Tara Road

With a new introduction by Lorraine Kelly

By: Maeve Binchy

Narrated by: Kate Binchy

Ria and Marilyn have never met - they live thousands of miles apart, separated by the Atlantic Ocean: one in a big, warm, Victorian house in Tara Road, Dublin, the other in a modern, open-plan house in New England.

Two more unlikely friends would be hard to find: Ria's life revolves around her family and friends, while Marilyn's reserve is born of grief. But when each needs a place to escape to, a house exchange seems the ideal solution.

Along with the borrowed houses come neighbours and friends, gossip and speculation as Ria and Marilyn swap lives for the summer...

Read by Kate Binchy

(p) 2010 Audible Ltd©1998 Maeve Binchy

Critic reviews

An irresistible tale

What is Maeve Binchy's magic? Every time she publishes a novel the race is on to the armchair or the poolside seat, telephones fall eerily silent . . . Her great gift is to suck her reader into the drama of everyday lives without fuss . . . She relies on dialogue and on keeping up a cracking pace

A tender novel of the pleasures and pitfalls of friendship, TARA ROAD is an ultra-modern
love story for women, about women, between women that is sure to delight

Engrossing

You can see why, for a legion of female readers, Maeve Binchy is a one-woman opiate of the people

She is one of the few writers who can pull at your heartstrings . . . The author's great skill is to draw you into the world she creates, so that reading her books is like gossiping with old friends

Binchy is a consummate storyteller who involves the reader in the world she creates ... Binchy is a Dickens: she writes about the dilemmas of human beings with a backdrop which describes the manners and morals of a society

Maeve Binchy's novels are just the kind of comforting companions so many women can't wait to take to bed ... Binchy's prose flows as naturally as conversation with a good friend

Two women, one from Dublin one from New England, end up on a house swap for the summer and find their lives changed for ever. Another tale with strong female characters and the importance of friendship. As always there are a host of characters to keep the interest going and plenty to make the reader question the nature of relationships

She is the Queen of Fiction and one of the funniest and best-loved storytellers in the world...once you read Maeve you are hooked for life

Maeve Binchy's work continues to inspire ... thought-provoking, warm and funny in equal measure

In TARA ROAD the extraordinary Maeve Binchy spins an irresistible tale of modern life, creating a world so packed with telling details and emotional perspicacity that you feel instantly connected to the heartbroken Ria Lynch and Marilyn Vine

Absorbing and delightful

Full of characteristic humour and warmth, a lovely read

Moving, original, funny and entertaining... It's the same skill shown in their craft by Irish writers such as Marian Keyes and Sally Rooney. A rare gift. (Róisín Ingle)

There is always a moment of mild astonishment when you turn the final page of a Maeve Binchy novel and look up, only to discover that the characters don't actually live in your house

TARA ROAD, even years later, is still everything you want in a Maeve Binchy book. It's moving, original, funny and entertaining...It's the same skill shown in their craft by Irish writers such as Marian Keyes and Sally Rooney. A rare gift (Roisin Ingle)

Gossip

Just about life in what feels like a small village. It is just full of gossip. It is enjoyable enough but not a page turner by any stretch of imagination. The characters are well developed and you feel as if you really meet and know them.