Chris Binchy

This is the story of a love triangle between David, Alex and Camille. David is the serious, kind of depressive, hard-working type, while Alex is a charmer who never follows through with his plans, and goes through a girl a week. David falls for Camille after seeing her at a party, and enlists Alex's help in talking to her; but then Alex ends up with Camille.

The book is pretty much exclusively about the three of them, with only minor breaks to talk about David's work and his work-related trip to Brazil. I enjoyed the dialogue and the descriptions of how difficult relationships can be. I would have enjoyed a little more levity, some comic relief, as David's depression could sometimes be hard to take. Still, I liked the ending.… (more)

wasn’t expecting to enjoy this novel mainly because it was set ‘in a web of politics, property, sex and violence’ (taken from blurb on back cover) and because intially the characters were difficult to identify. The narrative gave a sense of detachment and so initially there seemed to be little to hold my interest. As I read on however I found myself caught up in their personal stories, found that I had characters I was particularly rooting for and by the end had found it a very satisfying read. I would question whether it would make a good reading group choice. However as a personal read it quietly draws you in.… (more)