Book Concierge's Reviews > Nights of Rain and Stars

Book on CD performed by Terry Donnelly

Five tourists, all from different countries, come together at a small Greek taverna on a hill overlooking the harbor, where they witness a tourist boat fire that results in several deaths. Drawn together by this tragedy they begin to share their lives with one another and with the kind residents of the village. In particular they meet Vonni, an Irish woman who married a Greek man some decades previously and has made her life on the island, Andreas, who runs the taverna and his brother, Georgie who is the local police chief.

Binchy writes ensemble pieces that reflect the ways in which we get to know one another. Strangers are drawn together by location and circumstance, and find common ground where they least expect it. In this novel we have the American professor Thomas; German TV news reporter Elsa; David, a young man fleeing the family business in England; and Fiona and Shane from Ireland, she a nurse and he a ne’er-do-well hippie. Sharing a meal, a glass of wine, a bus trip to a different village, a walk on the beach, they reveal themselves little by little to one another and to the reader. If the ending is a little too neatly tied up with a pretty bow, who cares. It’s an enjoyable read and by the end I felt as if I were friends with them and wanted to visit this charming island myself.

Terry Donnelly does a fine job performing the audio version. Her pacing is good and she has enough skill as a voice artist to differentiate the characters.