Tara Road [Hardcover]

Maeve Binchy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 1998

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

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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 an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Abandoned by her husband, a Dublin woman named Ria meets American Marilyn via the phone, and they end up swapping houses?with surprise results.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Orion Books; 1st Ed. edition (August 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752814478
• ISBN-13: 978-0752814476
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (532 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,977,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maeve Binchy is the author of numerous best-selling books, including Nights of Rain and Stars, Quentins, Scarlet Feather, Circle of Friends, and Tara Road, which was an Oprah's Book Club selection. She has written for Gourmet; O, The Oprah Magazine; Modern Maturity; and Good Housekeeping, among other publications. She and her husband, Gordon Snell, live in Dalkey, Ireland, and London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars DON'T COMPARE MAEVE TO DANIELLE STEELE!, December 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tara Road: Oprah Selection #26 (Hardcover)

I am giving TARA ROAD three stars because it is not my favorite Maeve Binchy novel - I don't think the secondary characters were developed as well as in some of her other books. Yes, the story has elements of a soap opera, but please don't compare it to anything written by Danielle Steele. I have never been able to get through one chapter of any of her books that have come my way. Okay, I did read MESSAGE FROM NAM, she must have had a ghost-writer. Excuse me, I digress. TARA ROAD is an enjoyable read. The main character, Ria, changes throughout the book, and I really liked her. She seemed very real to me, like a good friend. My only complaint about this book is at times it was a bit slow, and not 100% believable, but so what, it's a novel. The story itself is actually very inspiring, about friendship as well as self-reliance. I definitley recommend TARA ROAD to all Maeve Binchy fans, and for those who've never experienced Maeve, if you like good stories with characters who become like friends, please give her books a try. However, for first time readers of Maeve, you might want to start with ECHOES or EVENING CLASS, which are two of her best!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The review of Tara Road, January 18, 2000

By 

J. Ketchum (Ocala, FL.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tara Road: Oprah Selection #26 (Hardcover)

Tara Road is a book of true life. You can not trust most friends, your husband can cheat on you, your children aren't prefect and you can change your life course at 40. The book was easy to read and you really don't want it to end. You want to find out what happens to Ria and Colm and all the people on Tara Road. A good book with realistic life experience.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tara Road: Oprah Selection #26 (Hardcover)

I just finished this book last night and loved it. I loved the relationships, they felt very real to me, not sugar-coated. I could not put this book down and am sad that it is over.