Watermelon by Marian Keyes

Synopsis :

Claire Webster has exactly the life she planned, complete with gorgeous husband James, cosy London flat, and a great job.  But just hours after the birth of their first child, the bubble bursts when James abandons her for an older woman.

With a baby she doesn't know what to call,a wardrobe two dress sizes too small, and her self-esteem at an all time low, Claire decides there is only one place she can run to, and that's back home to Dublin.

Thankfully her family are still themselves:her father bewildered, her sisters dippy as ever and her mother still completely incapable of cooking anything edible. Sheltered by the love of her rather quirky but protective family, Claire realises that despite her grief, 'Life , against its better judgement, goes on'.  So she lets it. And gradually she begins to get better.

So when James eventually comes scuttling back he's in for a shock.  Is there room in her life for him now? And, if she's honest, how much does she still want that 'perfect' life back in London?

Watermelon is one of the earlier work of Marian Keyes.  It's about Claire, the eldest of the Walsh's sisters.  The other sisters have their own book too.  There's Rachel in Rachel's Holiday and Maggie in Angels and Anna in Anybody Out There? (my favourite :) and last but now least Helen in Marian Keyes latest release, The Mystery of Mercy Close which I have not read yet.  I have read the others so I probably will be showcasing them here one by one but not in any particular order except how I like it to be.

While the other books have their issues to deal with, Watermelon is about the breakdown of a marriage - Claire's marriage.  Her husband of a few years decided to call it quits right after the delivery of their first baby.  While she's still in the hospital.  Talk about scumbag and low blow.  For a woman, it doesn't really get any worst than that.  Claire did the only things he can think of at the moment, she went home. To rant and to heal.  And rant and heal she did.

The whole book is practically an outlet for Claire to rant and ramble on.   I can imagine Claire in front of me and just rambles on and on and on.  But because the author is very good in this area, the rambling was quite bearable and quite interesting at times. Marian Keyes just have the talent of putting things in perspective and while she allows Claire to deal with her issues, it was done with much humour thrown in and things don't look half as bad as you might think it is.

The synopsis gives an impression that much time has passed from the moment James left Claire to James eventual return. In actually fact, just about a couple of months have passed.  Maybe because Marian needs to wrap things up for Claire, I felt that Claire is very much on an express train where her emotions are concern and I think she realizes that too.  A bit unrealistic in my opinion but hey, it's by Marian and I just love her work so I'll be happy recommend this and any of her other books to you.