Ria Lynch and Marilyn Vine have never met. Ria lives in a house in Tara Road, Dublin, filled with family and friends, while Marilyn lives in New England, absorbed in the career. A chance phone call brings them together and they decide to exchange homes. During that summer they find themselves borrowing something of each other's lives.
Tara Road
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Oprah Book Club® Selection, September 1999: Against all odds, two newlyweds manage to buy the house of their dreams. In 1982, property speculation is beginning to be a big, big thing in Dublin--and their street is very much in an up-and-coming part of town. "They laughed and hugged each other. Danny Lynch from the broken-down cottage in the back of beyond and Ria Johnson from the corner house in the big, shabby estate were not only living like gentry in a big Tara Road mansion, they were actually debating what style of dining table to buy." But for its various inhabitants, the street is to become a boulevard of dreams--some broken, others created anew. Maeve Binchy has long proved herself a secure hand at multiple story lines, and over the course of 500 satisfying pages she focuses on Ria; her best friend, Rosemary Ryan, a beautiful, endlessly selfish career woman; Gertie, the battered wife of a drunkard; and several other intriguing women, each of whom has secrets not to be shared. There is even an all-knowing fortune teller who early on hints that Ria will travel and start a successful business--two things she knows are definitely not in the offing.
Yet after our supposedly happy housewife and mother of two is confronted by some inexorable home truths, a chance phone call from America will change her life, forcing her to discard her illusions about men, women, and marriage and start all over again. At the same time, the Connecticut caller, Marilyn Vine, has her own lessons to learn when she and Ria swap houses for the summer. Yet there's nothing remotely preachy about this novel--even the bad guys (and yes, they're usually guys) and beautiful mistresses get to maintain some appeal. Instead, Tara Road is a stirring look at the reality behind our consuming fantasies, and a page-turner to boot. --Siobhan Carson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Ria Lynch is a charming woman who seems to have everythingAa great marriage, family, and a beautiful home in Dublin. The bottom drops out of her world when her handsome husband leaves her for his young, pregnant girlfriend. Three thousand miles away in Connecticut, Marilyn is trying to cope with the death of her beloved teenaged son. The two women exchange houses and, in a sense, experience a summer that gives each a new perspective and begins the complex processes of healing. Binchy (Evening Class) is a master at drawing readers into her beguiling domestic romances. The characters are distinctly and vividly drawn, and there's even a fortuneteller who appears from time to time in the women's lives to add a few wisps of magic. The Irish voice of Terry Donnelly is a beautiful match to the story's location and strong characters. Donnelly is especially skilled at interpreting the voices of the several children who live at Tara Road. Though some of the novel's pacing is lost in the abridgment, this is still a fine production and sure to be popular with listeners.ABarbara Valle, El Paso P.L., TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
this is right up there with one of my favourite Maeve Binchy novels. couldn't put it down. good story line, great characters. people always get what they deserve in Maeve's stories.
By Alison S. Coad
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In "Tara Road," Maeve Binchy introduces us to Ria, a young Irish woman who falls in love with and marries a handsome real estate developer whose business dealings may not be quite as above-board as she believes; and Marilyn, an American woman who is consumed by a grief that is so private that she cannot bring herself to share it with anyone, not even her faithful and devoted husband. When life circumstances change for Ria, she flees to Marilyn's house in small-town Connecticut for a summer, while providing Marilyn with a home in Tara Road in Dublin where she too can deal with her situation. The two women lead very different lives, but the ways in which each is touched and touches the lives of others reveal them to be far more similar than they first seem.... I've fallen in love with Maeve Binchy's work over the past couple of months, and "Tara Road" is no exception to that love. I think this is the earliest of Binchy's books that I've read so far, but all of her stylistic and thematic tropes are in place here, including a large cast of characters whose interactions, while appearing gentle in the storytelling, reveal a great deal of stark and unhappy human behaviour that reflects, in the end, the real world in all its messiness. I find myself slowing down when I read these books, because long as they are ("Tara Road" is some 639 pages), I never want them to end! Recommended.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very interesting book. At first it took me some time to really get in the book, but then you don't want to stop reading it.
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Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
OUTSTANDING READING
AS ALWAYS, MAEVE BINCHY IS THE BEST STORY-TELLER THERE IS. SO RELAXING, SUCH LOVELY THEMES IN HER STORIES. MUST BUY FOR ANYONE WHO WISHES TO GET OUT OF TODAY'S HECTIC PACE.
Published 13 months ago by MADMAX
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved this book
The characters are so rich and life like. I couldn't get enough, even though I was sleep deprived from staying up late to read!
Published on Jan 21 2005 by Nikki M
4.0 out of 5 stars
502 pages and I still want more
I loved this story, and I wish I could keep on living with them on Tara Road. Ria is exceptionally sweet, her desire to please makes her a tad oblivious. Read more
Published on April 4 2003 by Nicole Laflamme
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tara Road
Having read several of Binchyï¿s works I went into Tara Road with an attitude of familiarity. Read more
Published on Feb 21 2003 by Georgia F. Cooke
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and light
Nothing earthshattering, just a short, entertaining audio book which can stave off commute boredom. If you like this author or if you like romance novels in general, you'll... Read more
Published on Feb 17 2003 by S. Butler
4.0 out of 5 stars
Maeve Binchy's stories are engaging
I like Maeve Binchy, she tells great stories. Her characters are believable, engaging, and flawed, which makes them all the more endearing and relatable (is that a word? :-D). Read more
Published on Jan 2 2003 by DMK
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good story but ...
... a little long.
This story of two women swapping houses and thus learning much over the course of one summer about themselves is really quite good. Read more
Published on Dec 31 2002 by CT
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful
Tara Road is the first book by Maeve Bincy that I have read, and I think it is absolutely wonderful. Read more
Published on Dec 12 2002 by RITA
5.0 out of 5 stars
simply great!
One of the best books I EVER read! You will love and hate these characters, and I just hated for it to end! Go out and buy it NOW!
Published on Jun 10 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tara Road
Kudos to Maeve Binchy. Tara Road was my first. I was hooked. What took me so long to finally pick up one of her books? I devoured the pages, staying up until 2am. Read more
Published on April 27 2002 by Laramarie68
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