laughed. loved this.

I don't think I've ever been so glad to finish a book. Of course I wasn't expecting this to be a literary masterpiece but I thought being to some degree enjoyable wouldn't have been too much to ask.

The premise is probably standard for a chick-lit novel - a woman's husband tells her he's been having an affair for six months and is leaving her the day she gives birth to their first child. But that all happens within the first few pages and it seems that nothing else of much interest occurs in the massive amount pages that come next.

Instead Claire's emotions take on capital letters as she recounts their little plays in her head, she repeats and repeats and goes over things and goes over things and takes us on random trips down memory lane with seemingly unrelated antidotes about her family. At so many points I just wanted to yell "Shut up and get on with the story!" I also seemed to worry more about the baby's whereabouts than its mother did as it conveniently disappeared into the background.

Keyes does write with some humour and there are some great funny lines but these are too often then reiterated upon until they lose any entertainment value and just become annoying.

This book may have been more tolerable if it had been shorter. As in much shorter. There's just no excuse for its chunky 600+ pages, I wouldn't recommend it.

Finally finished my Irish March read. The Walsh family are a fun group. This first book focuses on Claire and a cheating husband and a baby. It takes a bit for Claire to deal,lots and lots of inner dialog, but she eventually does.

Can't recall where, but I read a rather rave review from a trusted source a while back and added this book. Alas, it did not live up that review. I knew it would be a light frothy romcom kind of read so that was all fine, but the narrator/protagonist was hard to know or care about - unreliable because of her situation (dumped the day she gives birth) and poor self image. I think the narrator was supposed be witty and self deprecating, but she often came off as pathetic, vacuous, and/or rather mean spirited. Her family which was likely meant to come off as charmingly quirky seemed more in the realm of dysfunctional. Still, I enjoyed reading this because it meant the resurrection of the beloved Nerdy Girl Bookclub with my bff so it wasn't all bad.

1 Stars

Watermelon follow's our protagonist Claire as she is left by her husband James for her downstairs neighbour, about 2 minutes after giving birth to their daughter. She soon after takes her newborn child back to her eccentric family so she can lick her wounds in the comfort of her old home and thus meets a new younger man named Adam.

To say Claire is an embarrassing wet drip of woman is putting it lightly. She spends 40% of this way too long novel in a depression slump where she neglects her new born child to sulk and drink and sulk and sleep and then drink some more. Instead of going through some momentous montage scene of getting her shit together and realizing she's an empowered single mom that doesn't need a horrible man in her life. The author decides the only way to get over one man is under another (literally). My god feminist writing at work here people.

I’m fine with romance but not when it is the pivotal turning point that makes the character change her ways and get out of her depression. Why couldn’t it be her dysfunctional but loving family or her NEW BORN CHILD that made her wake up and realize that the world doesn’t stop spinning because of one horrible man?

The new love interest for our lead was no improvement from her husband. He was just as controlling but in entirely different way but none the less bossy. He was the type of man that tells you what's good for you like; how have you been able to properly take care of yourself without him telling you how to do so kind of bastard. When a man tells me whats best for me, I want to punch him in his face. I'm adult woman I'm quite aware whats best for me I don't need your commentary from the peanut gallery.

James (her ex-husband) was written not just as insufferable but like an actual sociopath. A pathological liar, that was manipulative, bitter, and just kept forgetting he had a daughter like literally every second was like 'oh ya, I have her I guess.' It was a really weird character choice the author made because now I'm questioning our protagonists intellect because she married a crazy person like psych ward crazy. Like keep an eye on your kid because she's got his genes so look out for prolonged bed wetting and her killing the house pets in your future BECAUSE YOU MARRIED A STRAIGHT UP LUNATIC!

The lead character was such a weak insecure woman that you couldn't even be satisfied with her triumphant 'I don't need you in my life' attitude in the end because it took about a thousand people telling her that her husband is a manipulative asshole to get her there. It wasn't even her in the end that realized he was horrible it was everyone telling her to wake the fuck up and have some self respect. And then she was all "oh maybe I should defend myself?" Like nope took you way too long to get to this point, I no longer care you weak willed sad excuse for a woman. It was like pulling fucking teeth to get this character to do anything that involved her using her back bone. Which made it so lack luster in the end when she finally stood up for herself.

If you want to read a book about thousand pages too long revolving around a weak willed woman running from one man into the arms of another because she's has no ability to take care of herself may I suggest Watermelon by Marian Keyes. You'll love it.

I'll admit I skim-read the second half, but still had fun (as always with Marian Keyes!)

more 2.5 than 3.

Well, from this book I got a strong message: if you are slim you got the man, if you're not you don't.

I have to say I hated the heroine for the first part of the book. She was whiney, she was lazy, she was so selfish I really hated her. And she talked and talked and talked, mostly about herself for the obvious reason she liked her own voice I think.
I have to admit that being left from your husband the very day you give birth to your little girl it's a very bad thing. And he leaves you for an older woman (obviously in the book the problem was the other woman was fat! FAT is the most written word in this book I think - a little obsessed maybe?) but you have to get over it.

Instead the heroine spends the first month of her daughter life being drunk or sleeping or sleeping after got drunken (it's good she doesn't breastfeed, even if she chooses to not breastfeed in order to keep her breast in good shape!).
And then after a month of hawling she gets up, suddenly thin and happy again with the world. She meets a fantastic man and has some fantastic sex.

The second part of the book was way much better and I began to reconsider her. Then the husband got back and he made her believe that it was her, with her selfish and girlish acts to make him look for another woman! Because he was tired to be the responsible one! What a couple!!!
Nobody of them considering they have a child! That little girl was just good for some little fun scenes but for the most time she was simply relegated in the background. No, this is the thing I hated most! Even when the heroine and her husband were arguing or organizing their life, nobody spent a word about their daughter!!!!

There are some things I save from this book. Adam, the other guy was really good. And her family was funny and caring.

I just loved this book for the humor and lessons of relationships.
Clare is left by her husband after having their baby and she goes home to her Irish family to recuperate and find out what she needs to do with her life.
With the help of her dysfunctional family and a hunky, good natured man she hooks up with, she is able to find worth in herself and the courage to do the right thing for herself.
I was laughing so much and learning so much from Clare and her situation which I related to.
This is a series that continues with her sisters. I will definitely be reading more of the Walsh family saga. :)

Méh. No sé si es un méh porque el libro en sí es mahometano o porque en general yo espero mucho de esta autora, pero aún así le puse tres estrellas porque fue su primer novela y para ser una primera novela es bastante buena.

Además, la anécdota es divertida: La autora estaba en terapia y le pidieron que escribiera e hizo un cuento corto, que no sé si ella o una amiga mandó a una editorial y le dijeron SÍ, NOS GUSTÓ PERO LO QUEREMOS COMO NOVELA. Entonces ella contestó que no problem, y se vio obligada a aumentarlo al triple o al cuádruple de alguna forma u otra, jajaja. Si eso no es resolución, no sé lo qué es y más encima una exitosa, te admiro, Marian Keyes, yo cuando intento interferir artificialmente las longitudes de mis escritos se suicidan en cámara lenta.

Lo malo es que ese exceso de palabras igual se nota, porque todo pudo haberse narrado con la mitad de lo escrito, pero supongo que hay gente a la que le gusta todo ese small talk. Yo me aburrí en varias partes, pero en otras igual me divertí mucho. Y tiene su gracia.

Sin embargo, hasta ahora es el que menos me ha gustado de la autora.

Otra cosa que no me gusta de ella es que igual se pega sus comentarios de mente chica, a veces le da por la gordofobia o la homofobia o etc. Lo hace como parte del camino de reírse de sí misma y para los tiempos en que fue escrito quizá no está tan mal, pero no envejeció bien ese tipo de humor. Es como cuando en Friends se ríen de la niñera hombre o del papá trans de Chandler. Pero buéh, entenderlo así es también una señal de que evolucionamos.

This book, all 520 pages of it was an excellent way to start the year.
Having read Grown Ups last year I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this one, I found that book a little too long and not enough action to keep me hooked for my usual thriller mind.
This one however I knew I had to read after buying Rachel’s holiday and discovering that it was a sequel.
I absolutely loved Claire, having just had a baby and having a huge shock when he husband James leaves her.
I absolutely hated James, towards the end of the book he made me so angry but some of the ways Claire let him treat her also made me cross too.
For a very character driven plot I was completely intrigued from the first page and my attention was there throughout.
I now can’t wait to read Rachel’s holiday!
I’ve been told Marian Keyes early work is superb so off I go to search…
Would highly recommend this one.

2.5 stars.

I've not read any of Marian Keyes books in order, and have started the Walsh Family somewhere towards the end and now moving my way back and I am glad that I did, had a started with this one I may not have proceeded with such enthusiasm.

The author's dialogue, character development and plot development has grown since this first novel making her later books far more enjoyable.

Claire feels her marriage is a happy one, until her husband leaves her for another women, hours after she gave birth to their first child. She goes back to Dublin to lick her wounds and try to come to grips with suddenly being a single mother and abandoned wife.

I found that I liked Claire far more in the later novels, she's a bit to "damsel in distress" in this one for my liking, I also found the attempted reconciliation scenes between her and James just to confusing.

4.25 ⭐️

This is hands down one of the funniest and most aggravating (thanks for nothing, James…iykyk) books I’ve read in ages, and the Irish accents in the audiobook made it even better!

The entire time you are made to feel like you’re reading Claire’s internal (and oftentimes intrusive) thoughts. The story is mostly written in 1st person. I don’t often reads books like this but I’ve come to realise that I’m really into this style, especially when you’re inside the mind of a self-deprecating, completely unhinged 20-something woman. Claire Walsh’s unfiltered life felt so raw and real, and I loved that.

Honestly, I never would’ve picked this up if a friend hadn’t recommended it, but now it might just be in my Top 5 recommendations.