The Lilac Bus

by Maeve Binchy

1992

Status

Available

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Standard Shelves

Publication

Dell (1992), 400 pages

Description

Fiction. Literature. HTML:NATIONAL BESTSELLER �?� �??Maeve Binchy is a grand storyteller in the finest Irish tradition."�??The Plain Dealer The Journey . . . Every Friday night a lilac-colored minibus leaves Dublin for the Irish country town of Rathdoon with seven weekend commuters on board. All of them, from the joking bank porter to the rich doctor�??s daughter, have their reasons for making the journey. The Destination . . . Rathdoon is the kind of Irish village where family histories are shared and scandals don�??t stay secret for long. And this weekend, when the bus pulls in, the riders find the unexpected waiting for them . . . as each of their private lives unfolds to reveal a sharp betrayal of the heart, a young man�??s crime, and a chance for new dreams among the eight intriguing men and women on . . .… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member lahochstetler

This book, a collection of interwoven short stories, follows a group of people who commute to and from their small Irish town to Dublin on the same bus. Though they spend a fair amount of time in one another's company, it quickly becomes clear that those travelling on the bus know very little of

one another. As the story of each is revealed the reader learns that each character had significant problems and heartbreak.

This formula is one that will be familiar to regular readers of Binchy's fiction. This is one of Binchy's early books, but she has used this formula in later books to great effect. There is something comfortable about Binchy, and the reader can slip into reading her easily. Binchy delivers here exactly what the reader has come to expect from her, and that's certainly not a bad thing.

Show Less

9 more

LibraryThing member rdgslp

When I came to the end of the book, I felt like it needed a sequel in order to find out what happened to the characters. I enjoy all of Maeve Binchy's books immensely. I only wish for an ending to these stories of the passengers on the Lilac Bus.

LibraryThing member eargent

I love Maeve Binchy but this was not one of her better books. There are others that I have enjoyed much more.

LibraryThing member Fantasma

A little cozy book by Maeve Binchy, once again we are tranported to the ordinary lives of ordinary people. I wanted to learn more about the caracters, though...

LibraryThing member janiereader

Boarding a plane from Albuquerque to Orlando with a book that only had 30 pages left to read, I needed to find something to read fast. I saw this copy and picked it us remembering how much I enjoyed her other novels. Light and pleasant reading was what I was expecting. And it's what I got!

LibraryThing member AprilBrown

The author of this book has a similar problem to me - she writes the summaries, and tried to expand them into a story, or in this case, a group of stories.

The novella is reasonably well done. Interesting stories, yet I feel the back cover copy did not accurately portray what the story was about. An

interesting look at three days through the eyes of eight different people.

The biggest problem with this book is the fault of the publisher: Once you reach the four short stories included at the end, you think it is an extension of the original novella - perhaps six months, or a year later. There is no notice at the beginning of the book that it is one novella with four unrelated short stories following.

The four short stories are good, though a few could use more development.

Show Less

LibraryThing member nx74defiant

A group of people take a bus home to Rathdoon from Dublin every weekend. Their stories inter connect. A very enjoyable collection.

The Dublin 4

I loved the Dinner In Donnybrook - Carmel was a lot sharper than people gave her credit.

The Flat in Ringsend was a disappointment. I hated the way it ended -

no answers.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Likeitorlumpit

I started off liking this book. I thought it was a novel and was interested in the characters and all. However, the book flipped to a new set of characters, and then another story, and then a new set of characters, and so on. It was then when I sorely realized that I've been burned again by a short

story book masquerading as a novel. I kicked myself by not researching it first, because I hate short stories. So if you hate them, like me, be forewarned. I wish I could recover the wasted time reading this.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Andrew-theQM

This is an enjoyable group of stories by Maeve Binchy, and she weaves a good story (as always!) about everyone that goes back to the village of Rathdoon every Friday on the Lilac Bus. Each person is about to make some crucial adjustments in their life, or crucial decisions, you are just left

wanting more. I, for one, wanted to know what happened next in their lives following these decisions. This is the problem of short stories for me - I always want more and want to know what happens next. Maeve Binchy's website does list it as a novel and whilst more than one of the characters appears in each story, I feel it is still a collection of stories rather than a novel. If you are a fan of Maeve Binchy or like well written short stories I would recommend this book to you.

Show Less

LibraryThing member witchyrichy

Every Friday, a small group of people from Dublin board a lilac painted mini-bus for the trip to the small town of Rathdoon. Over the course of the novella, we learn their stories and their secrets. My copy of the book included the four stories in Dublin/4, which was just as the title suggests,

four short stories set in Dublin.

Show Less

Fewer