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Amazon.co.uk Review
Amazon.com Oprah Book Club(r) 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 an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description
2 Woman - 1 Irish, 1 American - set up a home exchange business; their unlikely and touching friendship unveils secrets and changes lives.

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45 Reviews 5 star:  (22) 4 star:  (12) 3 star:  (7) 2 star:  (3) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review (45 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: A PLEASURE TO READ, 10 Nov 2006 By  A. Rose (Wet & Windy Yorkshire) - See all my reviews       This review is from: Tara Road (Paperback) 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.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   3 of 4 people found the following review helpful: SIMPLY OUTSTANDING!, 9 Nov 2000 By A Customer This review is from: Tara Road (Paperback) Reading "Tara Road" has been a gratifying experiance. This was a fast moving story, which intensified as the plot advaanced. Every character throbbed with life. This book is certainly a class apart. Maeve Binchy has written yet another flawless masterpiece. I could easily associate every character in this novel, to somebody in the real world. The book potrayed every class of society. Many major issues were dramatically yet effectively conveyed in the plot. The book showed the degree of deceit, disrespect and disloyalty that can take place in a family. Maeve Binchy put up a clever facade and let the reader believe that nothing could go wrong. One would get the impression of a perfect family and faithful friends. Everything was shown to be logical and unpretentious. The real truth was diametrically different. As the plot advanced, shock was replaced by suspence. Several important lessons can be learnt about the real world and the people in it. A must read for feminists. This book portrays women to be strong pillars of strength, benevolence, support, love and power. The simple narrative style engaged me. Maeve Binchy dealt in both explication as well as implication. Maeve binchy cleverly manipulated emotions to create sympathy for several characters in the play. Subtle and simple, yet deeply engrossing.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   2 of 3 people found the following review helpful: An insightful, well told story of love, loss & friendship!, 15 April 2002 By  Mary Chrapliwy "NurseMare" - See all my reviews          This review is from: Tara Road (Paperback) This was the first book I have ever read by Maeve Binchy. I wish I had known sooner what a great story teller she is! Two women are at the heart of this story: Ria and Marilyn, both dealing with tremendous loss. They are surrounded with characters you either love or dislike (won't say hate, because they all have a certain chink in their armor that you can sympathize with). Through the story they triumph over their losses and a friendship blossoms between the two. This story is full of sensitivity and it is so well written you can see these people in your mind and feel their raw emotions...  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) › See all 45 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews If you have high blood pressure and you`re not supposed to get worked up - - you`ll be safe with this. I suppose this would be classed as `light reading.` Anybody got a match...? Published 1 month ago by Leeds lass How Do You Play the Hand You're Dealt? Tara Road's strength is that you get an unusual degree of character development, both in quantity and quality. Read more Published on 18 Jul 2004 by Donald Mitchell How Do You Play the Hand You're Dealt? Tara Road's strength is that you get an unusual degree of character development, both in quantity and quality. Read more Published on 11 Jul 2004 by Donald Mitchell How Do You Play the Hand You're Dealt? Tara Road's strength is that you get an unusual degree of character development, both in quantity and quality. Read more Published on 8 May 2004 by Donald Mitchell How Do You Play the Hand You're Dealt? Tara Road's strength is that you get an unusual degree of character development, both in quantity and quality. Read more Published on 8 May 2004 by Donald Mitchell