Book, 1991 by Maeve BinchyAgainst 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. Tara Road is a stirring look at the reality behind our consuming fantasies, and a page-turner to boot.
It was a 1999 Oprah's Book Club selection.
Movie, 2005 directed by Gillies MacKinnonFeatures: Olivia Williams, Andie MacDowell
Tagline: Sometimes you must lose your life to find a new one...
Did you know? Maeve Binchy makes an uncredited cameo as a restaurant patron.
Have you read the book or seen the movie?
I've read it and seen the movie. The book was definitely better but the movie's not bad either.
