Quotes from Maeve Binchy

God, Benny, don't blow your nose like that in the church. You'd lift half the congregation out of their seats," Patsy warned.

He called everyone sweetheart. There was nothing particularly special about it.

The rage she felt was a real thing, you could almost take it out of her and see it, like a red mist.

Most people had nobody to share excitements and to celebrate with.

people don't have to explain things nearly as much as you think they do.

I don't think we should spend any time wandering around that remote possibility. It's nice of you to wish me well, but actually I find it unbearably patronizing.

Stevie. He went up to the hotel and beat the living daylights out of Louis. He's lost three teeth and he has a broken jaw.

But there it was again. His face, handsome, petulant, impatient, the way he was when he didn't get what he wanted. 'Get out of here, Louis,' she said aloud. 'I've nothing to lose now,' Louis said. 'I'll bring you down with me, you'll be sorry you didn't listen to me. I've nothing to lose.' There was a huge truck. The lights of a truck and a terrible shattering of glass and … Then there was nothing.

But in University women were there because they were studious. Or because they wanted people to think they

2. Men like women without make-up. They don't. They like extremely well and carefully made-up women whose skin has that expensive cultured look which comes from three hours at the dressing table. A woman who is really without make-up would frighten them to death. They regard blotches as eczema, and uneven colouring as a sign of tertiary syphilis.

bowls of cornflakes

Life went on. And it was quite usual to see young people taking a boat out over the quiet water of the lake in Lough Glass at night. Stevie and Kit took the little box of ashes and sprinkled it in the water. The moon was high in the sky and they didn't feel sad. It wasn't really a funeral. All that was over, in London and years ago … the first time. This wasn't a sad thing, it was just the right thing to do.

didn't know whether or not she

patted her stomach

I wish I knew what you were planning to do with your life, Kit McMahon,' Clio said. 'So do I,' Kit agreed fervently.

To heal would be to open the wound,examine it and forgive

I don't know. Maybe the fellow from my own home town. He's very good looking, Stevie.' Kit said this partly to put the glamorous Frankie in the position of knowing that Stevie was out of bounds, partly to convince herself. In her heart she knew that Stevie was cheap and obvious.

Kennst du das Land, wo die Zitronen blühn, Im dunklen Laub die Goldorangen glühn.

It ended badly. As everything Helen Doyle had ever touched seemed to end.

You've got a good man there,' Ivy said to Lena. 'Yes,' Lena said. Ivy looked at her sharply. 'Deep down he's full of heart,' Ivy insisted. Ivy, who knew how unfaithful he was, how hard she tried to entertain him. Ivy, who alone knew that they were not married, could be fooled by this little gesture of goodwill.

Was Louis mean? He had always seemed the very spirit of generosity. When he had hardly sixpence left he would spend the coins he had on a bunch of violets. She couldn't bear to think of Louis as mean. Anything else but that.

She told them to read a poem every day and think about it, and whenever they went to a new place, to find out about its history and what had made it the place it had become.

Turkish Bath

Laugh a lot and be full of trust, not suspicion.