I sobbed at the end-it was such a touching and satisfying conclusion. I fell in love with him right along with her and felt endeared to him throughout the story. I like how Anna's story is revealed a little bit at a time, and the intermittent flashbacks that help us learn about her relationship to Aiden. I loved getting to know the Walsh sisters and bits and pieces of their various stories, so I was delighted to learn that there were other books that had different Walsh sisters as the main character. The story is both hysterically funny and extremely poignant. I think it is several steps above the chick-lit category.

This one remains my favorite of hers, however.

I had to get the print version to enjoy the story again, and I am not usually one to re-read books (because there are so many others on my 'to-read' list)!Īfter reading this most engaging novel, I felt compelled to read all of Keyes' other books, most of which were wonderful as well. I'd have to put this book in my list of top-ten favorites of all time! I picked up the book-on-tape version at the library and immediately fell in love with Marian Keyes. Three stars instead of four because, without giving anything away, parts of the theme were really depressing. The fact that I am capable of losing myself in 600 pages about cosmetics, a topic that I know absolutely nothing about and have no interest in, is testament to the quality and pace of the writing and the story. Why is there no equivalent nomen for books about traditionally testosterone-y topics like war, fist fights and cars ('dick lit' or 'prick lit' are two possible suggestions - no more vulgar than 'chick lit' mind you)? Personally, I'd much rather lose myself in a book about a peaceful topic like human relationships (romantic, familial or professional) and the beauty industry, than something bloody and violent. But thinking about it, (and in an effort to justify my own enjoyment,) the whole chick lit phenomenon is remarkably anti-feminist. Her books are belittlingly labeled as 'chick lit', forever dooming serious readers to deny having enjoyed them.

They are extremely funny and the writing is surprisingly GOOD! I definitely couldn't write that well while maintaining such a complexity of characters and plot lines for 600 pages. Marian Keyes' books definitely do not fall into the Literature category because they don't offer much in the way of new insights or artistic use of language, but as far as Crap goes, they are pretty high quality. Twilight) fall into the 'Watching TV' category (because reading one of these books is the intellectual equivalent and takes the same amount of effort as sitting through a TV show). Books with negligible literary attributes (like no plot, no character development, poor writing, etc.ehh hmmm. Within the Crap category there are several further levels. I mentally classify most novels into one of two broad categories: Literature or Crap.

Anybody out there marian keyes plot