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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Original Work of Fiction - A Battle Lost and Won

A battle lost and won I’ve loved and lost I’ve loved and won Such is the conclusion I came to in my battle in this simple but  complicated feelings called love. Going back in time to more than twenty odd years ago seems like a lifetime away  but yet, feels also just like yesterday I’ve loved hard and deep and when I let go of that love, I thought my world ended Well, I was wrong.   My world didn’t end.  It was a chapter of my life that came to an end and since then I  have written many more chapters. But time and again, I find myself revisiting that time The time when I thought I’ve loved and lost I was twenty four and he was thirty one I was young and naïve and he was the man of the world I was intrigued by him, he was captivated by me The girl who drank Jack Daniels and knew about war aircrafts  and read about espionages. He introduced me to stuff unknown to me and taught me golf and how to have conf...
Read more

Book Fair - 2nd Time Around Used Books

Image
advertisement in local newspaper 2nd Time Around Used Books, a company that sells second hand books inported from the USA, is currently having a 'mega sales' in Kuching.  Called 'Book Fair Version 2.0', this is the second year they are organising such sales on a big scale. Starting from  23 July to 7 August , readers in Kuching will have a choice of thousands of titles for children, youth, novels, self help books, etc.  The books are expected to be priced around RM9.90 or slightly more or maybe even less. The organiser is also giving away vouchers for purchases above a certain amount and organising lucky draws and children's contest during this time. Be sure to check them out in Crown Square (or sometimes known as Crown Tower in Jalan Pending) from 10 am - 9 pm for these 2 weeks. I haven't had a chance to go to the sales yet but I bought these last year.  I will go and check them out maybe later today.  See you there.
Read more

Birthright by Nora Roberts

Image
Synopsis : When 5,000-year-old human bones are found at a construction site in the small town of Woodsboro, the news draws archaeologist Callie Dunbrook out of her sabbatical and into a whirlwind of adventure, danger and romance. While overseeing the dig, she must try to make sense of a cloud of death and misfortune that hangs over the project – fueling rumours that the site is cursed. She must also cope with the presence of her irritating – but irresistible – ex-husband, Jake. And when a stranger claims to know a secret about her privileged Boston childhood, she must question her own past as well. If you are familiar with Nora Roberts works such as Montana Sky, Carolina Moon, Angels Fall , then you would have an idea the type of story she turns out. They made good hallmark movies out of these books. Nora Roberts also wrote as JD Robb but that’s another story. Birthright follows similar pattern. Callie is the heroine and the story revolves around her with murders, arson, etc. ...
Read more