“Whitethorn Woods” by Maeve Binchy is an extremely readable book once
you get used to the fact that it is neither a traditional novel nor
exactly a collection of short stories. The first few chapters seem to
be a bit disjointed and there is a struggle to discern how the diverse
characters link up. Once the reader gives up the effort to look for a
direct connection and starts concentrating on the many characters that
populate the book, it is an extremely warm and entertaining book. The
hub of the book is a Catholic shrine in a traditional Irish village
dedicated to St. Ann, mother of the Virgin Mary in an Irish village by
the name of Rossmore.
Although the local priest, Father Flynn is
skeptical about its religiosity, the local people have all gone there
to pray for as long as one and his notional superior, the semi retired
Fr. Cassidy can remember. People come to the well to make their wishes
for marriage, children, cures of diseases, and success in other
endeavors. Many of the characters have slim ties to one another through
family connections, having gone to school with one together, or
employment.
The undercurrent of the book is this shrine which is likely to be
demolished soon. Rossmore used to be a small village but no more –
traffic has significantly increased in recent years and there is talk
of a new express way being built that will cut down the traffic passing
through the town but will take away the much loved shrine from their
midst.
It is this development that makes people think through their
connection to the shrine and over the years. As Binchy brings to life
person after person reminiscing about the Whitethorn Woods and the
statue of St. Ann and their personal equation to it, we get to see the
entire spectrum of human nature of human emotions bared before the
statue of St. Ann and some memorable characters come to life – Neddy,
the simple but golden hearted man who calls himself “Not the sharpest
knife in the drawer but the luckiest”, that will remain with me long
after the book has been shelved, though with so many characters to
choose from, each reader can pick an choose their personal favorite. In
a subtle and understated way, Maeve Binchy tells us the story of an
ancient county coping with change. There are references to the time
when Ireland used to be poor and people as a result of the well known
potato famines or the over all poverty prevailing.
The new express way
is a symbol of the many other ways in which Ireland is changing as is
the devotion to St. Ann. The parish priest is befuddled as church
attendance is declining by the day but the devotion to what is
essentially a folk shrine shows no signs of abating and indeed the
looming express way about to be built divides the town because to the
modern irreligious, it is a sign of prosperity, new and better paying
jobs and a thriving economy. But to the tradition bound the destruction
of the shrine is nothing but a permanent end to a way of life they have
always known and admired.
Two things stay with you after you have finished the book. The first
that it is possible to say a lot without being preachy. She could have
written a tome about tradition and modernity or about continuity and
change but she didn’t.
Instead through the format of a novel she has
allowed the reader to raise their own questions and through the
characters who inhabit its pages, she has offered some perspective but
not pat answers. To sum it up, “Whitethorn Woods” is a novel which is
really a fable wrapped up as a story.
Certainly worth a read!
