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This Charming Man | 
 enlarge | Author: Marian Keyes
Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £17.99
Buy New: £8.99
You Save: £9.00 (50%)
New (27) Used (9) from £5.50
Rating:  79 reviews
Sales Rank: 662
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 688
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.9
ISBN: 0718149122
EAN: 9780718149123
ASIN: 0718149122
Publication Date: April 30, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 A charming book May 2, 2008
Randy F. (Wragford)
50 out of 58 found this review helpful
As the synopsis says: "Four very different women. One awfully charming man. And the dark secret that binds them all . . " That pretty much sums up this page-turner by Marian Keyes, author of WATERMELON and SUSHI FOR BEGINNERS. Her latest novel is just as good--if not even better--than these previous efforts.
True, this novel has a gritter side and is more disturbing and deals with more "real life" issues than WATERMELON or some of her other efforts, but it's still packed with fun and frolic. There are moments that are hilarious paired with moments that will take your breath away. Such is as it should be with any good novel.
It would be virtually impossible to tell the story here without ruining it, but suffice it to say that Keyes is one of those writers (much like Kinsella) who knows how to craft a novel from start to finish. Unlike a lot of books that fall apart at the end, THIS CHARMING MAN goes straight for the finish line and then some.
My only complaint: I couldn't put it down and it TOTALLY disrupted my life. Would also recommmend the Kinsella novel REMEMBER ME? and the novel of great fun BARRING SOME UNFORESEEN ACCIDENT. Both are great, but THIS CHARMING MAN takes the cake.
Great book with lots of surprises and excellent writing May 16, 2008
William the Almost Great (Cork)
12 out of 19 found this review helpful
I'm always on the lookout for a books that's well written AND has an actual plot--you know, a beginning, middle, and end? You'd think this would be the norm, but if you read as much as I do, you know it's not.
Marian Keyes is one of the few writers who can actually pull you in, keep you turning the pages, and then build up to a good ending. S. Kinsella is another one, but she doesn't hit all the right spots every time.
THIS CHARMING MAN is about one, well, charming man and his connection to four women. This is a serious book with funny moments, but if you think about it, it really has some intense social ramifications. Some of the characters are better drawn than others, but still, overall, this is one heck of a book. I'd have to recommend two other books for your reading pleasure: REMEMBER ME? and the novel FRIED GREEN TOMATOES. Both are excellent and worth your while.
I wish I was a lesbian May 9, 2008
Anna (London)
14 out of 24 found this review helpful
Cos I'd sweep Marian Keyes off her feet. Never mind the fact she's not a lesbian, either. I'd sweep, because you can't help but be a little mesmerised by someone who can consistently write like this.
Her characters, as always, are adorable and addictive. Lola, Grace, Marnie: all given equal time and attention, all given so much depth, and you'll fall in love with all 3. The first two's stories are told from first person perspective; the latter from third. What's amazing is how different they are; how different their "voices"`are. No-one can characterize like Keyes can, and all the supporting characters are just as rich, and just as finely tuned.
You'll laugh out loud at least 17 times. I lost count after that. Just as no-one characterizes like Keyes, no-one has the same knack for dialogue. If you don't come away from reading this with "bad, burny feeling" having entered your vocabulary, I'll be astonished.
This is classic Keyes: funny, endearing, unputdownable and achingly sad in places. Am never sure how much personal information to put in these - none, is probably about right. But I will say I suffered from domestic abuse for 4 years, and the way it is approached, described and handled is perfect. It's accurate, and truthful but it's also delicate, and caring and it's filled with genuine pathos.
Keyes has always surpassed the label of "chick lit": her topics are meatier, and don't start and end with the girl finally getting the guy. "This Charming Man" feels more grown up, though... She's covered addictions before, self-loathing, grief over the death of a partner - all of these issues are ones which ruin lives but the actual tone of this book is more grown up, and it's a hug for all women who are currently living in fear of being abused.
It is almost mpossible to put into words what happens to you when you live that life. Everything - everything - goes grey and you exist behind a sheet of glass; you have to remind yourself to breathe, then realise you don't want to anymore, but by then you've remembered and you find yourself breathing involuntarily, and it makes you cry. I've never seen it covered quite as well as it has been by Keyes. There is no judgement; no "Well, why didn't you leave him, y'eejit?!", or "Here's what you should have done..."
It's a difficult subject to address, and a painful one, but it doesn't stop the book being funny. As I said, I lost count at 17. That's not to mention all the wee chuckles that are peppered throughout. When I finished the book a few hours ago, I was bereft. Bereft. I want to go back to 2 days ago when I hadn't started it yet and when I had this wonderful book waiting to be devoured.
This is everything you've come to expect from Marian Keyes, and if you want, you can be lesbians with us.
Another top rate read from Marian Keyes April 27, 2008
Stellastar (London)
24 out of 42 found this review helpful
Some writers (Cecelia Ahern springs to mind) start out promisingly and then gradually go off the boil. Keyes is not such a writer. I was hooked from Watermelon and she has been getting better and better since.
Much as "The Other Side of Story" and "Sushi for Beginners", this one is told in turn by three different characters, Lola, a stylist, Gracie, a journalist, and her twin sister Marcie, married and a mother and barely holding down a job in an estate agents.
The book opens with the announcement of Paddy de Courcy's engagement to Alicia, which is something of a surprise to Lola, his girlfriend of sixteen months and the plot unfolds from there.
I don't want to give away too much more for fear of spoiling the plot for Marian's fans, though, like all her books, even knowing the twists, I can see me re-reading this one repeatedly.
This book is darker in tone than it's predecesors but still ultimately uplifting. Just make sure you have a clear day free to read it, because if you are anything like me, you won't be able to put it down till you have finished it.
Probably the most outstanding Marian Keyes yet.. May 30, 2008
J. C. Gudgin
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I fell in love with MK books in the yr 2000, when I picked up Rachel's Holiday to read on a long flight to Australia... From that day, I have followed MK and read each book as soon as I could get my hands on a copy.....
I couldn't wait to read the newest book... This Charming Man. As soon as it arrived in the bookstores (I live in HK so was later that the UK) I got my copy and went into 'MK Mode' - no disturbance and total unadulterated engrossment from Page one.. Like many others, I dont really know what to say/add that is any different or more praising. I adore this authoress. I seem to become every character as I read, and when I put down the book, its as if I am still living in amongst the pages and wondering what the characters are up to. I don't read the books with the intention of trying to figure out what is going on (of course this does happen somtimes though), I try to read it in 'real time' and Marian certinaly indulges this style of reading. I enjoy reading about the characters as much as I like the plot of the novel.
When I read 'Anybody Out There', MK's previous novel, it rocked me to the core when I found out about Aidan, I truly didnt see it coming. With This Charming Man, it rocks you in a very different way. Extremely sensitive subjects are dealt with with such perceptiveness and refined well composed detail, that even if you have not been in a particular position/situation yourself, you can get a huge empathy for it. This is exceptionally skilled writing.
Simply cannot wait for the next book.
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