"Quentins" - book review

My first introduction to Maeve Binchy was through "Circle of Friends". I had seen and liked the film enough that I was interested in reading the book that the film was based on. The book was actually different, and I liked the change in the characters better as depicted in the movie, but I also discovered that I liked Maeve Binchy's writing style. Many of her novels are also set in Ireland, which I find appealing for some reason, and I don't think my Anglophile nature accounts for that. She actually does have at least one book that's at least partially set in England ("London Transports"), but I really just like the way she paints her characters, and she also creates interesting plots. I've read several of her books, and when I was looking for something else to read, I picked up "Quentins" and read the back cover summary, which is usually how I figure out if I'm interested in a book I don't know anything about. Here's what it says:

Is it possible to tell the story of a generation and a city through the history of a restaurant? Ella Brady thinks so. She wants to film a documentary about Quentins that will capture the spirit of Dublin from the 1970s to the present day. After all, the restaurant saw the people of a city become more confident in everything from their lifestyles to the food that they chose to eat. And Quentins has a thousand stories to tell. But as Ella uncovers more of what has gone on at Quentins, she begins to wonder whether some secrets should be kept that way.

OK, it's a book set in Dublin ... written by Maeve Binchy ... centered on a restaurant. Ummm, anyone else hear the book calling my name?

Ella is the main character in the book through whom we meet just about everyone else (or at least friend-of-a-friend style), and she's got her own fairly complicated story which is interesting in and of itself, but what I really loved was the stories surrounding the restaurant - how it came about, the backstory of that, how it was developed, the side bits about the people who work there and the friends of people who work there, and then the best of all, the stories about the people who have visited the restaurant, whether regulars or single-time visitors. Most of them aren't there "just" to have a meal - there's a story behind it. That's what I found most fascinating. I think I enjoyed the stories about the diners and the workers because I've gotten the opportunity to get to know various people who work in restaurants, so in many cases, they're more than just a random server who I see one night in my life. Sometimes, we'll chit-chat about stuff or actually talk about things in each of our lives. There have even been cases where it has been a server, or chef or someone, that we've had only for the one night, but we somehow clicked enough that there was more interaction than just bringing my food or refilling my water. We've also heard lots of stories about other patrons at various restaurants, and I'll admit that sometimes, I do wonder about people at other tables, especially if there's something about their situation, dress, manner or something that stands out. Everyone has a story.

And that's part of the appeal I found in this book. I found myself racing through the book, not wanting to put it down, not wanting to stop, not wanting to leave that world. In some way, it actually reminded me of Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" as far as there being one major throughline to the book (even though the throughline itself had many twists and turns and facets), but there were a million branches along the way. Every person they encountered had their own story, which was generally told in the book, but which had to be cut because otherwise the movie would be a television series. The same branching occurs in this book. And it's the branches that are the proverbial icing on the cake.

(I know, I think I'm mixing metaphors or something.)