The Return Journey

by Maeve Binchy

Book Overview

In this extraordinary collection of stories, New York Times bestselling author Maeve Binchy once again reveals her incomparable understanding of matters of the heart with powerfully compelling stories... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385315066
• ISBN13: 9780385315067
• Release Date: March 1998
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

In this extraordinary collection of stories

New York Times-bestselling author of Evening Class and This Year It Will Be Different once again reveals her incomparable understanding of matters of the heart. In The Return Journey, Maeve Binchy brings us sons and lovers, daughters and strangers, husbands and wives in their infinite variety--powerfully compelling stories of love, loss, revelation, and reconciliation.A secretarys silent passion for her boss meets the acid test on a business trip....A man and a womans mutual disdain at first sight shows how deceptive appearances can be....An insecure wife clings to the illusion of order, only to discover chaos at the hands of a house sitter who opens the wrong doors....A pair of star-crossed travelers take each others bags, and then learn that when you unlock a strangers suitcase, you enter a stranger's life. In their company are many more, whose poignant, ironic, often humorous stories--unforgettable slices of life--make up The Return Journey, a spellbinding trip into the human heart.Maeve Binchy was born and educated in Dublin. She is the author of the bestselling books Evening Class, This Year It Will Be Different, The Glass Lake, The Copper Beech, The Lilac Bus, Circle of Friends, Silver Wedding, Firefly Summer, Echoes, Light a Penny Candle, and London Transports, three volumes of short stories, two plays, and a teleplay that won three awards at the Prague Film Festival. She has been writing for The Irish Times since 1969 and lives with her husband, Gordon Snell, in Dublin. Maeve Binchy captured the imagination of the world with her spellbinding tales of the Irish people. With her trademark charm, wit, and sheer storytelling genius, she tells stories that are at once universal yet uniquely Irish. Now in this delightful little book, she spins a collection of all-new yarns--stories of sadness and joy, warmth and humor. I'd also recommend, if you missed Tino Georgiou's novel--The Fates, getting a copy--absolutely fab..

A book of great stories

When I first started reading this book, I never realized it was one of short stories. As usual Maeve Binchy fleshes out the characters and you can understand very quickly what is going on.What I like about each of these stories, is that it shows a point of view, of a character at a pin point of time. That pin point of time, is a crossroads. They can opt to continue on, in their well worn rut or they can make decisions that change their lives. These are not earthshattering choices, but ones that define their character.If you don't want to settle into a book that will take a while to read, and you've never read Maeve Binchy, here is a good taste. I liked it especially well, as when I read it, I had little time available to read, it gave me just enough story to ponder on, each time I read.Excellent bunch of stories.

A great travel companion--even for an armchair traveler!

I usually don't like short stories as much as novels, but this book was a wonderful surprise. I loved The Return Journey and highly recommend it! Often short stories seem unsatisfying to me; if I like them, I am frustrated by their stopping too soon. That didn't happen with this book. I found these glimpses into the lives of the various characters to be intriguing and thought-provoking--and just the right length. Somehow Maeve Binchy has provided just enough for the stories to be absolutely satisfying and complete--although you may find yourself lost in your own thoughts afterwards! Each story deals with a journey. If you've ever wondered what human tale lies behind the sad or excited face of a stranger met on the road, or been curious about an unlikely pair of travel companions--you may enjoy this set of stories. I think the book would be just perfect to tuck in a suitcase for a vacation. The stories would also do well on your nighttable to read before bedtime--and then dream of your own trip! If you're the type of person who likes to sit with a cup of tea and daydream next to a sea with "twenty different shades of green and blue"--and wonders about that person over there who is sitting on a rock doing the same: try this book!

I understand what Maeve Binchy is trying to do.

Ms. Binchy is trying to show us the inevitability of lives that cross, trying to show how each and every encounter affects us in so many ways we will never know them all. Each story in this book leaves you wanting to say "So?", yet your heart knows the answer to that. The stories aren't profound, nor are they even exciting in any way, yet they are more real than our own perspectives on life. If the author is attempting to make us stop a moment and look back on those insignificant small pieces of our past, like the time we talked with that stranger on the airplane, or that man we ran into in the bank who reminded us so much of Dad, or the lady behind the counter at the 7-11 who knows how we like our coffee each day, then these stories succeed in doing just that. Did those encounters help shape who we are today? Maeve Binchy has done a superb job of magnifying the impossible.

Real life characters - moving stories!

As I finished the first few stories in The Return Journey, I was again reminded of why Maeve Binchy is my favorite author, and why I eagerly await her novels. I have to say that I normally avoid collections of stories. They are usually unsatisfying and leave me wanting more. But, I've read her story collections before and know that she makes the characters memorable and the story meaningful, no matter how short the story. I'm about 2/3 of the way through this book and am thoroughly enjoying it! I am an avid reader and tend to be very picky about the books I read. I have to be captivated by the story, the characters and the author's writing style early in the book, or it will be abandoned. Often I wish that all authors had your gift for making the characters come alive and be real to me. Some authors spend paragraphs on end describing the characters' physical features, clothing, etc., but they are never "real." Maeve Binchy doesn't have to say a word about the appearance of her characters. . .I can picture them from her prose. I admire her ability to paint pictures with words, make the people come alive and tell such meaningful stories.