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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 |