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Hungry For Success

A book review of Scarlet Feather written by Maeve Binchy

I used to read a lot of novels and then after a break of several years rediscovered reading for pleasure last year. I have found that my tastes have changed and that some of my previously favourite authors have become too predictable and just don't do it for me any more.

I recall reading and thoroughly enjoying some of Maeve Binchy's novels a decade ago. Maeve was a relatively new author back then and producing what I felt were lightweight but really enjoyable reads with interesting and believable characters. Great for bedtime reading without being too challenged. When I saw Scarlet Feather on the library shelves I wondered if my tastes had changed too much, or I would be able to turn back the years and find the same level of pleasure as I had in previously reading this author’s work.

Scarlet Feather is the name of a Dublin based catering company owned by Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather. Cathy is married to lawyer Neil Mitchell and Tom lives with his beautiful would be model girlfriend Marcella. After years of working hard for others they find suitable premises to run their business from and with financial help from Tom’s brother and Cathy’s aunt, good imaginative food and recommendations it looks like their business will do as well as they dream.

The first function that we read about is a New Years Eve party at Cathy’s in laws Hannah and Jock Mitchell’s home. Hannah and Jock live in a big house where Cathy’s mother Lizzie used to clean. The Mitchells and in particular snobbish Hannah had been against Cathy and Neil’s marriage and Hannah takes every opportunity to let them know that. Cathy has to grit her teeth and listen to her mother being referred to as ‘poor Lizzie’, but Cathy knows that her mother is only poor in a financial sense. She might have had to spend her working life cleaning and supporting her 6 children and a husband whose office is at the bookies but happiness does not always come with money and a big house. We see that Hannah is a bitter and lonely lady whose husband is a weak yes man who spends most of his free time on the golf course. Even so you can still feel Cathy’s anger at the slights and feel angry with her.

The party is interrupted by the arrival of 9 year old twins Simon and Maud. They are Jock’s brother’s children and have been left to fend for themselves with no food or money. Their father has disappeared on a jaunt to England and isn’t traceable. Their alcoholic mother is in a clinic and their older brother Walter who is supposed to be looking after them is at the party.

The rude and bad mannered twins are allowed to stay the night and decide to pick Jock and Hannah’s bedroom to sleep in. They create havoc with Hannah’s make up and the party guest’s clothes and the following day flood the bathroom. Their uncle and aunt don’t want them so Cathy and Neil take them in for a few days. They haven’t much time for the children because of Cathy’s new business, Neil’s work as a lawyer and the committees formed to help others that he is part of. Simon and Maud are then passed on to her parents Lizzie and Muttie who are only related by marriage to the children but offer the children love, stability and their first real home.

Simon and Maud who start out as children from hell quickly became my favourite characters in this novel. I loved the way Maeve described the pair who are what I would call real characters. The neglect from their upper class parents who we meet later on the book is sickeningly sad and these parents don’t even seem to realise that they are being neglectful. It is no wonder that they are a disagreeable pair when they have had little attention and know that nobody loves or really wants them. After fending for themselves so much they are more like mini adults but like children they ask the most awkward questions. “Do you only mate once a week Cathy?” made me smile, just as much as the changes in the children once they were looked after properly and gradually realised that others felt them worth caring about and wanted them around.

At first Cathy’s character didn’t gel on me. She seemed driven to succeed more to prove her in laws wrong than anything else. As the storyline develops Maeve shows us Cathy’s love and talent for the work she is doing and you want her to succeed despite some tough setbacks. There are hints of reverse snobbery with Cathy’s dealings with her mother in law and you know that the relationship will only work if they accept each other as equals who both love Neil. I began to like the character when she was placed in situations where quick thinking solved problems and stopped others from being upset.

I didn’t like Neil’s character very much. He seemed at times distant and cold to me, spending too much time making a name for himself promoting good causes and letting down those around him when they needed him. A man who believes that whatever he is doing is more important than the work of others and it might be but there has to be some balance.

Tom is a likeable character. A charmer who doesn’t know it and he is dependable. His partner Marcella comes across as selfish in her aim to become a professional model but that is only one side to her character.

There are other diverse characters and several entwined storylines. It isn’t a vastly exciting novel but it was still a very good read and just as enjoyable to me as Maeve Binchy’s other books. I found the characters believable and the insights into the many different relationships interesting. I know little offhand about Maeve Binchy but I feel that she is a lady who observes a lot and knows what makes people tick.

Maeve is from Dublin and her stories are usually set in or around there and about Dubliners. I’ve never been to Dublin but this author gives me a real feel for the place and those who live there. I loved Maeve's often humourous behind the scenes descriptions of the functions and partys that Scarlet Feather cater for, the diverse guests and mishaps that Tom and Cathy have to deal with and still retain a professional image. Those descriptions are so true to life that I wondered if they had been drawn from real experiences.

I was drawn into the story right from the first page and hated putting this easy to read book down. The 10 chapters of this 598 page book are long so telling myself that I’d go to sleep at the end of a chapter meant reading on long after I should have been asleep. I was happy with the not unexpected ending which seemed to me left open enough for a sequel.

After reading Scarlet Feather I know now that I will look out for the books that I've missed from this author who is now restored to one of my favourites.

ISBN: 0752842994