How does the author use irony in the collection, This Year It Will Be Different: And Other Stories?

Much of Binchy's appeal to American readers comes from her characters' use of indirect, ironic speech. Characters often use the form of one kind of message to convey the content of a message that says the reverse. Mrs. Dunne in "The Best Inn in Town" uses the form of a compliment to convey a message of criticism when she maintains that she admires young women like her daughter-in-law who never bother with makeup or dressing up in smart clothes just to please their husbands.