Monday, March 21, 2022

Reading Ireland: Watermelon by Marian Keyes

I was initially reluctant to read this book because it is described as chick lit. At the time I bought the book, in 2014, I mainly read mysteries. All kinds, all vintages, but mostly mysteries, and very little general fiction. I was curious because I had read a review of The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes at Clothes in Books, but it was part of a series about a family of five girls, and I was interested in starting at the beginning. As you can see, it took me eight years to get to this book. My reading tastes have changed a bit since, and I was not disappointed in this book at all. 


The main character is Claire and the book starts out thus:

February fifteenth is a very special day for me. It is the day I gave birth to my first child. It is also the day my husband left me. As he was present at the birth, I can only assume the two events weren't entirely unrelated.

Claire had no clue that her husband was unhappy with the marriage and was having an affair with a woman that they both know. Obviously, such an announcement right after the birth of a baby would be upending. Her reaction is to leave London, where she works and lives with her husband, and go to Dublin and stay with her parents for a few months. A very good decision, I think, a place where she will have support.


I don't exactly know how to describe this book. It is frenetic. Claire describes her ups and downs, her settling in with her parents and sisters and her child, and the new people she meets. It does cover topics that I normally would not be interested in. Shopping, for instance. Claire goes through despair and then anger at her husband and her predicament. And a lot of wine.

It was frustrating for me that neither Claire nor her husband made contact for several weeks after the baby's birth. Thus the reader does not know why the difficulties in the marriage occurred, and that was a mystery to me. How they could not address support issues and how to deal with their joint properties seemed very strange. But everyone is different.

I love the Walsh family, especially Claire's parents. Her parents were wonderful, supportive people and had all the normal reactions to the situation. Her two youngest sisters still lived at home, and had very unique and irritating personalities, but were also supportive in different ways.


I read this for Reading Ireland month at 746 Books, and I think it was a very good choice for that event. I enjoyed reading Watermelon; it was a good change from my normal reading. It was too long for my tastes (over 400 pages) and I was not thrilled with the sex scenes, but both of those are minor quibbles. I do want to read more books in this series about the Walsh family, especially the mystery novel, which features the youngest daughter.



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Publisher:   Perennial, 2006. Orig. pub. 1995.
Length:      417 pages
Format:      Trade Paperback
Series:       Walsh Family, #1
Setting:      Dublin, Ireland
Genre:       Fiction
Source:      On my TBR since 2014.


18 comments:

Margot Kinberg said...

I like the wit just in that little bit of the story that you shared, Tracy. It sounds like a down-to-earth look at the family, at life, etc.. And it sounds like a larger picture of the Walsh family, too. Glad you found things to like about it.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Going to my new library today. Will look for it.

Rick Robinson said...

Sounds slightly interesting, to me, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the target audience. I’m not surprised they didn’t discuss support etc. they both left! I doubt there was much communication. When men leave their wife and child(ren), meeting their obligations is rarely on their mind.

So many challenges!

TracyK said...

Margot, I like how you described that. I did find things to like about it. Some things were not so great, but overall it was a good reading experience.

TracyK said...

Patti, when I read reviews at Goodreads, it seemed that they were pretty equally split between "loved it" and "hated it" with a good number of neutral responses to. So I think any of us could have different reactions to reading it. But overall, it was a good look at one woman's reactions to a crisis. Even if it was totally different than my reaction would be.

TracyK said...

Rick, you do have a good point. In that situation, it probably does happen that the couple doesn't communicate (and did not before it happened). I am pretty sure that you are not the target audience. It seems that mostly women read these books. Which makes sense, I guess. Reading the book did get me thinking about labeling books and the impact it has.

Cath said...

I read a book of her essays, most of which I really enjoyed (there was a section on make-up which did not interest me) but I've not tried her fiction. I just can't decide whether I would like it. The author is quite well known on UK TV and comes over as very funny but a bit dotty and that certainly came over in her essays.

Katrina said...

I haven't read any of her books, mainly because of the sort of chick lit reputation, but I have seen her being interviewed and that did almost make me think I should give her books a go as she is amusing - maybe one day I'll get around to her.

TracyK said...

Cath, that might explain why most of the characters in this book are somewhat dotty. I found this a worthwhile read. However the books in this series, that I would like to continue, are close to 500 pages each, some longer. Maybe I should read them in order starting with the least number of pages.

Rick Robinson said...

Came hoping to find a Wednesday short story post. ☹️ Btw, my Scalzi review is up.

TracyK said...

Katrina, I hate to recommend this book specifically because I see many criticisms of the book. But I liked it. I will have to try at least one more, maybe I will just skip to the one that is a mystery.

TracyK said...

Rick, I just wasn't up to writing a short story post this week. Hopefully I will feel more like it next week.

I just went to your blog and read your review of the new book by John Scalzi. And left a comment. Great review.

Sam said...

I really wish that publishers and bookstores would do less labeling of books...as if we can't figure it out for ourselves. Putting "romance" or "chick lit" on a book scares me away every time - as do some covers I wouldn't want to be seen carrying around. And that's a shame.

TracyK said...

Sam, I agree about labeling books. Even within labels, such as chick lit, the books are very different and some I am sure I would enjoy some of them. Same for "women's literature", which I have never tried (knowingly). And I do avoid some types of covers unless I already know more about the book.

CLM said...

When Keyes first appeared on the scene with this book, her books were billed as Maeve Binchy-like and at my publishing company we were very excited. Although she did not live up to that standard, I have enjoyed most of the books I have read, most of which I think were about this family. I read a recent interview in which she said she has struggled with alcoholism and at least one of her characters also has addiction issues.

I think this was a great choice for Reading Ireland!

TracyK said...

I agree, Constance. And I was glad I finally tried a book by Marian Keyes. I had read that her books often cover issues such as alcoholism, and yet this wasn't a painful or depressing book.

Jbdownie said...

I saw this book at my thrift store & now I'm glad I did not get it, I probably wouldn't have liked it. Thanks!!

TracyK said...

Glad to be of help, Jbdownie. Not everyone would like this book.