MINDING FRANKIE

As is the case with many of Irish author Maeve Binchy’s works, this is a novel about community—about family, friends, and neighbors who care for one another. These are ordinary people who join together to offer help in extraordinary circumstances. When a baby, Frankie, is born to a woman dying of cancer, the neighborhood unites to “mind” the child. Narrator Sile Bermingham transports listeners to Dublin with a sunny Irish lilt that’s perfect for the characters, many of whom will be familiar to Binchy’s fans. Without ever becoming sentimental or maudlin, Bermingham expresses the genuine goodness of the characters, despite their daily problems and seemingly insurmountable differences. A cozy listen filled with heart and human decency. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2011]