Tara Road
discussion
I can't stand her!
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Celeste
(new)
-
rated it 2 stars
Jul 23, 2008 01:54PM
I have finally sworn off Maeve Binchy after reading 4 novels--ALL WITH THE SAME PLOT---plain girl gets good looking guy---who then cheats on her wtih her really good looking girlfriend. She must pick up the pieces---and when she does, the husband wants back into her good graces!! Please spare me the details Maeve Binchy....don't write another book!
reply
|
flag
Yes, she's predictable, but I look at it as the equivalent of comfort food. I go to Binchy when I want a light and easy read without anything offensive thrown in. I'm amused and entertained by the many of her novels I've read.
I like books that make me think, books with a tragedy, books with social inequities, books where I learn something... so WHY do I like Maeve Binchy?? I have read several of her's...liked Circle of Friends the best, but they are all fluff! If I can't find something to read, I know she's a good Plan B!
Oh, and I DO like the feel of the books, especially a generation or two back in Ireland.
Good for light reading, but her books are becoming predictable. I read Circle of Friends before this one.... and very similar plots.
I agree some of her books are very similar though would recommend 'Echoes' and 'Light a Penny Candle' and 'Night of Rain and Stars' was good this was set in Greece. All in all I enjoy her books.
I really enjoyed her book "Heart and Soul" and her latest "Minding Frankie" was really excellent. Quite different from her earlier books. Give them a try before you give up.
I have to say I am a fan. I loved Tara Road, Quentins and the scarlet feather especially. I need these types of books which I call "in-between" books. I read them in-between heavier more serious works. I also think Maeve's has a great sense of time and place.
Oh, I love Maeve Binchy! And maybe I'm a bit of an idiot, but I still think a lot of her stuff is unpredictable.... She has so many subplots going on that I still can't help but get a shock out of some of the things she makes happen in her characters' lives. I did not like her last book (I haven't read Finding Frankie; it was the one before...Heart and Soul?) because it was way too "happy ending." There was no drama. I don't like drama in my own life (although in a funny way, it always seems to be present), so maybe that's why I love to read about it! :)Sissy
www.igottalaugh.com
Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors so I'm somewhat taken aback at the negative comments. Everyone has their own tastes and opinions in all things and that difference is what makes the world interesting. I listened to Tara Road on tape during a long, arduous road trip. The reader speaks with a brogue which made the story so soothing. I wouldn't have made that trip without Tara Road being read to me in Irish brogue.
I'm such a Maeve Binchy fan I can't believe someone doesn't like her. Her later books are better but when I read her books I feel totally transported to Ireland..smell the dusty roads, see the priest, the large families..
I agree with Dee, message7, they are great in-betweener stories. I'm not always in the mood for heavy and absorbing, sometimes I want a slightly lighter read without being anywhere close to Mills and Boon. No offense to Mills and Boon but just not my cup of tea.
Read a Steven King book or Dean Koonts book then go back to a book like hers. It sofens the blow of the terror and intensity of their books...lol
Who else loves the way Meave Binchy has characters from previous books popping up in others? I think it's great. There are loads from other books in the pages of Minding Frankie from as far back as Tara Road
i enjoyed Tara Road, it was the first book i had read in years and really like it..i think Maeve Binchy has a great way of taking you on a journey in this book, im looking forward in rereading this book
Celeste wrote: "I have finally sworn off Maeve Binchy after reading 4 novels--ALL WITH THE SAME PLOT---plain girl gets good looking guy---who then cheats on her wtih her really good looking girlfriend. She must ..."I so agree. It's just the names that change ... and so often not even the places seeing as most are set in Ireland. Bored, bored, bored. Yet she sells zillions of books. Not fair!
I have to disagree with her as a plan B...frankly, her books are way too long for a plan B! If they were shorter, you might have a point...but her books are so so long. I wanted to quit when I was half way through every book she wrote...and then figured I have already wasted too much time to not finish...only to discover that I have already read this book...but with a different title. Plan b books are wonderful Junior/teen novels...quick, full story, with interesting characters and a new and interesting plot..200 pages! Not people going through midlife crises and marriage growing pains :-( depressing!
I should also say...I am sure Maeve Binchy is a wonderful person...I just don't enjoy her books
I do agree that there is a formula to the books that can be boring. Yet I like them when I want more than a magazine, yet not the full blown need to actually concentrate. I think they have their place. To be honest, I read them [usually] while having a bubble bath/spa read because I won't wreck my other books with water. :-)
Maeve Binchy has the knack of making you care about her characters so you carry on to the end and I for one love the fact that when I read one of her books I KNOW there will be a happy ending. It's like walking into a Pizza Express and ordering your favourite pizza - you know what you will get. It's soothing, feel-good and just what I need. Nobody says you have to read this kind of book all the time, but variety is the point, isn't it? I certainly don't want to read "worthy" books all the time. :)
I, also, am a Maeve Binchy fan. I have read most of her books and feel like I know all the people she writes about.
Big fan of Maeve and so sorry to hear she's past away at the age of 72... Thank u Maeve for the many hours of pure readingpleasure.
RIP Maeve Binchy. Excellent story-teller. Light-hearted, easy reading when you want it.
I guess I never get tired of that plot. I hadn't heard she passed. I have a large collection of her books
She will be sadly missed by millions. Can't imagine no more new Maeve novels...sigh.
Maeve could tell a good story and now we'll only have those already written. Understand a new book is coming out in fall; looking forward to it with relish.What a year! Losing Nora Ephron, Maeve Binchy and Gore Vidal in quick succession.
Mandy wrote: "RIP Maeve Binchy. Excellent story-teller. Light-hearted, easy reading when you want it."ditto.
so sorry she passed away. I did like her books, it was just easy reading, of course predictable, but still enjoyable.
Celeste wrote: "I have to disagree with her as a plan B...frankly, her books are way too long for a plan B! If they were shorter, you might have a point...but her books are so so long. I wanted to quit when I wa..."That's how I felt when reading Tara Road. Only, the bloody story starts not before half of the book (which I could have skipped without missing anything of importance).
I do give her that there was something to her writing style that kept me on the page inspite of her terrible characters (mean and ugly people all) and her terrible dialogues.
I was also saddened to hear of Maeves' Passing. While not a fan of her later works, I absolutely loved her earlier books: Light a Penny Candle, Echoes, Firefly Summer and The Glass Lake to mention just a few. I also laughed out loud at The Lilac Bus and also enjoyed Victoria line-Central Line.
I enjoy her books. Evening Class & Glass Lake were my favorites. I didn't care for Lilac Bus.
Jen wrote: "Yes, she's predictable, but I look at it as the equivalent of comfort food. I go to Binchy when I want a light and easy read without anything offensive thrown in. I'm amused and entertained by th..."Here here Jen, her books are easy light reads and I love them!
I just finished reading Evening Class and really enjoyed it. I wish she could have lived longer to write more books. My favorites were Minding Frankie and Quentin's and Tara Road. To me, she was a storyteller and I will just haveto read her last book and re-read the rest.
Maeve Binchy's books speak for themselves. Light reading about everyday occurrences that we can relate to easily. I always go to Maeve for light, enjoyable reading. I am an Irish Author buff and she ranks among the best.
At least she is still better than Danielle Steele!
Angela wrote: "At least she is still better than Danielle Steele!"She is sooo much better than Danielle Steele. I like the characters in Maeve Binchy's books. Never could warm up to Danielle Steele's characters!
Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors. Fortunatly, I have not read all her work, so I have some good reads awaiting me.
For all you Maeve Binchy fans and foes, Maeve died in July of 2012. Personally. I loved her writing. She was hood st developing her characters and having hailed from the UK, I appreciated the stories which took place in the cozy villages and bustling British cities. It is true that many of her stories had the same theme, but you have to admit that most authours have same propensity.
Carol,I too loved her books and her characters. Yes her books were similar but certainly not the same. The only one I just could not get into at all was Echoes. I just did not care for the characters at all. I didn't think it was anything like her other books. I will miss her.
all discussions on this book |
post a new topic
