first made them leave their homes and end up in Greece. With the help of Vonni, a middle-aged Irish woman who lives in the village and is now a near-native, they each find a solution - although not necessarily the one they anticipated...

My Review 

My first Maeve Binchy book was Echoes (review), which I read about two years ago on a trip to Florida. I really enjoyed that book and knew that I had to see what else Binchy has written. I picked this one up at my local used book store, but unfortunately, it sat on my shelf for quite a while. I finally got around to and I'm glad I did. This was a good story and the setting of Greece was beautifully written! 

Elsa, Thomas, Fiona, and David come from four different countries and have never met before one night at a small Greek tavern. They each come from wildly different backgrounds and are each struggling with something from their past. They've all run away from home (in a sense) and don't want to go back. Throughout the book, we learn what each of their secrets are. 

This book was very simply written, which is one of the things I loved about Binchy's writing in Echoes. She has a way with words to make everything so beautiful without feeling like they're big fancy sentences. Does that make sense? There are some bigger moments in this book, but I really love that it's just a story about four people's lives and how they learn to grow and let go of their larger issues. And like I said, the setting described in this book is beautiful! Thankfully, I've been to Greece before, so I was able to picture the setup of the islands a little easier having seen some for myself first-hand. It truly makes me want to go back and enjoy the culture of Greece again.