But Come Ye Back: A Novel in Stories

By Beth Lordan

For thirty-some years, Lyle has made a life for his family working as an accountant. But when he retires, his Irish-born wife, Mary, wants to leave America and go home -- where the ocean is near and the butter has flavor.

Somewhat grudgingly, Lyle agrees, but during their years in Galway, they discover that the surprises of life are not over. Going home is more complicated than butter and the bay, and thirty content years does not mean that a couple is immune to romantic intrigue. In this new life, while Mary and Lyle are rediscovering each other and building a richer life together, an unexpected event forces Lyle to decide where his home truly is.

Told in "quiet stories with emotions like old stepping-stones that have sunk beneath the surface" (Christian Science Monitor), Beth Lordan's evocative and heartfelt novel explores the complex emotional terrain of mature marital relationships.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061865763

Beth Lordan

Beth Lordan is the author of the novel August Heat and the short-story collection And Both Shall Row. Her short fiction has appeared in The Best of American Short Stories 2002, the Atlantic Monthly, and Gettysburg Review, as well as on NPR's Selected Shorts. The recipient of a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as an O. Henry Award for her short fiction, Lordan teaches fiction writing at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She lives in Carbondale, Illinois, with her husband.

Reviews for But Come Ye Back

[phyllis.shepherd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lyle and Mary Sullivan decide to retire to her home town in Ireland. There they gradually adjust to the climate, the reality of old family relationships, and the surprise of new romantic temptations. But their relationship survives, built on 30 years of knowing each other, and on Mary's patience with Lyle's gruff exterior. When Mary dies, Lyle is confronted with deciding where his home really is.

[candacekvance · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an absolutely beautiful book. Each story stands on its own, but they all come together to make an almost perfect novel in stories. The characters are well developed. The narrative perfectly written. Beth Lordan is an English professor at SIU.

[alirambles · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was interesting, a retired couple settles in Ireland (he's American, she emigrated from Ireland to marry him). It's basically an exploration of the way family relationships, including but not limited to marriage, change and evolve over the course of time and distance. I'm not sure why she calls it a novel in stories because all the chapters were related and chronological. I suppose you could take any given chapter on its own and it would be meaningful in its own right. Maybe that's why.Someone tagged this as "Irish Literature." It's not. The author lives in Carbondale, Illinois. As far as I can tell, she's not Irish, the novel just takes place in Ireland. Most of the characters are American.