num_pages: 200
description: "The Lilac Bus" consists of eight connected stories, each one a revealing portrait of a Dublin worker who goes home to the outlying town of Rathdoon each weekend in Tom Fitzgerald's minibus. Torn between the anonymous independence of Dublin and the claustrophobic safety of Rathdoon, many characters lead secretive double lives: Dee has a married lover, Rupert is gay, Kev is a thief. The more fully realized stories in "Dublin 4" have only their Dublin setting in common. Hard hitters dealing with alcoholism, unwed pregnancy, and an unfaithful husband are lightened by the humorous "Flat in Ringsend" about a young girl's stab at independence in her first flat.
language: English
title: The Lilac Bus
titlecomplete: The Lilac Bus
genres: Irish Literature, Adult Fiction, Novels, Contemporary, Womens Fiction, Chick Lit, Fiction, Short Stories, Ireland, Romance
ratings_count: 13498
places: Rathdoon
publisher: Poolbeg Press ltd