Product Description

‘Everybody remembers where they were the day they heard that Paddy de Courcy was getting married’ Lola has every reason to be interested in who Paddy’s marrying – because although she’s his girlfriend, she definitely isn’t the bride-to-be. Heartbroken, she flees the city for a cottage by the sea. But will Lola’s retreat prove as idyllic as she hopes? Not if journalist Grace has anything to do with it. She wants the inside story on the de Courcy engagement and thinks Lola holds the key. Grace knew Paddy a long time ago. But why can’t she forget him? Grace’s sister, Marnie, might have the answer but she also has issues with the past. Her family is wonderful but they can’t take away memories of her first love: a certain Paddy de Courcy. What will it take for Marnie to be able to move on? And what of the future Mrs de Courcy … Alicia is determined to be the perfect politician’s wife. But does she know the real Paddy de Courcy? Four very different women. One awfully charming man. And the dark secret that binds them all …

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #695 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 688 pages

Review
Four Dubliners regret misguided liaisons with a sadistic Irish politico.Keyes (Anybody Out There, 2006, etc.) displays her trademark uncanny ability to wring humor from cliches in this story of four women whose paths cross with that of handsome Irish party hack Paddy de Courcy. Lola, whose narration hilariously parodies the article and pronoun-challenged diary of Bridget Jones, learns from the press that Paddy, her boyfriend, is engaged to Alicia, a horsey widow respectable enough to be a political helpmeet. Grace, a Dublin tabloid reporter, and her fraternal twin sister Marnie, met Paddy while all three were students working in a Dublin pub. Grace flirted briefly with Paddy before losing him to Marnie. But as his ambitions escalate, Paddy dumps Marnie, leaving her emotionally shell-shocked. Lola, fashion advisor to Dublin's nouveau riche matrons, had found Paddy's sexual proclivities increasingly problematic, but she's so unsettled by his summary betrayal that she flees to a rustic seaside cabin in County Clare, where she becomes reluctant housemother to a growing contingent of transvestites. A brief fling with a surfer helps her weather Paddy's rejection, but memories of how his kinky sexuality segued into "isolated" acts of physical abuse undermine her struggle to recover her sense of self-worth. Grace learns that Paddy may be behind the seemingly random torching of her sports car, but withholds her full history with him from the reader. She's more preoccupied with trying to keep Marnie, who until recently lived happily in London with her commodities trader husband Nick and two daughters, from drinking herself to death. The weight of attention devoted to Marnie's harrowing alcoholic free-fall deemphasizes and defuses the devastating impact of Paddy's horrendous behavior. The gradual reveal of Paddy's monstrosity toward the novels' women, interspersed with the flip entertainment of Lola's Bridget Jones-speak, generates a jarring unevenness of tone. Flabby, often implausible plot propelled by original prose. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author
Marian Keyes' international bestselling novels include Rachel’s Holiday, Last Chance Saloon, Sushi for Beginners, Angels, The Other Side of the Story and most recently Anybody Out There, a number one bestseller. Two collections of her journalism, Under the Duvet and Further Under the Duvet, are also available from Penguin. Marian lives in Dublin with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Understand what other reviewers are saying, but URGE you to give it a chance
some small SPOILERS, but nothing you couldn't discern by reading the official review

The main criticism levelled at this book seems to be that it is depressing, upsetting, and "un-Marianlike". Well, guess what, domestic violence is a depressing and upsetting subject, particularly for those who have suffered it. This is not my favourite Marian book (that title is still up for dispute between Rachel's Holiday, Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married and Last Chance Saloon), but although it isn't perfect, it's still a damn good read. Arguably she took the wrong tone for Lola, by having her funny, Bridgetesque diary style continue even after we find out Lola has been beaten by Paddy. Personally I think it reflects the fact that Lola is bruised but not broken, so to speak. Paddy has hurt her, but he hasn't managed to beat the essence of Lola out of her.

Marnie's entries are indeed upsetting; even before you find out what is going on with Marnie, her panic and agitation are palpable and leap off the page, so yes, perhaps this is "not a good book to read before bed", but just because Marian has decided to tackle some slightly more serious subject matter doesn't make it a bad book. Personally I'd rather read a good book from my favourite author (which she is) which affected me, rather than a safe one with a soporific plot that I could safely read before sleeping. I prefer my books to stay with me for a while.

Grace's entries are the best written, but then, Grace is a journalist, so I would imagine this is a deliberate attempt to present the way language pervades her thoughts far more than the others. I would have liked to have heard more from Alicia, especially immediately after the revelations at Paddy's flat, but it doesn't spoil the book.

Coincidentally, shortly before reading This Charming Man, I happened to re-read Watermelon, which I hadn't read for years. The first time I read Watermelon, I was in fits of laughter throughout and thought it was one of the best books I had ever read. A decade later, and having become a writer myself, I can see the flaws in her earliest work - it still holds together as an enjoyable summer read, but is not indicative of her full potential as an author. This Charming Man, on the other hand, shows just how far she has come. Maybe it's not as funny and silly as her early work. Maybe her heroes are not as clearly identifiable as they used to be (neither this, nor, arguably, Anyone Out There, had a clear romantic hero that the heroine would/should end up with). But she is writing a better class of book. And you people are denigrating her for it? Come on.

She is growing as a writer. It is our duty as readers to grow with her.

Genius
Another fantastis book by Marian! She is an amazing writer, I have bought all the books she has ever written, and I`m waiting unpatiently for the next one, which is "under construction" :)

I read this book in two days, it`s about 5-600 pages I think, but you just can`t put it down!!

very disappointing
This is not at all what I've expected from Marian Keyes. It is very upsetting and it is not suitable for reading before you go to bed. Out of the 4 women there's 1 she barely talks about, 1 I don't really like, 1 that is a terrible read, so leaves only 1 true 'Marian Keyes'-character.
If you like to read about 'real' problems, you might like it, but if you're just looking for another easy read, better go for something else!