THE MATCHMAKER OF KENMARE

THE MATCHMAKER OF KENMARE by Frank Delaney was read for the Ireland Reading Challenge 2011.

From the book jacket:

"There's a legend," she said, "and I'm one of the very few who know it - that says all couples who are meant to marry are connected by an invisible silver cord.  The matchmaking gods tie that cord around their ankles at birth, and in time the gods pull those cords tighter and tighter.  Slowly, slowly, over the next twenty or thirty or forty years, they draw the couple toward each other until they meet."  So says miss Kate Begley, matchmaker of Kenmare, the enigmatic woman Ben MacCarthy meets in the summer of 1943.

As World War II rages on, Ben is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his wife, the actress Venetia Kelly.  Searching for purpose by collecting stories for the Irish Folklore Commission, he travels to a remote seaside cottage to profile the aforementioned Matchmaker of Kenmare.

Ben is immediately captivated by the forthright Miss Begley, who is remarkable self-assured in her instincts but provincial in her experience.  Miss Begley is determined to see that Ben moves through his grief - and a powerful friendship forged along the way.

But when Charles Miller, a striking American military intelligence officer, arrives on the scene, Miss Begley develops an intense infatuation and looks to make a match for herself.  Miller needs a favor, but it will be dangerous.  Under the cover of their neutrality as Irish citizens, Miss Begley and Ben travel to London and effectively operate as spies.  As they are drawn more deeply and painfully into the conflict, both discover the perils of neutrality - in both love and war.

About a month or so ago, I read VENETIA KELLY'S TRAVELING SHOW by Mr. Delaney and noted: "This book ends with an unfinished story, and the reader is left to ponder the fate of some of the characters, although it isn't the type of ending that leads to a sequel."  I was wrong, for this book is definitely a sequel to that one.

While I loved the earlier book, I wasn't quite as thrilled with this one.  I think that was because of the war setting and much discussion and description of the atrocities of war.  The descriptions were vivid and upsetting.  There was one sentence, a description of a man not involved with the war, that I loved:

His face reminded me of brown wrapping paper that had been scrunched up into a ball and then smoothed out. (p. 47)

Again, the ending left open a window of opportunity for another book telling more of Ben's story.  I really liked Ben and would love to continue his story.