Sushi For Beginners is the first book by Marian Keyes that I have read. I am a bit funny about "chick lit" (God someone please invent another moniker) - I will happily read anything that is moderately well written, but if I sense it is trying to sucker punch me with things like deep thought ... Read review
Sushi For Beginners has all the right ingredients for a thirtysomething novel. The ... more
thirtysomething girls are there, looking for a better job, a better man, ANYTHING other than what they've already got; there are men to die for and men you wish would dr...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sushi For Beginnershas all the right ingredients for a thirtysomething novel. The ... more
thirtysomething girls are there, looking for a better job, a better man, ANYTHING other than what they've already got; there are men to die for and men you wish would dro...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sushi For Beginners has all the right ingredients for a thirtysomething novel. The ... more
thirtysomething girls are there, looking for a better job, a better man, ANYTHING other than what they've already got; there are men to die for and men you wish would dr...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sushi For Beginnershas all the right ingredients for a thirtysomething novel. The ... more
thirtysomething girls are there, looking for a better job, a better man, ANYTHING other than what they've already got; there are men to die for and men you wish would dro...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sushi For Beginners has all the right ingredients for a thirtysomething novel. The ... more
thirtysomething girls are there, looking for a better job, a better man, ANYTHING other than what they've already got; there are men to die for and men you wish would dr...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sushi For Beginnershas all the right ingredients for a thirtysomething novel. The ... more
thirtysomething girls are there, looking for a better job, a better man, ANYTHING other than what they've already got; there are men to die for and men you wish would dro...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sushi For Beginners has all the right ingredients for a thirtysomething novel. The ... more
thirtysomething girls are there, looking for a better job, a better man, ANYTHING other than what they've already got; there are men to die for and men you wish would dr...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sushi For Beginners has all the right ingredients for a thirtysomething novel. The ... more
thirtysomething girls are there, looking for a better job, a better man, ANYTHING other than what they've already got; there are men to die for and men you wish would dr...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Enjoyable Irish yarn Disadvantages: More taxing than some in the genre
Sushi For Beginners is the first book by Marian Keyes that I have read. I am a bit funny about "chick lit" (God someone please invent another moniker) - I will happily read anything that is moderately well written, but if I sense it is trying to sucker punch me with things like deep thought I find it a turn off. For instance, I recently read a book by Fay Weldon. Never having read Weldon either, I was lulled into a false sense of security ... ...a rather disturbing treatise on modern feminism with an ending as harrowing in its own way as Rosemary's Baby. This angered me. I do not like being tricked into deep contemplation. It's like sitting down to a frothy rom-com only to find it's actually a documentary about Rwanda. Am I concerned with deeper issues, yes of course, but escapist, relatively vapid literature is there for a reason. Sophie Kinsella and Helen Fielding are in my opinion excellent ... more
Sushi For Beginners is the first book by Marian Keyes that I have read. I am a bit funny about "chick lit" (God someone please invent another moniker) - I will happily read anything that is moderately well written, but if I sense it is trying to sucker punch me with things like deep thought I find it a turn off. For instance, I recently read a book by Fay Weldon. Never having read Weldon either, I was lulled into a false sense of security by the frilly pink cover, only to end up reading a rather disturbing treatise on modern feminism with an ending as harrowing in its own way as Rosemary's Baby. This angered me. I do not like being tricked into deep contemplation. It's like sitting down to a frothy rom-com only to find it's actually a documentary about Rwanda. Am I concerned with deeper issues, yes of course, but escapist, relatively vapid literature is there for a reason. Sophie Kinsella and Helen Fielding are in my opinion excellent at the art.
And so in the back of my mind I had avoided Marian Keyes. I didn't have a strong reason why, truly not having one idea about her books, but I sensed they were slightly more taxing than your average fun foray. But a friend lent me a few books, and this was one of them.
Initially this book started off strangely. It had elements of the genre, yes, but from the get go there were some very strong characterisations that made the book stand out as something slightly elevated from the usual froth. There are two central female characters, one being a bit of a dormouse (Ashling), the other a bit of a b-word (Lisa). The writing did grab my attention quite quickly. I didn't float brainlessly into it, which to be honest initially I was a bit perturbed by. I had to concentrate as there was quite a bit going on with several peripheral characters. So I was slow to get into it. I was tired of being taken advantage of by these women posing as chick lit authors, how dare they keep making me use my brain?! But within about 50 pages I realised that while perhaps more sophisticated in style and treatment of social issues, Marian Keye's writing is also very entertaining.
As I mentioned there are two central female characters, and as the book progresses while both maintain voices (as well as Ashling's best friend Clodagh), I would say that Ashling is the central character of the piece who connects everyone together. Ashling is a low level admin worker at a frumpy magazine in Dublin who gets what she think will be a glamorous new job at a new high end magazine being edited by Lisa, a Londoner who has basically been shunted into the position, much to her dismay. Their boss is Jack, a grumpy yet of course exceedingly attractive man.
Ashling's personal and professional life are given pretty equal attention, we are introduced to her two best friends who supply some humour to the mix. Ashling is not charmingly comical like Bridget Jones, but she does have a few quirks that elevate her shy, compliant character, and as the story progresses her confidence grows in a believable way. The reader sees that she is making mistakes romantically but Keyes holds back enough to spring a few surprises along the way.
Lisa is quite unsympathetic in her ill treatment of everyone around her, and yet slowly her fish out of water story does reveal there is more to her than meets the eye. All of the character's family backgrounds are addressed and largely attributed to them becoming the people they have, as well as allowing them to realise the changes they need to make to improve their lives.
The two women are of course in complete contrast to one another, but Keyes keeps the mix interesting by throwing in a few unexpected twists. The romance is kept light and bubbly in Ashling's case, with her having a few diversions from what is fairly obviously her fate - still, Keyes suspends this long enough to make it thoroughly satisfying. These characters have to endure real heartache to get their happy endings, and not all of them do. The grounding of this book is very steady - Lisa's ongoing divorce is treated with great subtlety I thought, we see the character going down roads that are obviously leading nowhere but lend the book further depth.
At five hundred pages long it is a wee bit on the hefty side I thought. Perhaps a few little things here and there could have been left out to make it a bit breezier to read. That said, once I got into it it was hard to put down. There were a few hokey sub plots, but given the relative darkness of some aspects of the book I did think they gave it a feel good factor that it might have suffered without. The storyline of getting the magazine up and running keeps the book ticking along nicely, I thought Keyes did a particularly good job of portraying both the work and play aspects of the character's lives. Her portrait of Dublin was a nice backdrop for things as well.
Also, having never read Keyes before I was a tiny bit jarred at her relatively risqué take on sex scenes for the genre. While not exactly Harold Robbins, they are far earthier than some and the grand finale so to speak was by far the most explicit of the lot! It didn't bother me, they were well done in their way, it was just a tiny bit over the top for me if I'm honest in this sort of book. Obviously Keyes is a writer who, while falling into a certain genre, also strays outside the boundaries of what is expected of her.
At any rate, I really enjoyed the multi-layered character interactions in this book and the surprise twists enough to certainly head for Marian Keyes the next time I pass a bookshelf. She is a very compelling and sympathetic writer in a sea of often bland chick lit. I know it won't be complete candy floss, but it will be fun nonetheless!
Advantages: Very readable and gripping Disadvantages: When thinking back about the story... it doesn't seem to have overcome much!
...has dealt with herself. Sushi for beginners is no different as it covers areas such as depression and illness. *About the Book*
Lisa Edwards, Ashling Kennedy and Clodagh Kelly are all searching for happiness. Their lives in the city of Dublin are of a complete different nature despite their associations with each other. Lisa Edwards is working her way to the top of her profession. She is editor of "Femme" magazine in London and has high expectations ... ...magazine. Her dreams are crushed, when she is summoned to the MD's office and is practically forced to take up a job as editor of a new magazine called "Colleen" in Dublin. Still struggling to come to terms with her failed marriage, Lisa takes her stuck up and selfish attitude to Dublin to unleash it on her new colleagues. She feels trapped, bored, alone and extremely unhappy, although she is too proud to ever let anyone know that!
Ashling Kennedy ...
emzipops86 06.06.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sushi for Beginners - Marian Keyes
Another great from Marian Keyes but we don't expect anything less now.
This book is set in dublin and is centred round three strong women.
Ashling
********
Ashling is a woman lacking in self comfidence and has just been sacked from her prievious job for making a mistake in one of her colums she told readers to remove a cranberry stain from her sofa using lemon juice and it ruined it but she landed the job of deputy editor in a new magazine called ... ...bag full of plasters and paracetamol and other handy things. Her self description is an ordinary girl who doesn't have a waist
Lisa ***** Lisa is a sucessful editor with femme magazine but she is highly unpopular with the staff as she is often rude and overpowering so the bosses decide to move her to dublin for the challenge of editing and setting up Collen. at first you hate her as she prides herself on her rude remarks and putting people down ...
jenny029 10.07.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sushi for Beginners - Marian Keyes
Advantages: A nice easy, realistic read Disadvantages: The length
The other day I went to a church Christmas faire. After clearing my little tombola stall I had five minutes before the bingo began to go and have a quick look around what was left. Having sent my boyfriend to other stalls to buy numerous tickets there was one stall that I was looking forward to getting to, the book stall. With plenty of books let for 10p each I found several titles that looked like typical chick lit style books and picked them up ... ...bought £2 worth of books to keep me going until I go back to work on the 28th.
So far I have read most of them but, 'Sushi for Beginners,' took the longest to read. A thick book I chose to leave it at my parent's house so that when I went up to my Grandma's in the afternoon to help with the housework I would have something to read when I was finished.
The characters
************
We meet three main characters and follow them through their lives ...
kamallan 23.11.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sushi for Beginners - Marian Keyes
Advantages: Original storyline Disadvantages: It's so addictive you spend hours reading it when you should be doing something else
I finished reading Sushi for Beginners this morning and just have to say what an excellent book it is. I'm a fan of Marian Keyes work and find that each book that I read of hers is better than the last, this one certainly didn't disappoint. It tells the story of three women in Dublin, Lisa, Ashling and Clodagh. Lisa is a magazine editor who believes she is destined for wonderful things until she is put in charge of setting up a new women's magazine ... ...entire story togeteher. Sushi for Beginners follows the usual pattern of these kind of books in that it tells the story of these girls friendships and relationships but that's where it's similarity with other books of the same genre end. I found the plot of the book to be refreshingly different and new, it wasn't at all predictable like some of these books can be, you were left wondering until the end with a few shocks and surprises along the way. ...
hawleydv 29.06.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sushi for Beginners - Marian Keyes
Advantages: Funny moments, easy read, can always use the paper as loo roll Disadvantages: No originality, predictable, no real substance to it
...the book is mysteriously buying sushi for his employees and tolerating piss ups in the office. What drugs has he been taking and where can I get some? LEAVE IT ON THE SHELF The stories have all been done before, just because you locate it in a magazine publisher’s office doesn’t give it originality. The characters are so familiar from trashy romance novels, as are the predictably happy endings. Nothing about the book is original and how Keyes managed ...
Ophelia 06.12.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sushi for Beginners - Marian Keyes
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Advantages: Modern-day theme and issues, some funny bits Disadvantages: Heavy-going read, lots of characters
This Charming Man is the latest release from MarianKeyes. Her other works include Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, Watermelon, Rachel's Holiday, Sushi for Beginners, Angels and Is Anybody Out There, to name a few.
MarianKeyes' style is that of a chick-lit novel that deals with some quite hefty issues, but usually have an 'against-the-odds' love story thrown in for good measure. In previous books we have seen elements of alcholism, drug abuse, bereavement, the effects of divorce and depression. In This Charming Man we are taken into a new realm, that of domestic violence. Despite the heavyweight topics in the books there are humourous overtones to the story as the main characters struggle through the changes in their lives and deal with their problems. I'm a happy ending fanatic and I do like the way that most of the books ...
Advantages: Great read, real page turner Disadvantages: Took a few chapters to get in to
to waste on someone thats just not right.
I definitely found this book to be one that was almost impossible to put down although it did take a couple of chapters (maybe 3 or 4) to grab my interest and make me realise what a real page turner it was!
As with most books of this style alls well that ends well (well, pretty much anyway!)
Others books from MarianKeyes:
Watermelon
Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married
Rachel's Holiday
Sushi For Beginners
No Dress Rehearsal
Angels
The Other Side Of The Story
Anybody Out There?
This Charming Man
Available on Amazon.co.uk from £4.62 new and £0.01 used & new.
ISBN: 0-14-027180-5
Information About The Author: www.mariankeyes.com
You can also find this review on dooyoo.co.uk under the same title, username katykicker :) ...
Advantages: A brilliant read. Disadvantages: Hard to put down!
MarianKeyes is a prolific writer, and has written other books such as 'Watermelon', 'Rachel's Holiday', and 'Sushi for Beginners' - the latter two of which I have read. This book proved to be as good - perhaps even better - than the other two that I read.
The book begins with Lucy Sulliven and three of her workmates - Hetty, Meridith, and Megan - going to see a fortune teller. Lucy is told that she is getting married within the next year, and remains sceptical - especially as she is not even going out with anyone. This scepticism continues, even when her workmates tell her that their predictions have come true.
Lucy goes out with her best friend, Daniel, for a meal and when they head to a party afterwards, Lucy meets someone who she becomes involved with. At the same party, Daniel becomes involved with one of Lucy ...
Who will have the nervous breakdown? Will it be Clodagh who awaits her beautiful husband's homecoming, or Lisa, hard and brittle and recently demoted? Or perhaps it will be Ashling who is so normal that she is actually weird.
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