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Summary: simply great!
Review: 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!
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Summary: Tara Road
Review: 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. Although when it was over, I founds myself going into a "Ria withdrawal" She was so real. I cannot wait to pick up my second (and certainly NOT last M.B.) Tara Road has also inspired me to get off my lazy a$$ and write, write, write. Thank you Maeve! I look forward to owning and enjoying all of your books. :)
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Summary: Story of a marriage - and a house
Review: TARA ROAD opens up with the young Ria, the heroine of our story, going through the early pains of dating, her whole life still in front of her. It soon fast-forwards to her first working experiences, and soon she's introduced to Danny, a new employee at her company, and it is love at first sight. Danny is smart, witty, charming and very good looking. For shy Ria, it is a miracle that he only has eyes for her. Things seem to go smoothly for Ria and Danny as they get to know each other, and before she knows it, they are getting married. I should reiterate that things SEEMED to be going just fine, but if you read between the fine lines, there is some room for doubt. Ria tends to brush things aside when there is any hint of a problem, and the reader is probably more aware than she is that her life is NOT as perfect as she wants it to be. There are problems brewing, but they do not become apparent to Ria until much, much later. In the midst of all this, their beautiful home on TARA ROAD is the center of their lives. Danny and Ria focus so much on the house and what it means to them, that soon it seems that their marriage appears to revolve around it. Their lives are centered on the busy life that they make, with friends and family constantly visiting, with the kitchen being the focal point of all visits. Ria spends her days pleasing her family and friends who visit, always baking and cooking. For Ria, this is all part of a happy family, and she cannot imagine any other life. Ria goes along on her daily routines, and eventually by accident finds out that life is NOT what she had thought it was. Danny was not the perfect husband, and their marriage was not the perfect marriage either. When her world crumples in front of her, she does something absolutely crazy. Danny moves out, and with him out of the picture, she decides to swap the house on Tara Road with someone's house all the way in the United States of America for the summer. For a woman who had never left Ireland before, this was a BIG move. She gets in contact with a woman, Marilyn, who also has a need to get away from her own life, and finally, they swap. What Ria and Marilyn go through is a lesson in life. With Marilyn being the recluse and Ria being the social butterfly, both of them not only swap houses but also swap lives. Ria experiences what it is like to live a more solitary life. Marilyn learns how to be the center of the neighborhood. It is a trying experience for both, and what they gain from this experience is something they probably never would have learned otherwise. TARA ROAD by Maeve Binchy was a very easy read for me. I enjoyed her writing style and loved her characters. This being my first book by Binchy, I have no other to compare to, but I will say this much: I will certainly read more by her! This book is recommended thumbs up!
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Summary: Couldn't Put It Down
Review: This is a great book. I enjoyed it immensely. The book was on the best seller list for a long time beginning in 1999. Many reviews have been written giving you the facts of what the story is about. Read some of them. I think you will agree with me that this is worth your time to read.
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Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: I finished Tara Road this afternoon and have spent the rest of the day trying to figure out if I liked it or not. When starting this book I felt like I was reading something "light and fluffy" but as the story continued I could not put it down. The characters were interesting but predictable. I could not get myself to completely care for Ria, she was so naïve. I did however like Rosemary. Sure she had some major flaws and was not a "good" person, but I enjoyed her nonetheless. This book is like real life in a way, no one wins in the end but the good outlasts the bad.
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Summary: Pass this one by...
Review: Just awful. Multitudes of one-dimensional characters, limp storylines, totally unsatisfying ending. Read it for a bookclub, otherwise I would have dropped it after the first 50 pages.
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Summary: TARA ROAD
Review: I FIRST READ THIS BECAUSE I SAW THAT THIS WAS AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION. I AM NOT INTO BOOK CLUBS AT ALL. HOWEVER, I REALLY LIKED THE COVER. BY THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS I WAS HOOKED. CRIED WITH RIA. I FELT LIKE I WAS HER SISTER READING HER DIARY. IF YOU WANT A BOOK THAT OPENS DUBLIN'S GORGEOUS DOORS, READ THIS BOOK!!!!
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Summary: one of the best by Binchy!
Review: Maeve Binchy struck gold with her idea for Tara Road. Ria falls in love with Daniel at age 22 and they proceed to get married and raise a family in a house on Tara Road, where they have myriad friends and neighbors with their own issues and conflicts. At least, Ria has these friends ... turns out Daniel wants something more peaceful and has sought it out in another woman who is now pregnant, thus abandoning Ria. She takes her two children and, through the Internet, does a summer house-exchange with a woman in America, who has her own ghosts to face. The complexity of the characters and the way their lives are inextricably intertwined is fascinating, and to Binchy's credit, she never has so many characters that she can't write a credible background for each one so the reader cares about them. Each character also is brought back full-circle and the consequences of their actions are always revealed. Best of all is watching each character -- particularly the women in this novel -- grow stronger through their adversities.
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Summary: To Maeve Binchy readers:
Review: OK, I'm going to assume you've previously read Binchy's work before. Tara Road covers the life of one generous and loving homemaker, her children, friends and the home life she builds and how that life very quickly crumbles to nothing when she is betrayed by her own husband. The story follows her years of building up her home, the crash when the bad news comes, and her attempts to put herself back together - this time a little more independently. The end, in my oppinion, is a little weak, but it holds up. I very much liked it and think that compared to some of her latest work, (ie. Evening Class) it's pretty good, but it really dosen't compare to some of the earlier works Binchy put out like "Light a Penny Candle" or "Firefly Summer" which were absolutely wonderful.
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Summary: Wonderful story!
Review: What a wonderful, wonderful book! I was completely taken in to Ria's world for the few days it took me to read the book! I also have a copy of the audio version, and be forewarned, it leaves out a lot of the story! But I would highly recommend both versions. I read it based on the recommendations of so many others, and now I see why it is so popular! I liked "The Glass Lake" a little bit more, but this was still a lovely book. I can't wait to read more by this author...
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