2009-06-26

Whitethorn Woods, by Maeve Binchy. A.A. Knopf, 2007.

Seemingly unrelated vignettes of men, women and children, all with ties to St. Ann's Well in the village of Rossmore in Ireland, are woven together in this novel. From whores to spinsters, from brilliant to "soft", from honorable to base - each is affected by the myths surrounding the well and the plan to obliterate it with the imminent building of a new road right through Whitethorn Woods. Unlikely pairings prove that St. Ann may still be working her miracles, especially when the final plot twist is revealed in the last paragraphs.