August 8, 2010: Five Days Apart by Chris Binchy

Five Days Apart:  A Novel by Chris Binchy

Breaking up is hard to do, especially when it's a split between close male friends in their 20s. In Binchy's astutely observed American debut, the pair in question is David and Alex, Dubliners whose long bond is tested by romantic rivalry and the strains of encroaching adult responsibilities. At a college party, the sight of Camille sends the introverted David to seek help from his charming, more socially adept pal. The contrast between the two men is perceptively drawn by Binchy, a nephew of Maeve, who proves himself a lucid chronicler of the buddy relationship, which starts to fall apart when Alex moves in on Camille himself. Meanwhile, David scores a good job in an established bank while Alex flounders at school and seems unable to make the transition to grownup. David, now more confident and assertive, acts on his attraction to Camille, and the men's friendship's bittersweet, evocatively described dissolution completes a phase of David's life in a way neither the protagonist nor the reader might have expected at the novel's start. -- from Amazon.com

I'm not sure how to classify this book, but I would kind of say it is the male version of women's fiction...men's fiction, maybe?  I normally don't read books from a male perspective but I really enjoyed David.  I kind of relate to David, I am a very shy person and I often find myself tongue tied or saying random, bizarre things just to make conversation.  It can be really awkward, so I just keep to myself much like David did after his friend Alex betrayed him.  

I found David to be quite charming and Alex to be quite a tool, so I was shocked that Camille couldn't see past Alex's "charming" ways and see that David was the good guy here.  I definitely think Alex broke man code because he knew how David felt, however, as the story progressed they repaired their friendship and kind of became a tight-knit group of three (triple?  threesome? triangle?).

I found the Brazil section to be misplaced and I felt that it didn't add anything to the overall story.  It wasn't a long enough passage to leave an impact, I was kind of expecting the Brazil trip to be half of the story.  Since it wasn't that long, I would have preferred Binchy to leave it out.

Though it was a bit sudden, I was quite pleased with the ending and I was happy for David in the end.  It was a nice quick book to read and I would definitely enjoy more "men's fiction" like this in the future! 

*book provided by HarperCollins for review.