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A review by bsolarz
Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
2.0
The topics brought up in the book were, I felt, handled in a very disrespectful way. Especially in regards to Gertie and Jack where a very abusive relationship was occurring, and all the surrounding characters were tolerant of it. As their relationship was not the centre of the story, it probably would have been best if the characters had tried a little harder to put an end to it, and had not enabled further abuse.
In addition to this, even though this book was written by a woman, my opinion of all the women in the book was very poor. While there was only one stand out 'good person' in the book (Colm Barry), the women were portrayed as weak, dependent and pathetic which I really struggled with when reading. Character development was incredibly rushed and clumped together at the end, and even still it was minimal.
The book itself could have been reduced by about 200 pages, especially as we don't meet Marilyn Vine, the woman with whom Ria Lynch switched houses, until about 300 pages in. A lot of the dialogue and story lines were incredibly unnecessary or brought up and then not discussed or left hanging. I may have analysed this book far too heavily for a light summer read but I felt incredibly strongly about the book, especially the lack of powerful female figures.
In addition to this, even though this book was written by a woman, my opinion of all the women in the book was very poor. While there was only one stand out 'good person' in the book (Colm Barry), the women were portrayed as weak, dependent and pathetic which I really struggled with when reading. Character development was incredibly rushed and clumped together at the end, and even still it was minimal.
The book itself could have been reduced by about 200 pages, especially as we don't meet Marilyn Vine, the woman with whom Ria Lynch switched houses, until about 300 pages in. A lot of the dialogue and story lines were incredibly unnecessary or brought up and then not discussed or left hanging. I may have analysed this book far too heavily for a light summer read but I felt incredibly strongly about the book, especially the lack of powerful female figures.