The Journey — Every Friday night young Ron Fitzgerald’s 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, Mikey Burns, who plays the buffoon while his brother makes a fortune in the family business, to the rich doctor’s daughter, Dee Burke, who is having a secret affair with a married man, … man, 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 Tom’s bus pulls in, the riders find the unexpected waiting for them… as each of their very private lives unfolds to reveal a sharp betrayal of the heart, a young man’s crime, and chance for new dreams among the eight intriguing men and women on… The Lilac Bus.
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Maeve Binchy reliably provides a great read.
I was disappointed to some degree with this book. Just as I was getting very interested in a particular character and their story, the next chapter changed characters and started another story . . . and so on. I kept waiting for the book to bring all these characters and their stories together. At the end, I turned the page expecting to further …
Disappointing.
This author has not disappointed readers with this book, loved the characters and relationships and love the setting in Ireland.
I didn’t realize this was a book of short stories, which I am not a fan of. The first srlection, titled the lilac bus was difficult to follow. Characters were likeable. Very disappointed overall.
Not her usual
I have to say I do not know where this book was supposed to go.
not particularly engaging; not a page-turner; finally got too bored
Rather disjointed. Lovely to read but I felt the stories never had a proper ending.
I loved this book enough to read it twice..
Interesting and fun!
Book was about people who rode the lilac bus every weekend on their stories back to their home town. Interesting people’s very personal lives. This part was good. These people had a connection and knew each other. But then we had stories about people “in the big city. Theses stories were so disconnected to the main story and then it just ended. …
This isn’t the Maeve Bincy I have grown to love. It is as if she is trying to wed new social issues to her traditional Irish village life. It comes off as characters that just don’t fit into the part she has cast for them. I was disappointed: a first for me and a Maeve Binchy novel.
I read this book any years ago nd decided to read it again. I enjoyed it just as much the second time.
Boring
A grand read! I stayed up all night just to read the next bit- characters that you just want to know more about! Excellent story telling!
Don’t bother
Nothing was ever concluded. Every story left you hanging. If I want to write my own endings, I’ll write the book.
Maeve Benchy’s characters are so real and believable. I didn’t want the book to end, I was so caught up in the characters! Like all the other books by this author, you will love being a part of the lives of these wonderful people in Ireland.
It was okay