Sometimes I crave chick-lit just like I crave a whole box of Kinder Delices, so I always try to keep some around is case of emergency, which in the case of chick-lit usually happens when Spring is in the air. (I pretty much crave Kinder Delices all the time – any other fans out there?)
I’ve recently read two very different examples of the genre, the first was Watermelon by Marian Keyes, who wrote my all-time favorite chick-lit – Sushi for Beginners, and the other was Faking It, my first Jennifer Crusie.
Watermelon (Walsh Family 1)
Claire Webster’s husband decided to dump her exactly on the day she gave birth to their daughter. Worst, he’s leaving her for a neighbor with whom he’d been having an affair for months. Claire decides to leave London and lick her wounds at her parents place in Dublin, where two of her four lunatic sisters still live.
It was Keyes’ first novel and it shows: her great sense of humor is there, but the characters were pure caricatures and Claire was so fickle, whiny, and painfully insecure that she make it impossible for me to identify with her, a capital offence for this type of books.
The description of Claire’s depression and alcohol abuse were very realistic and you can tell Keyes is talking about something she experienced, but they just go on forever. For half of the book we are plunged into the depths of Claire’s dark, over-analytical soul and aimless thought process… ad nauseam.
And while the depression felt real, it’s clear that Keyes had never had a baby or been around a newborn. Claire’s daughter was the easiest baby in the world, a side-note in her mother’s heart-ache. There was this one particular scene that made me cringe. The baby is handed to Adam’s arms (the hero) and Claire thinks to herself that her daughter is “one lucky bitch”. How callous is this?! *shudder*
Also, Claire gained 40 lbs during pregnancy but one month later, thanks to her diet of vodka and little else (while breast-feeding), she’s able to fit into her 18 year-old sister’s clothes. Right!
Plot completely over the top and belief always on “suspended” mode, but it delivered what I needed: good dialogue, eccentric characters, easy writing and fast pace. It also had the extra of being set in an art gallery, so it can count for my Art Business theme for the One, Two, Theme Challenge.
If you’re a fan of old movies you’ll also appreciate the copious amount of references.
Apart from that, not much more to say, really.
Any recommendation for my next Crusie?
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April 19, 2011 at 7:47 pm
Wallace
I loved Watermelon (my only Keyes to date), so the fact that it’s not her best actually makes me very excited, haha! That means the rest must be pretty good. I have Sushi for Beginners on my shelf and am looking forward to reading it that much more now. 🙂
April 20, 2011 at 8:14 am
Leeswammes
I have a selection of Keyes books, let me count…8 in all. I loved Watermelon and don’t recognise your criticism of the book. But, I didn’t have any babies myself then, and I wasn’t very critical of what I read anyway.
Oh, I also own Sushi for Beginners, but it’s not my favorite – I don’t actually remember it too well. 🙂
April 20, 2011 at 9:14 am
Alex
@both: what attracted you to it so much? Probably the humor? I think I would probably like it better if I read it at 20 – wouldn’t be so disturbed by the amount of alcohol Claire drinks. Also, Adam seems to have no character at all apart from the fact that he loves Claire and her daughter.
Now I’m afraid of re-reading Sushi for Beginners and being disappointed. I remember there was a lot of depression on that one as well.
Have Last Chance Saloon in the TBR and it seems to be a general favorite.
April 20, 2011 at 9:47 am
Leeswammes
As I said, it’s a long time since I read it. I like the family closeness in Keyes’ books and I guess, how things go terribly wrong but always turn out well in the end. The writing appeals too. I read this in my 20s before I had kids, I have no idea what I would say if I read it now (I should try!).
April 20, 2011 at 9:36 am
Virgulina
Marian Keyes is not my favourite author, Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married annoyed the hell out of me. Now Jennifer Crusie is a different matter, I always turn to her when I need a fun read, one of my favourites by her was Getting Rid of Bradley.
April 21, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Mady
I only crave dark chocolate 😉 And also need some light read once in a while! It’s good to have cravings and be able to fulfill them 😀
Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married didn’t convince me, so I stopped there and haven’t tried Jennifer Cruise… Anyway, the amount of alcohol drank (in & outside books) in the UK seems quite astonishing, esp to me as I’m not really fond of it 😛
Somehow, for me it makes sense when people drink socially or to enjoy the liquid, but does not make sense when people drink alcohol with the sole purpose of getting drunk.
April 27, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Alex
@Virgulina: Getting Rid of Bradley goes straight into the wishlist 🙂
@Mady: re. alcohol in British chick-lit and others – you’re so right, it’s something that also always pop-up, the amount of alcohol they drink and how they drink it. The fact that Claire’s parent had to hide bottle in their own house to me sounded awful, but Keyes treats it as a comic situation…
April 30, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Joanna
Haven’t read anything by Crusie, but she sounds fun. I’m not a huge Keyes fan, I think there’s much better out there!
November 23, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Zeba Clarke
This is very tardy, but I’m a big Crusie fan. My favorite is Welcome to Temptation – Davy in Faking It is the little brother of WTT’s heroine. I also liked Bet Me but WTT is definitely the Crusie that I reread most.