Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married (by Marian Keyes)
And here is the third and final review in the category of of "books I finished in airports and on planes this weekend." I enjoyed this book for the most part, although there are small moments of fatphobia and homophobia that did not sit well with me. (The fat character is a whopping "200 pounds" and is described numerous times as "lumbering" from one place to another, and supposedly shakes talcum powder on her thighs in the office? But, she does end up happy and in love with a younger guy, so there's that I guess.)
That bit aside, the characters are likeable, and it's got Keyes's typical meatiness to it with its discussions of family dysfunction, alcoholism, and depression, which I always appreciate in her work. The central romance is quite delightful. I love the character of Karen, who is a bit of a fun villain. Lucy's relationship with Gus is realistically heartbreaking. And Daniel is swoon-worthy.
My biggest issue was actually the relationship between Lucy and her mother. It was very painful and handled well, except for the ending. I'll spoiler tag (avert your eyes, feed readers): I really needed that cathartic moment of Lucy realizing just how unfair and horrible she was to her mother throughout the whole book. It was really dramatic, with her wishing her mother dead and failing completely to appreciate her. And the end was like "well, we're working on our relationship." I didn't expect things to tie up neatly or all of Lucy's feelings to be resolved, but there absolutely needed to be a scene of Lucy having that lightbulb moment.
Anyway, I'm not sure I'll hang onto this one as a reread, for the reasons mentioned above, but I did enjoy reading it this time!
That bit aside, the characters are likeable, and it's got Keyes's typical meatiness to it with its discussions of family dysfunction, alcoholism, and depression, which I always appreciate in her work. The central romance is quite delightful. I love the character of Karen, who is a bit of a fun villain. Lucy's relationship with Gus is realistically heartbreaking. And Daniel is swoon-worthy.
My biggest issue was actually the relationship between Lucy and her mother. It was very painful and handled well, except for the ending. I'll spoiler tag (avert your eyes, feed readers): I really needed that cathartic moment of Lucy realizing just how unfair and horrible she was to her mother throughout the whole book. It was really dramatic, with her wishing her mother dead and failing completely to appreciate her. And the end was like "well, we're working on our relationship." I didn't expect things to tie up neatly or all of Lucy's feelings to be resolved, but there absolutely needed to be a scene of Lucy having that lightbulb moment.
Anyway, I'm not sure I'll hang onto this one as a reread, for the reasons mentioned above, but I did enjoy reading it this time!
Labels: romcom
posted by mo pie at 4:58 PM
4 Comments:
I did not make it through this one (Okay, I barely tried). I still love her, but this and Watermelon were not for me.
I was totally like, Shalini's gonna tell me what's up. ;)
Watermelon was my first Marian Keyes, and I LOVED it! It has been years since I read it, so I will have to go back and read it again. I agree, I don't like the fat slamming in books, I find that so irritating. I've read all her books, but it has been so long for some of them, I can't contribute anything constructive!
Have you read any Erica James or Lucy Dillon? If you like Keyes, you might enjoy them. Not as humorous, but very good reads.
No, have not tried either of those authors! Any specific titles to recommend?
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