Binchy writes long chapters that are broken by numerous dissolves, telling her story in much the way a motion picture does. After the first two chapters, the story's third-person omniscient narrator focuses alternately on Helen's story and then on Kit's. Each chapter is composed of scenes that vary in length. This technique allows Binchy to constandy bring her minor characters back on stage, developing their own story lines, which often parallel the main story line. The techniques help contribute to the development of character, which is Binchy's forte. They also assist in creating the very realistic aura of life in a small town, where everyone knows everyone else's business and reacts to it. Readers find Binchy novels as addicting as television viewers find soap operas or prime- time serial dramas. While the pace of the story moves slowly, the lives of separate characters are often pulled together in...