Tara Road shows us the paths they take, the friends, family and neighbours surrounding Ria as she is at her happiest in her lively and big kitchen, always deliciously smelling because of the baked goodies and many dinner preparations. Their children Annie and Brian complete the happy family. Growing up with an always complaining mother and sister has made Ria weary and she wants nothing more than to fall in love with Danny and follow his dreams. He is a dreamer and pictures a bright future in which he will mingle with the rich and influential, entertaining them on Tara Road.

Picture this: a beautiful quiet lane in Dublin, with old houses, great views and a promise hanging in the air… That is Tara Road, no wonder golden boy Danny set his heart on owning number 16. An inspiring tale of coping with loss and finding your path in life.

Instead, Tara Road is a stirring look at the reality behind our consuming fantasies, and a page-turner to boot.When American Marilyn and Irish Ria change houses their lives will never be the same. 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. 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 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.

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. 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. 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.

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. Editorial Review Oprah Book ClubÂ® Selection, September 1999: Against all odds, two newlyweds manage to buy the house of their dreams.

Tara road book