Tara Road - Maeve Binchy. Review on Tara Road - Maeve Binchy

To paraphrase ''a reader from San Diego'' I, too, have read and re-read all of Maeve Binchy's books and was thrilled with the publication of another full-length novel - her short stories are wonderful too but they leave you wanting more! Reading Maeve Binchy is always a magical experience. She transports you to Ireland and involves you in the lives of her characters to the extent that you are sorry to have the story end. Her tales are comforting and warm - no one can describe friendships, family relationships and love, true and otherwise, the way she can. I believe ''Tara Road'' is a departure for her in that the setting is current-day Dublin rather than an Irish village in the midlands or the coast. I looked forward to and enjoyed this book tremendously. But, I do think that perhaps it did not have the enthralling sweep of ''Echos'', or ''Circle of Friends'', or ''The Glass Lake.'' However, I think that anything by Maeve Binchy can stand alone as a terrific read and ''Tara Road'' is certainly that. I've read some of the reader criticisms of this book that complain about her characters always being the same and, in fact, interchangeable from book to book. My answer to that is people are always the same in real life... friendship, love, family - all life is a repitition. Isn't there a famous quote that states ''There is nothing new under the sun''? For example, there are woman who stay in abusive relationships, woman who turn a blind eye to cheating husbands, women who have a marvelous talent for business, teenagers who don't get along with their parents, etc. The fact that ''Tara Road'' contains characters who behave this way as they do in other novels by Maeve Binchy is just a reflection of the reality of everday life. I believe one of her greatest talents is getting the reader to look upon these frailties with compassion and sympathy. I have yet to be disappointed by any of Maeve Binchy's endings - they are so satisfying - all usually get their proper deserts the bad and the good! And that is what we would like to see happen in life! So, if you haven't yet: Read ''Tara Road'' and anything else by this wonderful writer. I look forward as always to her next and next!!