Quotes from Maeve Binchy

She put her head down on the table and cried all the tears that she knew she should have cried in the past year and a half. But they weren't ready then, they were now.

It was so silly to try to define things by words. What did one person mean by infatuation or obsession and another mean by love. The whole thing couldn't be tidied away with neat little labels." - Lena Gray

Any one could write a book," said the taxi driver. "Yes, they could, but they DON'T," said Maeve Binchy

If you had your time all over again....? She was keen to know. You can't rewrite history. I have no idea what I'd do.

Who knows what light housework means? One nun's light could be another nun's penal servitude.

Writing is a bit like going on a diet; you should either tell everyone or no one.

It's a funny old world. Once you realize that, you're halfway there.

You can't marry an ungenerous man; there's no joy in his soul.

But an intelligent man like you would know that to live in an unrealistic hope is a very foolish way to spend a life." - Lena Gray

How will I explain it all Ã¢â'¬Â¦ to everybody?" "You know, people don't have to explain things nearly as much as you think they do.

Wasn't it hard that you did so much for children and loved them so deeply and they seemed so indifferent to you in return?

Listen to me, Ria. It will be different when you and I have a home. It will be a real home, one that people will want to come running back to.

And he said nothing. Just put his arms around her more closely as the whole heart clinic and their friends and relations danced to the music of "Hey Jude".

Is there anything more harsh in this life than to be misjudged, and have one's motives entirely misunderstood?

well. The term "frocky" was used a lot as a derogatory description for women that Eileen and Stephanie thought were dressing just to please male egos. Yet

It was true what they had been saying: if people remember you, then you're not dead. It was very comforting.

It was quite possible that she had lost the capacity to love and care anymore and that this is how she was going to be for the rest of her life.

He thought about how life never turns out like you think and hope it will.

The day she realized that there were many ways to go, and Mother's was only one way. Not necessarily the right way, and not at all the wrong way. Just one of the many ways ahead.

She soon called a halt to the work. Judy's great success was that she stopped her helpers before they got tired.

Stop thinking like Alice in Wonderland, Celia told herself sternly. You're a grown-up, it's no use shutting your eyes, wishing things would happen

do you know the land where the lemon-trees blossom;where the golden oranges glow in the dark foliage''.

It's what people do is important, not what they say or feel.

In my experience, lights at the end of the tunnel tend to flicker out.