If I want to read a lovely warm, affectionate family book I usually pick up a Maeve Binchy. Tara Road, I think, is one of her best books. It's got love, friendship and passion and on the flipside has cheating husbands, devious best friends and mistresses galore. There is more than one story going on here, the main one is Ria and Danny Lynch and these two are followed throughout their lives in each chapter. But there are so many sub-stories which add to the depth of the main story and keeps the interest up. Ria's mother, sister, best friend, Danny's business partner, not to mention the local restaurateur all have their own stories intertwining. The book then introduces Marilyn in America who has her own problems and on the spur of the moment both Marilyn and Ria decide to do a house swap. This part of the book is very interesting in that it shows up the warm friendly qualities of Ria and the lack of them in Marilyn. Overall this is a very enjoyable read.
