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. 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). During her appearance on Desert Island Discs in March 2017, Keyes told the host that "[by] conditioning women to think that what they find empowering or valuable is worth less than what men consider to be worthwhile, women are prevented from reaching for parity and the gender gap in power and money between men and women is kept in the favour of men". [11]

The book includes an interesting cast of characters - her selfish and bossy roommate Karen and her loveable roommate Charlotte, Lucy's workmates and Lucy's childhood friend Daniel. We follow them along as they navigate the complicated London singles scene, partly as friends, partly as "frenemies" (particularly Karen). Yes, we know who Lucy will end up with in the end, but the journey to that predictable ending was very enjoyable. Sejujurnya, hampir sepanjang buku ini saya membenci Lucy. Dan menyalahkan dia atas semua kesialan yang menimpanya, lha wong dia sendiri yang minta kok. 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. So far this is my least favorite Marian Keyes novel. I've even stopped partway through to read Rachel's Holiday and Conversations with the Fat Girl and felt somewhat reluctant to continue reading it. I finally did finish it though, just to see if it at some point would have a redeeming quality. For now, it feels like this novel appears in sepia while all other Keyes books I've read are in technicolor (yes, my description is cliche, but it fits!).

Customer reviews

I decided to review this book today as a walk down memory lane, revisiting the fab story of little Lucy Sullivan and whether or not she gets married. I have read a lot of Marian's books over the course of the last 18 odd years but this story has to be my favourite, not only is an excellent story it also reminds me of a time of my life when I was young and sorta innocent! Keyes began writing short stories while suffering from alcoholism. After her treatment at the Rutland Centre she returned to her job in London and submitted her short stories to Poolbeg Press. The publisher encouraged her to submit a full-length novel and Keyes began work on her first book, Watermelon. The novel was published the same year. Since 1995 she has published many novels and works of non-fiction. [7] Lucy Sullivan's been told she is getting married . . . but to who? Discover the uplifting, laugh-out-loud story of a reluctant wrestle with fate, from the No. 1 bestselling author of Grown Ups

This was one hard to find DVD... but one the dedicated Gerry Butler fan can't really live without. I finally got my copy from New Zealand a few weeks ago and did a marathon viewing of all 16 episodes. From the bits and pieces I had seen before, I thought the series is rather shallow and very light hearted but I was surprised. There are some good, rather deep story lines dealing with the hassle of the daily, modern life as problems at your job, problems with your family and so on. Of course a good mix of good (and bad) romances are thrown in as well. I thought the acting was overall pretty good especially in some of the supporting roles like Lucy's parents.And, naturally, I didn’t believe a word that came out of his mouth. When he said that I was the only girl in his life, I assumed that he was lying, when he told me I was lovely I looked for the angle on it, walked all around it, inspecting it, to see what he wanted from me. One of those rare books that will swallow up your day without realising it. Romantic and uplifting, it won't fail to put a smile on your face' Daily Express Keyes lives in Dún Laoghaire with her husband Tony Baines (whom she first met on his 30th birthday [5]) after returning to Ireland from London's Hampstead in 1997. [5] Style [ edit ]

As her relationship with Gus develops she starts to realise that maybe he is not Mr Fantastic after all, things don't add up and he really likes a good drink, is he worth it? Especially as Daniel seems to be looking at her with eyes more akin to a lover than a friend. And why didn’t she change it?’ said Megan. ‘There’s nothing to it, so I’m told. Isn’t that right, so-called Meredia?’I was still at that stage in my life when I thought that weekdays were for recovering from the weekend' from the publisher's description

It took a while for me to realise that he was sincere and that he wasn’t saying it to all the girls. Anyway, wimp that I was, I gave in to Meredia without much of a fight. I even managed to convince myself that having no money would be a good thing – being forced to go without lunch for two weeks would be a shot in the arm for the diet that I perpetually seemed to be on. Lucy Sullivan works in London and her well meaning (interfering) workmates drag her along to meet the revered psychic Mrs Nolan. Naturally sceptical of all things like this, Lucy is prepared to take it all with a pinch of salt . Mrs Nolan tells Lucy that she will be married within the year, her workmates are overjoyed, Lucy is underwhelmed, she doesn't even have a boyfriend let alone a potential fiancé. I have read this book three times in the last two weeks. I have sat here for an entire week trying to figure out how to express how much I loved this book. From Lucy’s romances to her roommates and coworkers, I have laughed out loud on the train, at home, at the park. Every time, it has been a wonderful ride. Steele, Francesca (31 January 2020). "Marian Keyes: the best-selling author on diets, sexism and being inspired by Gen Z: The popular writer's new book follows the story of a large, chaotic family with similarities to her own" . Retrieved 31 January 2020. Keyes comes from a big family... and enjoys writing about life inside a large nest.

Although I didn’t like to admit it, she was probably right. Now that I had discovered that Steven wasn’t the man of my dreams, it was only a matter of time before I made some sort of psychic enquiries to find out exactly who was. That was the kind of thing that my friends and I did, even though it was all just a bit of a laugh and no one believed the fortune-tellers. At least none of us would admit to believing them. 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. Harapan, makhluk tolol yang plinplan itu, makhluk tukang menghamburkan emosi itu, kembali menjadi bintang tamu dalam kehidupanku. Because you’re beautiful,’ or ‘Because you’re sexy,’ or ‘Because you’re all woman,’ were the nauseating replies that he gave me. In 2021 and 2022, Keyes joined Tara Flynn in a series for BBC Radio 4 called 'Now You're Asking', in which they discussed problems sent in by listeners (they called them 'askers').