Cuenta la leyenda que, cuando uno formula un deseo, la cueva de Castlebay, en los abruptos acantilados irlandeses, responde en vez de devolver el eco de la voz. En su día escuchó los deseos de David Power y Clare O'Brien, dos jóvenes que soñaban con volar lejos del pequeño pueblo costero en el que estaban atrapados. Años después, en Dublín, sus caminos se cruzan de nuevo. David es un estudiante de medicina ansioso por seguir los pasos de su padre y Clare ha conseguido una beca universitaria. Entre ellos surgirá una llama que les devolverá a Castlebay, donde la bruma matutina y la espuma de las olas serán testigos de una tormentosa historia de amor y ambición, de drama y traición, de sueños y desilusiones...

I really enjoy Binchy's stories set in small Irish villages and the way she depicts the conservative, insular Irish culture changing through the years (in this case, the 1940s-1960s). Because this is one of her earlier books, it's a more cohesive story, not a series of connected character studies (the way, say, [Copper Beech] is) in which we see the same events through the eyes of different characters.

The main characters — 10-year-old Clare O'Brien, daughter of a shopkeeper, and 15-year-old David Power, only child of the local doctor and his rather snooty wife — are appealing and easy to root for from the start, though events that happen toward the end of this (long!) novel put them in a different light. And as usual, Binchy populates Castlebay with a winning assortment of secondary characters, from the playboy Gerry Doyle to Father Flynn to teacher Angela O'Hara, who sees something of herself in Clare that makes her the girl's fierce champion in her goals to attain a proper education.

The ending, though ... oof. I don't remember thinking much of it when I first read this as a twentysomething, but today? It's hard not to want David strung up by the twig-and-berries for the infidelity he so casually excuses with "my wife just had a baby and is no long focused exclusively on me and my sexual needs". Just, no. ( )

A nice read about life in a small Irish town which is so religious. Liked until the ending which was a way to end the story but not the way I felt it should end. Truly loved the characters Angela, Father Flynn, and Dr. Power as so deeply caring about people and their feelings. ( )

This has been my least favorite of Binchy's books so far, mostly because of the ending. The characterizations are good and so is the setting, but I guess the truth is that the characters' choices drove me crazy and what I thought would be a nice heartwarming sort of book ended up being depressing. ( )

A good Maeve Bincy book. I had read it before. Parts were vaguely familiar. I was a little disappointed by the ending. ( )