In Germany we have a long-running tv show named "Das Traumschiff". A bunch of people are going on a cruise ship not to have a wondeful vacation, but to solve all the problems they are having in their life. The show ends with the captains dinner at which the captain gives a ludicrous speech summarizing the issues these people are having and that all these issues have been resolved and they now can happily live ever after. At this point I´m about to smack myself over the head it´s that stupid. However, I´m always asking myself everytime why these people with their miserable lives are going on a vacation, trying to solve their problems while being on said vacation instead of enjoying their holidays and forgetting everything about their issues at home? I just don´t get it.
And here is the thing with this book. A Week in Winter feels like an episode of "Das Traumschiff", where ten strangers meet up in a newly opened bed and breakfast in Ireland and everyone has their fare share of problems that they are taking with them on the vacation (and for some characters these problems don´t even get solved in the end). So I´m having some slight issues with the plot as it were and I´m having some issues with the characters not getting the kind of closure that they deserved in the end. It´s one of these books where you are asking yourself what the point of the story is. What´s the message that Maeve Binchy wants to convey? I for one don´t know.
So, despite this being a fast and cozy read, the whole book left me feeling massivly underwhelmed. But I guess I will pick up another Binchy in the future when I´m in need of something nice and fluffy, because I really like the way she is telling her stories.
And as for the Traumschiff similarities: they don´t have a captain or a captains dinner, but they have a psychic amongst the guest who in the end predicts the future of all the other guests at the table. Yep, there comes the urge again to smack myself over the head. I seriously hated this aspect of the story.
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