Un romanzo che mi ha lasciato senza parole

Definitely the worst of Marian Keyes that I have read so far (six). Not a bad book, just out of tune with me.

In the beginning, I was gripped. I hadn't any idea about a plot, so when I understood what 'event' was the core of the story I was really sad (and even more hopeful about the book). I remember how phenomenal was On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins (it is one of my favourite novels).

But it started to drag. I was so not interested in Anna's professional life. Then, there was Helen - what for was she so big part of the book? And Anna's struggles with grief eventually started to annoy me.

There were quite a few precious moments. E.g. the funny scenes with Walsh's family, and some wiser ones. But too little as for six hundred pages.

I was weeping for Aiden at one point, and now I am (metaphorically) weeping for this Keyes' novel (I am still her big fan).

[2-2.5 stars, rounding up thanks to male characters, like Aiden, Matt, Angelo, Leon, Joey]

Anna was not what I expected her to be. Like she's been in the previous three books. I guess before this book, she went through some major life changes and changed herself. I'm very pleased that she found a life and career that she's passionate about and very good at. But her character in this book was, more or less, like her older sisters' (just with less self esteem issues), and I was looking forward to Anna.

I was not really engaged for the first two-thirds of the book. I thought that I might put it down and never get round to picking it up again, or rather pressing pause and never pressing play again. But stronger stomachs prevailed, and I did enjoy the final third. It had a lovely, satisfying conclusion.

This book is about grief, losing your life partner. And I admit that that is something I very much do not want to think about, and I'm confident I would deal with it much more poorly than Anna does, so she has my admiration. Anna is clearly portrayed going through the five stages of grief - denial, bargaining, anger, depression, acceptance. I just didn't feel connected to this Anna and this story.

This was also my first novel on audiobook, and I was doing other things at the same time, so maybe that had an effect on how I engaged with the book. Shrugs shoulders. I'll have to experiment more to see if there a pattern. But it's definitely a great way to create time to read more books, so I'll definitely be listening to more audiobooks going forward. Housework is about to become much more interesting!

I was tossing up between two and three stars for this book. I guess I opted to round it up.

Without a focus on addiction this was quite different to any Marian Keyes I’ve read before, but it still had the uncanny ability to grab my heart from first page to last. A beautiful read.

I was surprised to find I enjoyed this book, plenty of humour and some moving sections. The last page was too gooey and soppy for me, though, it spoiled an otherwise entertaining read.

Keyes’ humour and poignant stream of consciousness, capture the devastating realities of grief and moving on. In doing so, she highlights what it means to love and be loved through a page-turning journey of crazy New Yorkers, mad Irish families and unusual friends.

Entertaining. Touching and humorous.

I love an epilogue

first read: February 2011
second read: December 2016

This is one of my favourite books. It is rare that I read about a couple that is so obviously perfect for each other and so intensely in love. I miss that. This book is quirky, laugh out loud funny, and so emotional. Keyes nailed every part of this. It was long but I still wish that there was more to read.

Me ha gustado muchísimo. Si algo admiro en Marian Keyes (y quizá más en este libro que en ninguno anterior) es su capacidad para contar una historia dramática, terriblemente dramática en este caso, con ese tono de humor y comedia... y sin que nadie chirríe. Se me ha hecho un poco largo (me ha sobrado toda la subtrama de Helen y los mafiosos), pero por lo demás ha sido una lectura entretenida y muy recomendable.

This is the 6th book I've read by Marian Keyes and my ratings have been all over the place, from 2 stars to 4 stars. But this is by far my favorite. This had so much to the story and was such an readable story. While it was a long book it didn't take much time to flew through.

Fresh out of the chaotic schedule of university, I finally had time to pick up this book. And boy was it AMAZING.
By far one of Marian Keyes’ best books, it was hilarious, it was relatable and it carried the essence of an important message: live your life even though your heart is broken, because one day everything will feel different, and that is when you know you have gotten through a situation you firmly believed you wouldn’t have been able to. There were many minor plot twists, which definitely added to the narrative overall. I thoroughly enjoyed the inclusions of the goings on in the lives of the other Walsh sisters, alongside Anna Walsh’s life. Keyes uses humour and wit to approach the tragic reality of death and the bereavement of a loved one. As the reader, I actually felt Anna’s sadness at times because of how well written it was.

By the end of the novel, I firmly believed Anna would land up dating with Nicholas, Angelo or even Mitch. But it seems she is hanging out, separately, with all of them!!

This was the first book that had me laughing every couple of pages, and it wasn’t forced humour either!!

Keyes ended this novel very well and I cannot wait to go back ( yes I may have skipped a book ) and read what on earth happened to Rachel.

5/5 ⭐️