The Tea House on Mulberry Street

Muldoon's Tea Rooms--and the 17-year marriage of proprietors Penny and Daniel Stanley--are fading. But a perpetually dieting housewife still comes in to escape her husband's stick-thin mistress, a struggling artist pens love letters to actor Nicolas Cage, and a woman returns to search for a long-lost soulmate. Behind the cherry cheesecakes and chocolate cappuccinos are the stirrings of a change that will redefine and heal lives. And lead Penny and Daniel to discover what truly matters in life--and love.

Set in Belfast, an ensemble piece populated with quite a few characters, the narrative here revolves around the regulars at the slightly shabby Muldoon's Tea House, which serves good food cheaply. Each of the characters is quickly and sharply drawn: Penny's family has owned the tea house for years and she longs for a bit of beauty and a child. Her husband Daniel is too parsimonious to indulge her and seems more wedded to the tea house than to Penny. There are two spinsters who pass judgment on the loose morals of the day while conscientiously collecting for charity. Brenda is a starving artist who writes almost daily to actor Nicolas Cage, sharing her dreams, triumphs and set-backs with him as his biggest fan. Henry is independently show more wealthy and owns a bookstore where he can hole himself away from his increasingly self-centered and eccentric wife with her Bronte Bunch. Clare is a New Yorker who once lived beside the tea house and stops in chasing a long cherished desire, the boy with whom she fell in love so many years ago.

With such a large cast of characters (and the above are only the principles), the book feels very episodic as Owens tells their tales in turn chapter by chapter. The characters seem to be fairly stock and the resolutions of their desires are for the most part quite predictable. It was a tad displeasing that almost without fail these people all reached and grasped for their own happiness without reference to the other people in their lives to whom they owed consideration. The affairs and unconcerned immorality was somewhat over the top. Do all married people who are having trouble have affairs? According to this book, the answer must be yes. And while the heart-warming ending that readers expect for the principle characters does come about, the previous bits left enough of a bad taste in my mouth that it didn't redeem the book. I understand there are more books in the series but I'm not eager to make the acquaintance of these folks again and the writing was not sublime enough to tempt me either. show less

This is a cute story with wacky characters set in Belfast. Peopled with a collection of sweet oddballs, it is a light, endearing account of their lives. What I liked most was that one of the characters lived on Eglantine Avenue, near the Botanic Gardens, a street where I used to live back in the sixties, which created a nostalgic moment.

My version was an audiobook. Caroline Winterson's dreadful reading was excruciating and reduced my rating significantly.

My first thought on reading this was, "what a delightful little story." While it starts out a bit doom and gloom with several failing relationships, it somehow brings humor into the gloom and ends with the happiest of endings.

The main couple, Penny and Daniel Stanley, are the owners of the Tea house. Daniel is a workaholic and more concerned with his penny-pinching than anything else. Penny is disappointed in the relationship and goes on to have an affair due to Daniel's cold ignorance of her feelings.

Another couple, Sadie and Arnold are also having trouble with their relationships. Sadie on a continuous stream of diets finds out about his affair and after doing so, plots the most delicious of revenge that you can't help smiling in glee show more with how it turns out.

Rose, Aurora, and Henry make up another lovers circle. Aurora is more concerned with her book club, and the addition to her house (done by Arnold) rather than her relationship with Henry. He prefers to pitter in his garden all day long that is eventually destroyed by the addition. While at the tea house he meets Rose, a recent divorcee who owns a flower shop and loves gardening as much as him. As Aurora draws further into her club and a new man, Henry and Rose plant something beautiful.

In addition to these stories there are also two side stories. One is of Clare, who used to live in Belfast where the teahouse is located and is in search of a long lost love. The other is Brenda, a failing artist who is in love with Nicholas Cage.

Towards the end of the novel, a fire somehow fixes many things for the characters and everyone receives a happy ending. A bit mushy for some, but sometimes a little lightheartedness is needed in a read. show less

A sweet tale of life and love pivoted around Penny Stanley and Daniel Stanley's Tea House on Mulberry Street, Muldoon's Tea Rooms. Their marriage is starting to show some cracks as are some other marriages of some of their regulars. I liked several of the characters, enjoying their adventures. However the book occasionally felt a bit scattered, though this was part of it's charm. I enjoyed how some of the characters got their way out of their situations and through to a happier life.

I enjoyed this story about the relationships of the owners and patrons of a little tea shop. Several estranged or rocky marriages which take different paths, a struggling artist who has written hundreds of letters to Nicholas Cage but never sent any, proud sisters who have some secrets to discover about their heritage. The only real link is that they are all regulars at the little tea shop on Mulberry Street. Sweet and satisfying.

This was enjoyable with the ends all neatly tucked in. I rather loved Sadie, her character was easy to identify with and I really liked how she worked within her sphere to influence her own story. The other stories were good, too, but Sadie's was the best.