Scarlet Feather

An amazing book if you love human interactions - place polar opposite human beings in a conversation and with a slice of wit, a generous dash of everything human (anger, jealousy, wrath, love) and a topping of some really crazily wonderful dialogue. Also great if you love food; love to read about food, talk food, eat food....if you're a foodie. Although food is not the main thing in the book, its relationships and the feelings that make us all very human. No one's perfect; our parents, our mates, or friends.

Scarlet Feather is about two individuals with a lot going on in their personal lives, trying to live their dream in the form of a catering business. They long to see themselves being lusted for by everyone and anyone who wants to throw a party but they're getting there slowly, the hard way. Their personal conflicts with those related to them, their ever-deeping friendship, their love lives and the fondness they develop for certain people while pursuing and staying faithful to their aspirations; this book embraces them all. It makes one realize that one's life is not a one-way journey to an island. Millions of people along the way shape us, our feelings, our outlook and we often need an entire support system (a village) to survive and grow in our own personal paths. Each person they are associated with plays a part in their triumph or failure. Relationships are made and broken but in each happening, we experience a mirroring of our own understanding about human life, its fragility, its wrong and right moments. Although the path the two protagonists' lives take in the end seems a bit contrived and selfish...something like this can happen only in novels is what you tend to think. But on the whole, its a wonderful insight into families and friends and mainly what makes this world go round: relationships and food. And yes, love.

I recommend it to those who dont stick to their set path but plunge into the uncertainty of literature. Every book seems to mirror the author's own sensitivity and preferences (perhaps even an ideal world situation) no matter if they've all studied literature in college and are Ph Ds or MAs in their chosen field of writing. Every effort is marked by an individual's mental make up like his or her DNA.

It's wonderful to discover Ireland through Maeve Binchy. It's even more comfortable to do it through the medium that bonds people and families together - food!