Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Victoria Line, Central Line
by
Maeve Binchy
Millions of people travel on London's tube every day, yet we usually give our fellow passengers only a cursory glance. But each one of these nameless passengers has their own story to tell.
At Notting Hill, the mysterious secretary, harbouring her secrets, travels to work; at Highburyand Islington, Adam has a sudden change of heart; and at Holborn, a disastrous reunion is a...more
At Notting Hill, the mysterious secretary, harbouring her secrets, travels to work; at Highburyand Islington, Adam has a sudden change of heart; and at Holborn, a disastrous reunion is a...more
Paperback, 432 pages
Published
July 6th 2006
by Arrow
(first published 1980)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,280)
Jan 09, 2013
Louise Mundt
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
romance,
short-stories
Valget faldt på “Skæbner Undervejs” af Maeve Binchy, da det blev tid at vælge bog til februar måned af Bogudfordringen 2011: Novellesamlinger. Jeg har længe haft bogen stående i reolen – så længe, at jeg faktisk helt havde glemt, at den stod der.
Jeg er generelt stor fan af Maeve Binchy og synes, at hun har skrevet utrolig mange gode bøger. Jeg har imidlertid ikke læst nogen af hendes noveller før, så jeg var meget spændt på, hvad jeg ville synes om dem.
Novellerne tager alle udgangspunkt Londons...more
Jeg er generelt stor fan af Maeve Binchy og synes, at hun har skrevet utrolig mange gode bøger. Jeg har imidlertid ikke læst nogen af hendes noveller før, så jeg var meget spændt på, hvad jeg ville synes om dem.
Novellerne tager alle udgangspunkt Londons...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Maeve Binchy is great at relationships - how people interact with one another, whether they've been together for a day or many years, is something she writes about with great flair. I admired the concept of Victoria Line/Central Line, and the first story about a woman stuck on the Tube and dreading the meeting that is to come when she is "freed," fed into my expectation that the stories would dwell on the people we see on public transport, and our secret wonderings about them. This wasn't always...more
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 ob...more
Very tongue in cheek! Refreshing read :))
Now that I've read it, I find that I have never read a short-story book in which I have related with each and every story! It makes me feel a tad psychotic, but in a good way. The book gets slightly more weird with every story and a lot more interesting. I especially liked the twists in each one and then at a point started waiting for them and felt quite sheepish when sometimes they never came. Binchy keeps you on your toes throughout. This is the first b...more
Now that I've read it, I find that I have never read a short-story book in which I have related with each and every story! It makes me feel a tad psychotic, but in a good way. The book gets slightly more weird with every story and a lot more interesting. I especially liked the twists in each one and then at a point started waiting for them and felt quite sheepish when sometimes they never came. Binchy keeps you on your toes throughout. This is the first b...more
Was living in London at the time, and bought this book at Waterloo Station on the way home. I travelled the Underground every day, and it was fun to read about extraordinary people at ordinary places. Because I'd sometimes looked at fellow travellers forced to spend time together on the tube and wondered curiously what went on in their lives, extrapolating from the little one could see in their clothes and behaviour.
Something to pass the time while commuting, as was reading this collection of B...more
Something to pass the time while commuting, as was reading this collection of B...more
Another good read from Maeve Binchy, this time in the form of short stories for each tube stop on the Victoria and Central line. Clever idea and the same amusing, poignant, stories that Maeve always provide. However I prefer to read her novels where there's more character development and you get some closure on the stories.
I will never read this one again. It is a series of small stories told by various characters who ride the train lines to and from work, or shopping or visiting friends etc. It was just a bore and absolute waste of my time. None of the characters are developed
Wonderful anthology of short stories concerning the riders of the Victoria Line/Central line public transport in London. A bid different concept for Binchy and thoroughly enjoyable. Marketed under a different title in the US.
Mar 01, 2011
Fatma
added it
I love novels of Binchy. But while i am reading "Victoria Line, Central Line" i realized that i like it better when she wrote about Ireland and old times ( like "Light a Penny Candle", "Circle of Friends", "Echoes") i really don't know why! :)
Since she just recently died, I thought I would read one of her books in memorial. She is a great summer vacation easy to read author and this book of short stories did not disappoint.
Another good read from Maeve Binchy.
If she had explored some more themes apart from unrequited love, single women and married lovers, I would have given her a 4.
If she had explored some more themes apart from unrequited love, single women and married lovers, I would have given her a 4.
Not the usual kind of Maeve Binchy since there was no connection between the characters/chapters of this book. Anyway, it opens a few windows upon the lives of Brits. :)
A reread. Love Maeve Binchy's short stories. Glimpses of normal people's lives with the constant message that there is no such thing as normal.
I particularly like the one about the couple trying to spice up their sex life....
I love Maeve Binchey. This was classic Binchey, but I usually do not read short stories.
May 28, 2012
Marg
added it
Love it. Each individual story of the London TUBE.
One of very few short stories collections I have ever read.
How I will miss this great writer!
As with many of Maeve Binchy's books, a nice easy read when you don't want to have to concentrate too much.
The german title reads "Die Straßen von London" (NOT Straben)...
I love Maeve Binchy and have read so many of her books. I picked this one up a few weeks ago and hope I haven't already read it!
naff to say the least, wouldn't recommend - Ms Binchy needs to gather a wee twist or two to be an effective short story writer - far too hum drum with her her stories that don't actually fit the areas she is talking about either -clearly has never lived in the southern parts of London or the stories would be more robust and 'real'
struggling to finish - lost momentum after first few tales of areas in London where I have lived.... nah, don;t bother
struggling to finish - lost momentum after first few tales of areas in London where I have lived.... nah, don;t bother
When I discovered this book on the shelves of the fiction section at Chapters I was very excited that there was a Maeve Binchy book that I hadn't read! I liked this book but it is composed of short stories and I found myself (like I do in most of her books) wanting to know some characters more and wishing that their stories were longer. Because of this I found that this wasn't a must read for me every night.
Reread this. It's still not one of my favorite Maeve Binchy books.
------
April 3, 2011--A little treat I picked up in Northern Ireland. I enjoyed reading the book with the Irish spellings of certain words. :-)
While I love anything by Binchy, I think I prefer her long books to her short stories. She is so talented at character development and when I'm reading a short, I find myself wanting more!
------
April 3, 2011--A little treat I picked up in Northern Ireland. I enjoyed reading the book with the Irish spellings of certain words. :-)
While I love anything by Binchy, I think I prefer her long books to her short stories. She is so talented at character development and when I'm reading a short, I find myself wanting more!
Enjoyed some of the stories but I think there were too many to take the book at one sitting. I have enjoyed a number of Binchy's longer novels but found these short stories a bit too short and a bit too numerous!
This collection of short stories is a bit dated but still fun to read. Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors and her short stories are always engaging. Great beach read.
Aug 16, 2007
Christine Marciniak
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-stories-read
This book is aka - London Transports - which I already read. They shouldn't change the name of a book when it goes to paperback, if you ask my opinion.
Somehow this book was retitled London Transports, I'm almost sure.
A nice collection of short stories.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Maeve Binchy was born in Dalkey, County Dublin and came to fame first as London Correspondent for the Irish Times. Her first novel, Light a Penny Candle, made her famous in the UK and USA. She passed away on July 30, 2012, at the age of 72.
More about Maeve Binchy...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
