When you have a book with 740 pages, it's not a very good sign that you can guess the whole story by page 35. Yes, when I read: "Daniel was my friend and, while he was the closest thing that I had to a steady man in my life, I wouldn't have become emotionally involved with him if the future of the human race depended on it." I could have stopped there and moved on.
But I didn't, so I endured 700 more pages of predictable merry-go-round chicklit. I'll seriously ponder before I pick another one of these books because they're not even very good for a laugh anymore. It was moderately entertaining, it dragged on for quite a bit, the male characters were one-dimensional as usual....I should have stopped reading these after my teens passed.

First, a confession – a confession which will, conceivably, invalidate my entire review. I hate chick lit. There, I’ve said it. I avoid pink covers like the plague. I’m a chick, and I like lit, but the genre commonly known as ‘chick lit’ – can’t stand it. I find it patronising. Men, shopping and diets – is this all women are supposed to be interested in? Couldn’t we have a novel about a 20- or 30-something woman struggling to unravel the meaning of life, or pursuing her lifelong dream of excavating lost Mayan cities in the jungles of Belize? Couldn’t we? Just one?

Perhaps – probably, even – it’s snobbishness. And if you like fluffy novels about a woman going on diets, straying off diets, going shopping, and wondering whether the bloke in her office fancies her, who am I to wag my finger? Disregard this review, if you fit into this category. You don’t want to know my opinion. You really don’t.

Anyway, on to the example of chick lit in question – Marian Keyes’Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married. I picked an old paperback copy of this off my sister’s shelves during a long week in which I had little to do and nothing to read. My sister – who has very different literary tastes to mine – swooned. ‘Ooh!’ she squealed. ‘You’ve GOT to read that book! You’ll LOVE it!’

Well, high praise indeed, coming from the woman who didn’t get past the first chapter of War and Peace, and who thinks that Shakespeare is overrated. So perhaps I was being unfair. Perhaps, I reasoned, the fault lay with me, and if I gave chick lit a second chance I’d enjoy it. I sat down and started to read.

And to be fair, I kept on reading to the very end, so obviously this book isn’t a complete loss. I was even, occasionally, mildly interested in our heroine, Lucy Sullivan’s, chaotic life. I mean, it’s not like I’m completely heartless, or anything. Everyone dreams of finding their one true love, surely, and everyone’s entitled to feel a bit miserable when that one true love fails to materialise. Lucy fits into that category. When a psychic tells her that she’ll get married within a year, Lucy is puzzled, given that she doesn’t even have a boyfriend. Besides, Lucy is saddled with a job she hates, and ageing parents whom she also appears to hate. Will she find Mr Right, or is it all going to go badly wrong? (Well, it’s chick lit, so the ending’s a bit of a foregone conclusion, but still...)

Anyway, the good. Well, Keyes has a sure touch for humour, and there are a few giggles to be had here. She understands what she’s writing about, and the silliness and shallowness of young women, and the chaotic mechanics of house-sharing, are nicely portrayed. Also – and somewhat to my surprise – there is actually an attempt to inject something a bit more interesting into the usual chick lit fairy cake mix. Lucy, it transpires, suffers from depression, which adds something a bit darker and grittier than I was expecting.

The bad? Same old, same old. Shopping, sex and diets. Don’t these airheads ever think about anything else? Why don’t they read books (other than chick lit)? Why don’t they examine their motivations, engage in politics, explore philosophy or psychology? Listen to classical music? Try to find a job they really like, rather than one they hate? Do any of the above? Even think about doing them, dammit? Wouldn’t these activities make their pointless lives just slightly more bearable?

Oh well. Sorry, Marian. It’s not you, it’s me. We just like different things, I suppose. You like worrying about men and diets; I despise myself when I find myself worrying about these things, and try to find something rather weightier to agonise over. I say to-mah-to, you say to-may-to; let’s call the whole thing off. You’ve got legions of fans who love you; you won’t miss me. I have my serious books to nourish my pretensions of intellectual superiority.

Keyes' 2nd book, I think and after reading this one, I definitely do NOT want to read her first book. This book was horrible. I hated the protag so much I just wanted to reach in and strangle her. I hate women like this so so so much.

Lucy and her co-workers go to a psychic after work on day and she tells them all one thing and she tells Lucy that she will get married in a year. Turns out currently, Lucy has no boyfriend. Within a week, all the predictions that the psychic gave to her co-workers all came true, so they are all convinced that Lucy's will as well! Lucy meets Gus who is a total alcoholic and walks all over her and she allows it. Her roommate Karen starts to date a childhood friend of hers, Daniel around the same time and Karen walks all over her too. And Lucy puts up with it. Her father is an alcoholic, but of course, she doesn't see it and when her mother finally leaves her father, she moves home to take care of him, even though, of course, he treats her like shit too. Gus moves in and out of her life, pretty much whenever he remembers she exists and she pays for everything, but Lucy likes being needed. Like all prior Keyes' books that I have read, this one is bogged down with so many freakin' details. Oy. Pretty much, it ends with her finally realizing her pattern with men is because of her dad and she drops them all and realizes she is in love with Daniel, who has since broken up with Karen. They confess their love, sleep together and Daniel asks Lucy to marry him. She doesn't say yes or no at the end of the book.

God, I hate characters like this. It was so bloody annoying to watch Lucy get walked all over, I wanted to roll my eyes at ever situation.

Grade: F

I found this slow and really struggled to finish it

Marian Keyes is a wonderful author. I listened to this as an audio book and you could truly ‘hear’ her voice coming through the characters. However, this only just managed to reach 4 stars. At first I really liked Lucy but as her story went on I decided she would be too much hard work as a friend. But Karen! I could never have been so patient when she was planning HER dinner party. If we hadn’t fallen out at the start of the week, the friendship would have been over by the end. And I am sure any who reads this will be shouting at Lucy because of her behaviour towards her family, no matter whose side you were on. Nearing the end I was actually beginning to dislike her. Although somewhat predictable, I did enjoy seeing what way the journey would go but maybe it went on a little too long. The epilogue filled in the blanks but could it have been intertwined a bit more into the story.

loved this! gave me real bridget jones vibes. LIVE LAUGH LOVE MARIAN

I read this years ago and recall enjoying it. Now, reading the insulting descriptions of women, I can't finish it. 54 pages is as far as I'll go. This cruelty is unnecessary.

AMAZING! This book quickly shot up to the number one spot on my "books my Marian Keyes in order of greatness" list. Once again, I've flown through one of her books and am left very sad that it's over and already missing the characters. With a strong theme of a battle with depression, this story was extremely relatable but heatwarming and fun at the same time. I'm starting to fear the day I've read all of Marian's books and have nothing more to look forward to...

Aunque tenía bastantes ganas de reencontrarme con alguna de las disparatadas y divertidísimas historias de Marian Keyes, lo cierto es que la lectura de este libro me ha resultado francamente decepcionante. Lucy Sullivan se casa no es ni mucho menos una mala novela, pero en comparación con otros trabajos posteriores (que por suerte o por desgracia son los primeros que he ido leyendo) se nota que la escritora irlandesa aún tenía demasiadas cosas por aprender. Con su habitual pero poco pulido tono humorístico, mezclando grandes dosis de ingenio, chispa y picardía con algunas escenas de corte más dramático, Marian Keyes nos introduce en la piel de una mujer un tanto insatisfecha con el rumbo que lleva su vida, una chica joven, apasionada y algo falta de ambición, que en compañía de unas amigas acude a una vidente en busca de orientación existencial, buena fortuna y por qué no, unas cuantas risas. Sin embargo, las palabras de la adivina (quien le ha vaticinado a Lucy nada más y nada menos que una improbable boda) comienzan a hacer mella en nuestra protagonista cuando el resto de sus amigas irán viendo cumplidos sus respectivos augurios. A partir de ese momento, el lector se sentirá incitado a recelar de todo aquel hombre que aparece sin previo aviso en las páginas de la novela, participando sin quererlo en una alocada quiniela que tiene como objetivo averiguar con quién de los candidatos disponibles acabará casándose Lucy o si acaso el destino le tiene reservado otro tipo de futuro. Entretenida, incisiva, mordaz, pero un tanto irregular en su desarrollo y con un último tercio bastante prescindible (por la cantidad de vueltas y mareos que produce la trama), Lucy Sullivan se casa supone una buena opción para pasar el rato pero no representa ni de lejos el inmenso potencial narrativo de la autora.

”I loved thunderstorms - the only time I really felt at peace with myself was during a storm. All of the turmoil and exuberance seemed to calm me.”

I’ve been taking a bit of a trek down memory lane with my choice of book lately. I’ve felt the need to find something cosy and comfortable to read. Something that I remember enjoying. Where you could get lost in a book, and really shut out the world while reading it. One where I didn’t have to think, but just feel. I wasn’t up to starting something new. I wanted to catchup with old friends. So the other weekend, I went scouring my bookshelves, and there it was! Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married. Yes! That’s the one.

Ahhhh...a book set in the days pre-mobile phone, social media and 24/7 angst. Where life was about ”...eating takeaways, drinking too much wine, bringing men home and never hoovering.” (try putting that blurb on the cover of a book now).

I distinctly remember being drawn to the bright purple cover of this book when I bought it. My first ever Marian Keyes (who I adore - or is it “whom” - as she’s just plain FABLISS). It was another book that I bought at the now long gone Max Ell’s bookshop. It was a Friday arvo, traipsing home to the bus stop, exhausted after a long week at work, and there were the bright lights of the bookshop beckoning me inside.

Another memory I have of reading this book the first time around, is that when I started it, I could not put it down. I just had to know how things would work out for Lucy and the charming, unreliable Gus, who she’s just met. I read most of the book in one go, sitting on the kitchen floor. Why was I reading it from the kitchen floor? I really don’t know. I have a vague idea I may have been making a cuppa, and while waiting for the kettle to boil, I got engrossed in the book. And forgot about the cuppa.

Lucy works in an office. Lucy is bored with her job. Lucy lives on low-fat diet yoghurt throughout the week, then splurges on pizza, curries and drinks on the weekend. Lucy’s wages are spent the day she gets paid. Lucy has a very difficult relationship with her mother. Lucy adores her father. Lucy lives for Friday nights and the weekend. Lucy has just dropped her boyfriend for being “too nice”. She didn’t entirely trust him for being this way. For making her feel too comfortable. She was disappointed at his neverending tenderness and devotion. It made her suspicious. It was driving her to distraction ”I had expected a wolf and had been fobbed off with a sheep.” He had to go.

Lucy and her fellow office slaves, Hetty, Meridia and Megan have a date with destiny. They’re off to have their fortunes told by an Irish psychic, a Mrs.Nolan. Who was very very good, as everyone knows ”There seemed to be a direct link between how difficult it was to get to a fortune-teller’s house and how good their reputation was. The more inaccessible and off putting the venue, the higher the quality of the predictions, was the most widely held view.”

Of course, Lucy is told that she will be getting married. Within a year. But who could it be? She doesn’t even have a boyfriend. She's just broken up with him. But as predictions for her workmates start to come eerily true, Lucy wonders if the gorgeous, eccentric Gus, who she’s fallen in lust with at a party, Gus of the Irish accent, twinkling eyes, and faerie dust blarney, could be “the one”. Everything seems to be pointing that way.

What really stood out to me reading this the second time around, is that Lucy suffers from depression. I can’t say that I remember this from reading it all those years ago. Within the first few chapters, when Lucy visits the psychic, Mrs. Nolan says something that strikes a chord, and Lucy admits that ”A dark cloud, was exactly how I described the bouts of depression that I sometimes got.” And perhaps saddest of all, is the deep embarrassment Lucy feels from feeling this way.

I think we’ve all had those awful gauche, awkward moments. Where we’re convinced the world is watching us and we just didn’t feel so uncomfortable in our own skin. Like it didn’t quite fit.

I don’t recall what I thought of this topic when I first read it. You have to remember, this book was written way back in ‘96, where things such as mental health and wellness weren’t the open topics they are today. It simply wasn’t something that was really spoken of or admitted to. I mean, anyone could have a “bad day” or be “down in the dumps”, but not actually depressed. Admitting to depression wasn’t really something that was done. It tended to be swept under the carpet. So with this in mind, it’s interesting to see how far ahead of the times Marian Keyes’ was with adding this to her storyline, over twenty years ago.

Another topic which really stood out to me with the fresh eyes of a re-read is the storyline of alcoholics and alcoholism. The impacts not only on the individual suffering from it, but on their friends and family. And the relationship patterns that tend to repeat from one generation to another. Being a charming, affable drunk in your 20s, doesn’t have quite the same amount of appeal in middle age, when the tarnish in the gilt is showing. And people are just plain exhausted from dealing with unreliability.

I didn’t manage to read this in either one or even two sittings this time around. Nor did I read this sitting on the kitchen floor. But I loved it just as much as the first time. I picked up on so many nuances of seriousness that I didn’t notice when I read it the first time, as I was so focussed on the fun, lighthearted stuff.

Oddly enough, this ended up being my work’s Bookclub pick for the month. Talk about change of pace and complete change of genre. I was taken aback when this was given the green light, as this was my little (or big) comfort read during another month of iso. And somehow it ended up being “the book”. I’ll be curious to hear what the others think when we have our virtual Bookclub meeting next month.

This is a big book, coming in at around 700 odd pages. But it didn’t feel that way to me. I loved it, and got lost in Lucy’s story again. Lots of humour, lots of warmth. A definite comfort read. So glad I hopped on board the nostalgia train.

Still a 5☆ read for me. Even with the benefit of hindsight. Older, but not necessarily wiser.

This is one of those rare occasions where I wonder where a well liked character is today. And kinda wish the writer would revisit her story (Marian? Hallo?!). Wherever Lucy Sullivan is, I hope she is doing just n  fabliss.n

Addition to original review: 06.October.2020

I felt a sense of trepidation attending today’s Bookclub at lunchtime, as this is when I’d hear what they thought of this book. Gulp. It wasn’t “officially” chosen as the Bookclub read. It kind of just happened...I mentioned I was reading it at our last catchup, and how much I was wallowing in my nostalgia train of happiness, when Jo said “Let’s read this one”, and the rest is history. As I mentioned in the body of my review, I was super surprised that this was selected as our Bookclub book, as we have some very serious readers in our group. I’m talking super smart readers. Yes, literary prize readers. Hard hitters. I’m talking “War and Peace” readers. Whereas I read for fun and pleasure. For the sheer enjoyment of it. If I learn something along the way, that’s great. I’m an emotive reader. I don’t go out of my way to select books that will necessarily challenge me. Enough of that happening in daily life.

Here's the Bookclub verdict. While most of the others found the book was “light and fluffy”, it was agreed that there were darker underlying themes of addiction featured throughout. Wrapped up in humour. And that you do not understand the reality of someone’s life, unless you live it yourself, even if only for a little while. The more mature women amongst us, could see from a mile away that the charming Gus was all smoke and mirrors, and not at all the type of person to get involved with. Let alone fall in love with. Ah, the sweet folly of youth!

So overall, this book was enjoyed by all, with varying levels of enjoyment. Those of us that read it previously when it was released, seemed to enjoy it just as much on their second reading. Whereas those who were brand new to it, didn't have quite the same level of attachment. It's interesting to realise how much of yourself you invest in books, and how when/where you first read them, can still have such an impact so many years later.

I love a good Marian Keyes and this didn’t disappoint. Published in 1997 it was set in a time before ubiquitous mobile phones and Facebook. Lucy is a sympathetic character who always chooses the wrong type of boyfriend. Funny yet dark as it deals with alcoholism. Lucy has a lot of learning about herself to do before she can find happiness.

no. thank. you.