London Transports [Mass Market Paperback]

Maeve Binchy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1995

Whether it's the sudden snapping of bonds between lovers or shopping on Oxford Street, Maeve Binchy finds the unexpected truth in experiences so real that every woman will recognize them. Filled with her delicious humor and warmth, the twenty-two stories in London Transports will delight and captivate as they take us to a place that is far away—and yet so familiar...Where having an affair with a married man brings one woman to a turning point...Where another finds that looking for an apartment to share can be a risky business...Where nosing into a secretary's life can have shocking results...Where a dress designer just had a god-awful day...And where Maeve Binchy captures the beat of every woman's heart.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Binchy makes you laugh, cry and care. Her warmth and sympathy render the daily struggles of ordinary people heroic and turn storytelling into art.—San Francisco Chronicle

From the Inside Flap

Whether it's the sudden snapping of bonds between lovers or shopping on Oxford Street, Maeve Binchy finds the unexpected truth in experiences so real that every woman will recognize them. Filled with her delicious humor and warmth, the twenty-two stories in London Transports will delight and captivate as they take us to a place that is far away--and yet so familiar...

...Where having an affair with a married man brings one woman to a turning point
...Where another finds that looking for an apartment to share can be a risky business
...Where nosing into a secretary's life can have a shocking result
...Where a dress designer just had a god-awful day
...And where Maeve Binchy captures the beat of every woman's heart

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dell (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440212359
• ISBN-13: 978-0440212355
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #679,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maeve Binchy is the author of numerous best-selling books, including Nights of Rain and Stars, Quentins, Scarlet Feather, Circle of Friends, and Tara Road, which was an Oprah's Book Club selection. She has written for Gourmet; O, The Oprah Magazine; Modern Maturity; and Good Housekeeping, among other publications. She and her husband, Gordon Snell, live in Dalkey, Ireland, and London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Work Has Made Me Into a Binchy Fan Overnight, June 8, 2003

By 

paisleymonsoon (Tulsa, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: London Transports (Radio Collection) (Audio Cassette)

I had never read anything by Maeve Binchy before this. After I had Lasik surgery on my eyes, I couldn't read for the first week, so I checked out this book-on-tape from the library thinking that if I didn't like her writing, I could just turn off the tape and return it to the library. However, this collection of stories was brilliant. Also, Kate Binchy is a wonderful reader. She pauses at all the right moments to allow you to ponder what you've just heard.

LONDON TRANSPORTS is a collection of 22 stories that you'll want to ravenously devour. The stories seem to be just a page in someone's life. However, they leave a lasting impression on your mind. The twist in the stories are not the conventional type; the twist is the way that the character thinks and handles the situations that are thrown at them.

Some of the more memorable stories includes a 28-year-old virgin who goes to a sex shop to find a manual for people who've never had sex. Because she's embarrassed, she says that she's a nun looking for information for her 28-year-old virgin neice. Another story has a young woman looking for an apartment and finding an amazing apartment belonging to Marigold, a wheelchair-ridden gold-digger. But the apartment is so amazing that the young woman doesn't care that Marigold may take everything that has ever belonged to her.

Maeve Binchy has a gift for painfully realistic character creation. I imagine her sitting on park benches and making up stories about the people who walk by her. One thing that struck me as odd is that almost every story assumes that everyone in London is having an extra-marital affair. Maybe I'm naive to think and hope that this isn't based in reality. However, according to an Irish co-worker who happens to be a distant cousin of Maeve Binchy, Maeve and her husband live in separate countries. What does this mean about their own fidelity? I can only guess.

I'll definitely be reading more of Binchy's works after this. I can hardly wait to start.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Victoria Line, Central Line has 2 more stations, August 10, 2002

By 

Ricardo Correia Lima Huber - See all my reviews

This review is from: London Transports (Mass Market Paperback)

Another wonderful collection of short stories written by the masterful Irish author - you will be very captivated by them. Another helpful reviewer has warned readers that "London Transports" is the American title given to "Victoria Line, Central Line", so if you read one, you read them both. I got the British title, and by comparing the table of contents of "London" with the ones in "Victoria", found out that there are actually 2 stations missing in the American title: Tottenham Hale and Vauxhall. It's worth purchasing "Victoria" then, since each line written by the talented hands of Mrs. Binchy cannot be missed by avid readers - we cannot afford such loss.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An easy, readable book, February 5, 1999

By 

Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: London Transports (Mass Market Paperback)

Maeve Binchy is, by far, my favorite author and I find it difficult to criticize anything she writes. London Transports was definitely a readable collection of short stories, although it wasn't her best. She repeats herself in one story...it shows up later in The Return Journey. On the plus side, however, some of the stories deal with topics not presented in her other books. They shine with Binchy's wit and style that I always enjoy in all her books, and I never thought once about stopping. If you are a die-hard Binchy fan who has made it your goal to read all her works (like me), go ahead and read this book. It's worth it.