Tara Road: Complete & Unabridged

Each character has the same flaw, an inability to see themselves objectively. The point seems to be that we are all fallible in that way. Eventually, developments occur that strip away some of that self-deception. How each person handles the reality is the ultimate test of what their essential characters are like. The good are reinforced in doing the right thing, and the corrupt drift off with the tides to their own best advantage.

The book is also noteworthy for its structure. The first half deals with a series of family, friends, and neighbors in Dublin over more than a decade. It would make a novel in and of itself. Then a crisis shifts everyone's relationships to each other. To explore what this means, Ms. Binchy sets up an unusual plot device. Two women who are hurting, but do not know one another, exchange homes for two months to help them deal with their issues. In the process, they find that they exchange more than homes, and both grow from what they learn about the other person's life and issues. I was fascinated to see how this part of the book developed, and enjoyed it very much.

I did not grade the book as a five-star effort because many themes are just dropped in with little explanation. In particular, there are a lot of people who have compromised their integrity. We are told that they did it, but we never quite get a full sense of what they did and why. So the perspective is as though you are hearing some vague gossip from someone who doesn't really know the facts. Some major plot developments are handled in exactly the same way. After it's all over, you wonder what in the world that development meant and where it came from. Ms. Bincy would be well advised to avoid writing mysteries, because of this tendency to be casual about details. I could not really imagine any reason that the story should have so much vagueness, when so much else is made crystal clear, other than from undealt-with plot development flaws.

I found that I cared about these characters, even the most flawed ones, much more than almost any other fictional characters I have read about in years. The book made a significant emotional impact on me, and I thank Ms. Binchy for making that possible! People who have experienced personal losses will find this book full of potential strength.

After you finish reading this book, consider for a moment what you may be missing about yourself. Who could help you get a more objective view?

Engage important issues before they overwhelm you!


How Do You Play the Hand You're Dealt?   July 10, 2004
Donald Mitchell (Boston)
0 out of 4 found this review helpful

Tara Road's strength is that you get an unusual degree of character development, both in quantity and quality. Many new novels reveal an unchanging character through one incident, combined with a brief reference or two to what the person was like when younger. Tara Road instead builds a long-term picture of the values, motives, and perspectives of a variety of characters by exposing them to ordinary life issues in both small and large ways. The characters often change in subtle and important ways, and they seem more real as a result. This connection is much like what you observe with family members, friends, and neighbors.

Each character has the same flaw, an inability to see themselves objectively. The point seems to be that we are all fallible in that way. Eventually, developments occur that strip away some of that self-deception. How each person handles the reality is the ultimate test of what their essential characters are like. The good are reinforced in doing the right thing, and the corrupt drift off with the tides to their own best advantage.

The book is also noteworthy for its structure. The first half deals with a series of family, friends, and neighbors in Dublin over more than a decade. It would make a novel in and of itself. Then a crisis shifts everyone's relationships to each other. To explore what this means, Ms. Binchy sets up an unusual plot device. Two women who are hurting, but do not know one another, exchange homes for two months to help them deal with their issues. In the process, they find that they exchange more than homes, and both grow from what they learn about the other person's life and issues. I was fascinated to see how this part of the book developed, and enjoyed it very much.

I did not grade the book as a five-star effort because many themes are just dropped in with little explanation. In particular, there are a lot of people who have compromised their integrity. We are told that they did it, but we never quite get a full sense of what they did and why. So the perspective is as though you are hearing some vague gossip from someone who doesn't really know the facts. Some major plot developments are handled in exactly the same way. After it's all over, you wonder what in the world that development meant and where it came from. Ms. Bincy would be well advised to avoid writing mysteries, because of this tendency to be casual about details. I could not really imagine any reason that the story should have so much vagueness, when so much else is made crystal clear, other than from undealt-with plot development flaws.

I found that I cared about these characters, even the most flawed ones, much more than almost any other fictional characters I have read about in years. The book made a significant emotional impact on me, and I thank Ms. Binchy for making that possible! People who have experienced personal losses will find this book full of potential strength.

After you finish reading this book, consider for a moment what you may be missing about yourself. Who could help you get a more objective view?

Engage important issues before they overwhelm you!


How Do You Play the Hand You're Dealt?   May 8, 2004
Donald Mitchell (Boston)
0 out of 4 found this review helpful

Tara Road's strength is that you get an unusual degree of character development, both in quantity and quality. Many new novels reveal an unchanging character through one incident, combined with a brief reference or two to what the person was like when younger. Tara Road instead builds a long-term picture of the values, motives, and perspectives of a variety of characters by exposing them to ordinary life issues in both small and large ways. The characters often change in subtle and important ways, and they seem more real as a result. This connection is much like what you observe with family members, friends, and neighbors.

Each character has the same flaw, an inability to see themselves objectively. The point seems to be that we are all fallible in that way. Eventually, developments occur that strip away some of that self-deception. How each person handles the reality is the ultimate test of what their essential characters are like. The good are reinforced in doing the right thing, and the corrupt drift off with the tides to their own best advantage.

The book is also noteworthy for its structure. The first half deals with a series of family, friends, and neighbors in Dublin over more than a decade. It would make a novel in and of itself. Then a crisis shifts everyone's relationships to each other. To explore what this means, Ms. Binchy sets up an unusual plot device. Two women who are hurting, but do not know one another, exchange homes for two months to help them deal with their issues. In the process, they find that they exchange more than homes, and both grow from what they learn about the other person's life and issues. I was fascinated to see how this part of the book developed, and enjoyed it very much.

I did not grade the book as a five-star effort because many themes are just dropped in with little explanation. In particular, there are a lot of people who have compromised their integrity. We are told that they did it, but we never quite get a full sense of what they did and why. So the perspective is as though you are hearing some vague gossip from someone who doesn't really know the facts. Some major plot developments are handled in exactly the same way. After it's all over, you wonder what in the world that development meant and where it came from. Ms. Bincy would be well advised to avoid writing mysteries, because of this tendency to be casual about details. I could not really imagine any reason that the story should have so much vagueness, when so much else is made crystal clear, other than from undealt-with plot development flaws.

I found that I cared about these characters, even the most flawed ones, much more than almost any other fictional characters I have read about in years. The book made a significant emotional impact on me, and I thank Ms. Binchy for making that possible! People who have experienced personal losses will find this book full of potential strength.

After you finish reading this book, consider for a moment what you may be missing about yourself. Who could help you get a more objective view?

Engage important issues before they overwhelm you!