Bestselling author Maeve Binchy is the undisputed modern-day
mother of Irish fiction. In her latest novel, HEART AND SOUL, she
once again taps into the very soul of the Irish people, portraying
in her characters their often irreverent wit, tough stoic exteriors
and soft sensitivities.

HEART AND SOUL opens with a prologue describing the
establishment of a new heart clinic. Binchy writes of the clinic's
board members: "(they) had been foolishly influenced by some
statistic recently published that seemed to prove the Irish had
more than their fair share of heart failure." This is the perfect
metaphor for a tale about love, of all varieties, lost and
found.

Clara Casey, the head of the underfunded clinic, sets about to
create a state-of-the-art clinic despite not really wanting the
job. Still trying to find herself after a three-year separation
from a philandering husband, she throws herself into the task,
disregarding the hospital administrators at every juncture. She
gathers around her a patchwork crowd of characters, including
nurses, a young doctor, an aide, a security guard and an assistant.
They are a motley group that quickly forms a well-oiled machine.
And what unfolds in HEART AND SOUL are their stories. The center
Clara first described as "the place without a soul" evolves into a
place not only with soul but with lots of love.

Declan, a doctor, and Fiona, a nurse, find each other --- and,
in the process, also find love. Hilary struggles with how to care
for an aging and ailing mother who helped her raise her son. Ania
suffers heartache over a married man who led her on but finds
someone new at the hospital. And there are the patients themselves,
who ease their way into the reader's heart with their oh-so-human
quirks, like Judy and her dogs, which she considers to be her
loves. And finally there's Clara herself, who spent years "hiding
her feelings and disguising her reactions."

The clinic has curative powers, for sure. Hearts are restored to
good health, physically and emotionally. In the end, describing the
clinic and the romances that developed, Clara jokingly says, "[W]e
can say the objectives have all been achieved." And Binchy's
objective --- another great story of the endurance of the Irish
people --- is achieved as well, with warmth and spirit, and heart
and soul.