London Transports

This set of short stories is linked by each taking place at or starting at a particular stop on the London underground/overground network. It works reasonable well as a linking device, for a set of fairly disparate stories. It is, to me, a slightly surprising collection. I always think of the author as a bit fluffy and yet there's a fair amount of steel in the female characters she writes about. There's abortion and a certain feminist strand to some of the characters. The wife swopping one was probably the most overtly funny. It is a colleciton of it's time, in that there's nary a mobile phone here anywhere, but the people themselves seem real enough, even if time has moved on around them. Nothing positively outstanding, but no clunkers show more either, it's a comfortable type of listen. show less

It's a charming idea to travel through London's tube to discover the lives along way. I found the stories rather uneven, some being funny, witty, and original while others are confusing, a bit dull or odd. All, however, come alive under Binchy's lively pen; she does have a talent for story telling.

I very much enjoyed these little vignettes. They reminded me of the first Maeve Binchy stories that I read which was when I was at a conference in Ireland. Binchy wrote in the Irish Times and the columns were a lot like these stories. Then I discovered I could buy books of her stories and I still have the first one that I bought, The Lilac Bus.

My mother, who went with me on that trip to Ireland, also liked Maeve Binchy. Mom died over 5 years ago but if she was alive today would have been her 91st birthday. I think her hand must have been guiding mine when I picked this book from my TBR pile to read over the weekend. So thanks bookwormkt for taking me back in time and giving me a wonderful memory.

I love Maeve Binchy. I honestly really did cry when I head that she had passed away. I have been reading her novels and short stories for so many years I was just used to her books. No matter what she was always an automatic buy for me. I have not had a chance to read all of her books so decided to go back and read the ones I have not up until now.

I really did enjoy London Transports. I do think that she was a very fine teller of short stories and wish that more authors out there would do short story collections these days.

All of the stories take place in London and each story had what I would consider a realistic ending. For those that have read Maeve Binchy before she has stories that deal with adultery, betrayal, abortion, love, show more unrequited love, race relations. I think my favorite stories in this collection were actually:

"Holland Park" when a woman comes to a realization about who she really loves and owes it all to two people she really can't stand.
"Lancaster Gate" when a woman comes to the end of a relationship.
"Marble Arch" when a woman who has sacrificed for her boyfriend realizes that not everything is as it seems.
"Holborn" a married woman meets up with her ex and his new wife and is shocked by how changed he is.

And my hand's down favorite story "King's Cross" where a woman comes along and helps her female boss in becoming noticed and promoted at her job.

I definitely recommend to long-time and new readers of Maeve Binchy's work. show less

I really liked this, unusual as I don't usually enjoy short story collections as much as full length novels. Maeve Binchy has the knack of breathing life into a character from an early stage, so you care about what happens to them. There is always the problem of having to say goodbye to them earlier than you would in a novel, but then the next one proves just as fascinating.

If I have a criticism, it's regarding the later stories - slightly longer than the earlier ones, and occasionally a bit obscure. But generally a really good read, particularly if you like Maeve Binchy and you like short stories, but worth a go even if you don't

Some good short stories in this collection, but mostly they seemed unfinished to me - no real resolution or conclusion. Likeable and believable characters but, especially in the earlier ones, frustrating stories.

2024 update: This collection was originally published as 'Victoria Line, Central Line', I had read three of the stories before I realised I had read them all recently in another book.

A collection of short stories, although not her best are still very readable.