Starting out, know that this is one of the very best of Marian Keyes’s novels. It is engaging and absorbing. The characters are so alive and the pages turn quickly. Note, too, that in this novel, Ms. Keyes takes on some big themes including addiction, relationships and SPOILER BELOW
stillbirth, along with much else.
Ms. Keyes writes like a true insider here. Her descriptions of what it means to lose a much longed for baby ring so true. Anyone who has had to deal with infertility, miscarriage or pregnancy loss will know just how authentically the experience is described. Those who have not had these woes will certainly develop empathy for those who have.
SPOILER ENDED
Rachel works at a treatment center. Anyone who wonders what goes on when addicts are facing their actions and lives will learn a great deal. This could be very helpful to anyone who has a loved one who has needed such care. These sections give a real “fly on the wall” feeling.
Now, be clear that this is a wonderfully involving novel with good story lines. It is by no means a didactic title.
Rachel and those around her first became known to readers through Rachel’s Holiday, a novel that was published twenty years or so ago. Fans of that title will be delighted to see Rachel again. Those who have not read that book, no worries. It is very easy to step into the lives of this clan.
As the story opens, Rachel’s life seems to be going well. But, of course, there will be challenges. Readers will be hoping for all the best for Rachel. She is a character that it is easy to love.
Order this. It is such a good book. I highly recommend it!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Some other opinions:
“A witty and warm-hearted sequel. . . . Effortlessly segueing from tragedy to comedy. . . . A novel replete with beautifully well-rounded secondary characters. . . . Again, Rachel has all of Keyes’s trademark wit, humour and whip-smart dialogue, but it’s also a novel teeming with compassion and redemption.” —The Observer
“Simply superb. . . . [Keyes] is hands down the funniest writer in the business.” —The Irish Times
“Keyes delivers punchy home truths with wit and charm. . . . Keyes’s beady-eyed observations and sparky, sweary dialogue . . . lighten another agonisingly painful story. There is a real genius to the way Keyes brings deep, awful truths to the surface. The plotting is more skillfully turned than in Rachel’s Holiday, and Keyes’s ability to keep the balance between realism and fantasy works like a kind of fairy charm. . . . Keyes has mastered the art of writing books that read like treats, but turn out to be good for you.” —The Telegraph
“Assured, wise and witty with superb observational detail, the characters and dialogue are so on point that reading Marian Keyes is like being cradled in safe arms. . . . Keyes fans won’t be disappointed and this is destined to be as successful as its forerunner.” —Woman & Home
“Rachel’s recovery storyline . . . is expertly crafted, as Keyes delves into what happens when a loss is so overwhelming that your usual support systems stop providing comfort. That portrait of grief, in particular the challenge it poses to those in recovery, is rendered with great compassion and acute emotional honesty.” —Independent (Irelan
