Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
St Leonards, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin, 1995.
Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Circle of Friends and The Glass Lake comes This Year It Will Be Different, a stunning new work that brings us the magic and spirit of Christmas in fifteen stories filled with Maeve Binchy's trademark wit, charm, and sheer storytelling genius. Instead of nostalgia, Binchy evokes contemporary life; instead of Christmas homilies, she offers truth; and instead of sugarplums, she brings us the nourishment of holidays that precipitate change, growth, and new beginnings. In "A Typical Irish Christmas," a grieving New York widower heads for a holiday in Ireland and finds an unexpected destination not just for himself, but for a father and daughter at odds. The title story "This Year It Will Be Different" also delves into the emotions of a person at mid-life--a woman with a complacent husband and grown children who are entering a season that can forever alter her life, and theirs. In "Pulling Together," a teacher not yet out of her twenties sees her affair with a married man at a turning point as Christmas Eve approaches--and she may be off on a new direction with some unusual friends. And in the delightful tale "The Hard Core," the four most recalcitrant residents of a nursing home are left alone at Christmas with the owner's daughter in charge: the result is sure to be disaster--or the kind of life-affirming renewal that only the spirit of the season can bring. The stories in This Year It Will Be Different powerfully evoke many lives--step-families grappling with ex's, long-married couples faced with in-law problems, a wandering husband choosing between "the other woman" and his wife, a child caught in grown-up tugs-of-war--during the one holiday when feelings cannot be easily hidden. The time of year may be magical, imbued with meaning. But the situations are universal. And Maeve Binchy makes us care about them all. As the Philadelphia Inquirer noted, "Maeve Binchy's people come to life fully. They make you laugh and cry and disturb your sleep." They do precisely that in this extraordinary collection, on the night before Christmas when we are snug in our beds, or anywhere, any time of the year.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member auntieknickers
I felt many of these stories were rather depressing, dealing with women who were making bad choices in their personal lives. Major fans of Binchy's work will probably like them, though.
LibraryThing member 1morechapter
I started off this morning just wanting to read 1-2 stories from this book by Maeve Binchy, and I ended up reading 8!! I really like all the stories in This Year It Will Be Different so far. They’re not warm and fuzzy, but yet they’re not horribly depressing either. They are about people with
“The First Step of Christmas”
Jenny is a step-parent to Alison, who Jenny believes is quite a nuisance. Yet, it’s Christmas-will that feeling change?
“The Ten Snaps of Christmas”
Orla is a teenage girl who gets a Polaroid camera for Christmas. When she starts taking ‘real’ photos instead of the ‘fake’ ones people usually do, how will the family react?
“Miss Martin’s Wish”
Elsa is a teacher who has been jilted 10 days before her wedding. She spends years spending so-so Christmases at other people’s homes. Will this year be any different?
“The Hard Core”
‘The Hard Core’ is a foursome of obstinate, fussy geriatric patients in a live-in care facility. They’re so objectionable even their families don’t want them for Christmas. But yet, maybe it’ll be a good Christmas after all. . . .
“Christmas Timing”
A ‘perfect’ couple never gets to spend Christmas together. They each think the other is perfect, until. . .
“The Civilized Christmas”
A shy wife dealing with a step-son and her husband’s beautiful ex-wife has much to deal with this Christmas.
“Pulling Together”
Two teachers and a student pull together for the season.
“A Hundred Milligrams”
A couple ‘get to’ spend time with the wife’s fussy mother over Christmas. Will it pull them apart, or bring them closer together?
I really enjoyed all these and can’t wait to read the rest of the stories in this book. Hopefully I’ll be able to post more about them next week!
Last Monday, I summarized the first half of the book, so look there if you’d like more info on all the stories in this book. This week, we have:
“The Christmas Baramundi”
Definitely the most depressing story in the book, and one of the few I really didn’t care for. A woman thinks she meets the perfect man, but then finds out differently.
“This Year It Will Be Different”
This one is also depressing. A woman thinks her family wants to help her with all the Christmas preparations, but do they?
“Season of Fuss”
This time, a woman’s family helps with the preparations, but is that what she really wants?
“A Typical Irish Christmas. . . ”
This one’s nice. A family is reunited.
“Traveling Hopefully”
A man and a woman are stuck on a long plane ride together. Will the relationship continue after the flight?
“What Is Happiness?”
A boy is caught up in his father’s infidelity when the mistress stalks the family.
“The Best Inn in Town”
Two grandmothers fight over their turf in a family that is usually united over the subject.
I would have to say I much preferred the first half of the book to the second half. The second half of the book is much more depressing. While the families depicted in the first half were far from perfect, there was at least a little hope involved. Not so in some of these later stories. However, overall I did enjoy the book and would recommend it for the Christmas season.
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flawed characters and lives just trying to make the best of things.“The First Step of Christmas”
Jenny is a step-parent to Alison, who Jenny believes is quite a nuisance. Yet, it’s Christmas-will that feeling change?
“The Ten Snaps of Christmas”
Orla is a teenage girl who gets a Polaroid camera for Christmas. When she starts taking ‘real’ photos instead of the ‘fake’ ones people usually do, how will the family react?
“Miss Martin’s Wish”
Elsa is a teacher who has been jilted 10 days before her wedding. She spends years spending so-so Christmases at other people’s homes. Will this year be any different?
“The Hard Core”
‘The Hard Core’ is a foursome of obstinate, fussy geriatric patients in a live-in care facility. They’re so objectionable even their families don’t want them for Christmas. But yet, maybe it’ll be a good Christmas after all. . . .
“Christmas Timing”
A ‘perfect’ couple never gets to spend Christmas together. They each think the other is perfect, until. . .
“The Civilized Christmas”
A shy wife dealing with a step-son and her husband’s beautiful ex-wife has much to deal with this Christmas.
“Pulling Together”
Two teachers and a student pull together for the season.
“A Hundred Milligrams”
A couple ‘get to’ spend time with the wife’s fussy mother over Christmas. Will it pull them apart, or bring them closer together?
I really enjoyed all these and can’t wait to read the rest of the stories in this book. Hopefully I’ll be able to post more about them next week!
Last Monday, I summarized the first half of the book, so look there if you’d like more info on all the stories in this book. This week, we have:
“The Christmas Baramundi”
Definitely the most depressing story in the book, and one of the few I really didn’t care for. A woman thinks she meets the perfect man, but then finds out differently.
“This Year It Will Be Different”
This one is also depressing. A woman thinks her family wants to help her with all the Christmas preparations, but do they?
“Season of Fuss”
This time, a woman’s family helps with the preparations, but is that what she really wants?
“A Typical Irish Christmas. . . ”
This one’s nice. A family is reunited.
“Traveling Hopefully”
A man and a woman are stuck on a long plane ride together. Will the relationship continue after the flight?
“What Is Happiness?”
A boy is caught up in his father’s infidelity when the mistress stalks the family.
“The Best Inn in Town”
Two grandmothers fight over their turf in a family that is usually united over the subject.
I would have to say I much preferred the first half of the book to the second half. The second half of the book is much more depressing. While the families depicted in the first half were far from perfect, there was at least a little hope involved. Not so in some of these later stories. However, overall I did enjoy the book and would recommend it for the Christmas season.
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LibraryThing member NancyJak
The first story had me HOOKED. I've read this book probably five times. She has such a way of writing about people and making you really feel for them.
LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
13 Jun 2009 - Oxfam, Birmingham
I fell on this newer Binchy excitedly in the Oxfam shop (I remember this trip; it was just after Hay and I really shouldn't have been buying MORE books, esp not the massive Ted Heath bio that is next to read after the current crop!) but I'm afraid it disappointed
Will retain to register and BookCross on Christmas Day in the park.
I fell on this newer Binchy excitedly in the Oxfam shop (I remember this trip; it was just after Hay and I really shouldn't have been buying MORE books, esp not the massive Ted Heath bio that is next to read after the current crop!) but I'm afraid it disappointed
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slightly. Short stories, fine. About Christmas - also fine. Binchy writes a good family and a good story. But these were *very* short, often almost vignettes, and I missed the depth and mix of pathos and humour which she is so good at. Don't get me wrong - a good few of these were excellent - but it wasn't as marvellous as I'd hoped.Will retain to register and BookCross on Christmas Day in the park.
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
I’m such a sucker for Binchy’s books. I tend to like her novels more than her short story collections, but this one was perfect for December. There are 15 stories, all with some Christmas theme. That being said, they aren’t sweet cheerful stories, that’s not really her style. There’s the
The way the Binchy writes is just perfect for this medium. You don’t need 300 pages to get to know the characters. In the matter of a few paragraphs she’s given you the flavor of their lives and that’s all you need. I will always return to her books as comfort reads.
“It was so easy to be wise about other people's business.”
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tension of a blended family, a broken heart, a newly married son, an unexpected trip to New York, and so much more. Each one gives us a quick glimpse into the lives of someone new. The way the Binchy writes is just perfect for this medium. You don’t need 300 pages to get to know the characters. In the matter of a few paragraphs she’s given you the flavor of their lives and that’s all you need. I will always return to her books as comfort reads.
“It was so easy to be wise about other people's business.”
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LibraryThing member Manyra
Definitely on my re-read list for next year's holidays.
LibraryThing member sweetzombieducky
A few good stories but overall incredibly boring.
LibraryThing member Erika.D
Great Christmas book! Composed of short stories following the lives of different people but in the end they all sort of tie together and with a Christmas theme. It was a quick read and I wanted more when I was done! Loved this Christmas book!
LibraryThing member TerriS
Maeve Binchy at her best! This is a collection of short stories all set at Christmastime! Each story has a different set of Christmas problems and, of course, the famous Maeve Binchy twist at the end. I would highly recommend reading this book, especially during Christmas :)
LibraryThing member Helenliz
An entirely unseasonable read, but then a lot of these stories are not exactly filled with Christmas spiriti in a positve manner, so I'm not sure that's such a bad thing to be reading it in February. In each story, there is someone (usually a woman) who is either looking at how this Christmas will
The one strange thing I did note was that this was published in 1996, but it felt to be older than that, I'd have said late 1980s. there's little in the way of technology that we see as part of our every day lives, and so it felt to be from an older world and felt dated because of that lack. Not the people, people are pretty much the same, but the way they carry on their lives has changed - the married man no longer needs to sneak up to the second phone on the bedroom to phone his mistress while the wife does Christmas with the children.
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compare (for better or worse) with previous Christmases, or is wishing that it were different. A number of them revolve around marriages, or single women engaged in affairs with married men and how they are either content (or otherwise) with their lot. Some of them are hopeful, some of them less so. In only a few of them did I feel that the character was in a better place at the end of the story than at the beginning.The one strange thing I did note was that this was published in 1996, but it felt to be older than that, I'd have said late 1980s. there's little in the way of technology that we see as part of our every day lives, and so it felt to be from an older world and felt dated because of that lack. Not the people, people are pretty much the same, but the way they carry on their lives has changed - the married man no longer needs to sneak up to the second phone on the bedroom to phone his mistress while the wife does Christmas with the children.
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LibraryThing member MissBrangwen
I have loved several of Maeve Binchy's novels which is why I am always looking for more, although there have been some that I did not enjoy that much. I still expected to like this book of short stories, but frankly, I did not. There are fifteen short stories in the collection and I liked two,
The reason is that the stories are full of people who loathe each other and are mean to each other. There are lots of men who cheat on their wives, women who put up with it (both the wives and the lovers), elderly people who bossy around their adult children, characters who give up hope,... Just why are these Christmas stories? It is certainly not what I expected from Maeve Binchy.
While of course it does not all have to be candlelight and sugarcoating, I was not up for the degree of despair, negativity and also misogyny in these stories.
Of course Maeve Binchy was a good writer and she managed to say a lot within a few pages, so it might have been a different reading experience if my expectations had been different.
Just to point them out:
My favourite story was "A Typical Irish Christmas" about a widower who travels to Ireland for the first Christmas after his wife passed away. I liked this a lot, but it was much too short.
I also enjoyed "Miss Martin's Wish" about a young teacher who finally realizes her dream of traveling to New York years after the cancellation of her wedding.
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found one to be ok, and disliked the others to various degrees.The reason is that the stories are full of people who loathe each other and are mean to each other. There are lots of men who cheat on their wives, women who put up with it (both the wives and the lovers), elderly people who bossy around their adult children, characters who give up hope,... Just why are these Christmas stories? It is certainly not what I expected from Maeve Binchy.
While of course it does not all have to be candlelight and sugarcoating, I was not up for the degree of despair, negativity and also misogyny in these stories.
Of course Maeve Binchy was a good writer and she managed to say a lot within a few pages, so it might have been a different reading experience if my expectations had been different.
Just to point them out:
My favourite story was "A Typical Irish Christmas" about a widower who travels to Ireland for the first Christmas after his wife passed away. I liked this a lot, but it was much too short.
I also enjoyed "Miss Martin's Wish" about a young teacher who finally realizes her dream of traveling to New York years after the cancellation of her wedding.
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LibraryThing member melsbks
wonderful short stories on people deciding to make a change at Christmas, because of Christmas
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1996
Physical description
199 p.; 24 cm
ISBN
1864480009 / 9781864480009