This is a collection of short stories, and like most collections, the first story is the strongest one. It is also the title story – The Return Journey – which is the one I will review, because it was quite the best.
It is written as a series of letters between a mother and daughter, Freda and Gina, whose relationship is clearly fraught. Gina, the daughter, has ‘returned’ to Ireland for a visit, to her mother’s old home in Dunglass. The two women exchange some extremely prickly communications, starting with a ‘fake’ postcard from Gina to her mum, which in a following letter, Gina explains is for the benefit of the neighbours, because her mother is paranoid about what people think.
Freda dissents about being living by other people’s dictates, and also takes issue with being called ‘Freda’ by her daughter,
“Darling Gina, you called me Freda instead of Mom. I wondered about that for a long while. I suppose it means you’re growing up, growing away. I told myself it means you liked me more, thought of me as an equal, a friend, Then I told myself that you liked me less, that you were distancing yourself” (p4).
She ends the letter both lovingly and also sardonically or defensively:
“I love you, Gina, if that’s not too draining. Freda” (p5).
Gina’s next letter starts rather crossly or perhaps peevishly,
“I’m calling you nothing in this letter in case we get another long analysis” (p5).
Freda’s next letter begins, “Gina my love,” and ends “Your mother Freda, in case you have forgotten my name” (p6-7). Gina’s reply is snappish, to say in the least:
“Freda, Stop playing silly games. And let’s stop having an argument by mail. Yes I will go to Dunglass, When I am ready. And don’t talk to me about my grandmother. She was never allowed to be a grandmother to me. […] Don’t lecture me, Freda, about forgetting your name, you never even told me hers” (p7).
Freda’s reply sounds somewhat distraught, “
Dear Gina, I have begun this twelve times, this is the thirteenth attempt and I will send it no matter what” (p9).
Each letter opens up another facet of their relationship as well as more and more background information about their past. It is fun to see the juxtaposition between Gina’s perspective and her mother’s. The correspondence records a fraying relationship,
“Dearest Freda, your letter was cold, there were no dears or darlings or loves anywhere” (p11).
But Gina’s last letter shows a great attempt to connect with her mother, to invite her mother to reconnect with her own past, and an effort to identify with her mother, which ends the short story on a warm, hopeful note.
It is a skilfully executed short story, keeping up the tension between the two women, shifting the perspective back and forth so the reader can see why each feels wrong or at least hard done by, and both make efforts to placate and hold out olive branches. It is a beautiful little study of a mother-daughter relationship which indicates closeness even if tensions and hurts harboured.
The other stories contain a wide range of Irish characters, of all ages and in all stages of life, going on vacation, seeking partners, making new friends, travelling, doing everyday things, but often with a small twist in the tale in terms of doing things slightly differently from their norms. Binchy’s stories are easy reading, but the collection is uneven – some are better crafted, some rather lead nowhere, some make their point well, some seem to have no real point. The stories get progressively weaker in the collection. The first remains the best, and really, the only one I would say do read if you happen across this book; the others you can take or leave really, without much loss.
This sounds quite different from the typical Binchy, which would have a large cast of connected characters! It’s good to see that she tried to branch out, but it sounds moderately unsuccessful.