Product Description

A nervous breakdown seems like a great idea: all that lying in bed and watching daytime TV. But who's going to have it? Will it be housewife Clodagh, who spends her days microwaving pasta for her demanding toddlers and waiting for her beautiful husband Dylan to come home? Or Lisa, hard, brittle and shiny as an M&M, reeling from the shock of a demotion from her fabulous job in London to a one-horse magazine in Dublin? Or Ashling, so normal she's weird?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11037 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Sushi For Beginners has all the right ingredients for a thirtysomething novel. The 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 drop dead, preferably in agony. And these "so-real you can pinch 'em" people live their lives in a funny, thrilling, sad world that you wish hadn't just ended when you turn the last page. But there is more, because this one is written by best-selling Irish author Marian Keyes.

Where her previous best-seller, Last Chance Saloon, featured Irish folk living in London, Sushi For Beginners is set in Keyes' hometown, Dublin. The only "foreigner" here is Lisa from London, a real madam whose longed-for promotion to Manhattan magazine is knocked off-course a few thousand miles when she is forced to accept the editorship of Colleen, a new magazine for young women, billed by the publishers as "dumbed-down" but definitely "sexy". Lisa would frankly rather eat one of her freebie Patrick Cox stilettos. Still a job is a job, and anyhow, Irish MD Jack Devine could just turn out to be a major consolation prize. Lisa's deputy at Colleen is Ashling, a Little Miss Fix-It, whose early role reversal with her mother (thanks to the latter's nervous breakdown) has induced an organisational paranoia and a handbag filled with emergency equipment to meet any eventuality. Oh, and a best friend whose motives might not always be in Ashling's best interests.

This is a story of three girls' lives, what's made them what they are and their search for happiness--sometimes found in unlikely places and sometimes lost forever. With Sushi For Beginners, Keyes is fast becoming the undisputed Queen of her genre. She is wincingly accurate and wickedly funny, and while she can tackle big issues like homelessness (no pun intended) with honest feeling devoid of over-sentimentality, her insight into the aspirations of thirtysomething women at the turn of the 21st century sets her high above the competition. --Carey Green This review refers to the hardcover edition of this title.

Review
"'Marian Keyes is the queen of feel-good fiction. Her hip, heart-warming comedies have made her the hottest young female writer in Britain and the voice of a generation' Mirror"

Critics might decry the Bridget Jones trend for feel-good fiction about single, twentysomething women picking their way through the minefield of metropolitan life, but one thing there is no doubt: Keyes is queen of the genre. Keyes's writing career continues deservedly to gather pace as each book gets better than the last. This story intertwines the lines of two very different women: Lisa, successful, glamorous editor of a glossy magazine, and Ashling, who has been sacked from her decidedly unglamorous job on a weekly Irish magazine after a mix-up involving a knitting pattern. When Lisa is posted from London to Dublin to launch a new magazine,Colleen, her misery could not be more complete: not only has she lost her status, bijou flat and huge staff, but she also has family issues and a broken marriage to contend with. In contrast, Ashling is delighted to land the job of deputy editor at Colleen, but she, too, has personal problems - a family history of depression, a troubled relationship with her mother, and sneaky feelings of envy towards her best friend Clodagh, who is beautiful, rich - and happily married to the man whom she originally stole from Ashling. When Lisa and Ashling meet, and find themselves thrown into the path of Jack Devine, their gorgeous, dishevelled boss, all hell might just break loose. Needless to say, happy endings for those who deserve them and timely comeuppance for those who don't are all part of the formula, but Keyes's lightness of touch and talent for characterization make you genuinely care about her creations and put her a step or two ahead of the opposition. If you read only one girlie novel this autumn, make it this one. (Kirkus UK)

Keyes, with a number of wry, funny novels about wry, funny women under her designer belt (Angels, 2002, etc.), falters in her sixth: a concoction with the usual ingredients but without the usual magic. Having reached the top as editor of London's glossiest fashion mag (not without the requisite bitchiness and backstabbing), Lisa Edwards is betting that the boys upstairs have summoned her to offer an even better position with their New York magazine. Instead, Lisa's being shipped off to Dublin (for fashion it might as well be Dubai) to start up the new magazine Colleen. Sharing office space with Gaelic Knitting and Hibernian Bride, Lisa also finds a small and unfashionable staff. Ashling Kennedy is her editorial assistant and the perennial good girl. Dubbed "Miss Fix-it" by yummy corporate head Jack Devine, Ashling is superstitious, mildly neurotic, and a bit ordinary, but in the most likable way. Then there's Ashling's best friend, the beautiful Clodagh, who, with kind husband Dylan, two gorgeous little ones, a grand house in the city should be happy-but (naturally) she's not, and longs for a moment of peace and quiet. Or a night out on the town. Or something that doesn't involve the husband or kids. The three women forge ahead at various speeds: determined Lisa, stick-thin and already wearing next year's fashion, has set her teeth on Jack Devine. Ashling, despite her insecurities, has come up with great ideas for the magazine and is dating a rising comedian, and Clodagh decides she wants to try for a job. But things for all three begin to fall apart, and each contemplates a nervous breakdown. It's only Ashling, though, who'll fail to rally at her bad news. This Irish author's standard mix of armchair psychology and hip female fun is a bit forced here, and the three-way split for the narrative works less well than investing in only one gal might have. Still, Keyes's chic-lit (even this) is miles above the norm. (Kirkus Reviews)

Synopsis
A nervous breakdown seems like a great idea: all that lying in bed and watching daytime TV. But who's going to have it? Will it be housewife Clodagh, who spends her days microwaving pasta for her demanding toddlers and waiting for her beautiful husband Dylan to come home? Or Lisa, hard, brittle and shiny as an M&M, reeling from the shock of a demotion from her fabulous job in London to a one-horse magazine in Dublin? Or Ashling, so normal she's weird?

Customer Reviews

clever title for a book.
Ok, i wasnt sure about giving this book 3 or 4 stars, but i opted for 4 because the second half of the book was really good. The first half i wasnt sure of because i couldnt stand Lisa or Clodagh. And it was annoying reading their bits, although i loved Ashling all the way through! And Lisa improved greatly towards the end. But Clodagh was a vile pig of a woman. At least with Lisa you could sense a diferent, softer side to her even at her worst, but with Clodagh she was just out for what she could get, and i hated her.

Other brill characters are Joy and Ted, Jack Devine (lush lush!) Kelvin and Trix and Mrs Morley i think her name was, and the new character that came in when Mercedes left the office was hilarious, especially giving Mrs Morley Valium, i was laughing so much at that haha. I didnt like Marcus though. So childish and pathetic, i wanted to punch him, and i felt so sorry for Dylan towards the end of the book. Poor man.

Anyway, others have commented that she dealt with depression too flimsily. But i thought it was ok. You dont have to have something majorly drastic happen to you to be plunged into the black hole. I think Marian herself has dealt with depression so she should know. And the ending was just how i wanted it to be. This book isnt predictable at all, even though i knew who Ashling would end up with, i didnt guess what would happen in most of the other situations. I enjoyed it, not as much as 'Last Chance Saloon' or 'Watermelon' but it was still worth reading. i definately recommend it, just make sure you dont let Lisa and Clodagh get to you too much in the first half of the book!

Oh and, the title was brilliant once i understood what it meant, it was so fitting and romantic! It's just Sushi For Beginners.

THE FISH WENT OFF!
This book was the first I'd read by Marian Keyes.
I had been recommended it but half way through I was ready to give up.
There are too many characters initially, and too many bitty stories.
Each time I picked the book up, I couldn't quite remember if anything significant had happened previously.
I stuck it out purely because I hate to abandon a book midway through. It was bearable, but I couldn't get it finished quick enough to move onto something else.
I didn't like the way she flippantly dealth with issues such as depression, homelessness, adultery and divorce. And there is nothing clever about endless (unnecessary) cuss words from a writer.
I doubt I'll read any more from her.

OK, but...
Not as good as Watermelon and Rachel's Holiday or Last Chance Saloon as the characters aren't as likeable, that said, it you like her other books you'l enjoy it.