This Charming Man by Marian Keyes

I’ve read many of Ms Keyes books: Rachel’s Holiday, Last Chance saloon, Sushi For Beginners, to name but a few. A lot of them touch sensitive topics like drug abuse and depression, but this one took me by surprise and shook me strong. It deals with domestic violence, alcoholism, depression and cross-dressing in a very human, light-hearted, endearing way. Apart from the domestic violence, of course, which could never be endearing or light-hearted.

To give you the gist of the plot – never easy with Ms Keyes’s books, since all of them are 600+ pages – the story evolves around four women.

Lola Daly (lovely name), lives in Dublin, is a personal stylist to the rich and powerful and goes out with a certain politician named Paddy de Courcy. Or so she thinks. The story starts with Lola finding out Paddy is getting married. To someone else. She flees Dublin in a hurry to go live in a cottage by the sea. Lola’s retreat proves anything but idyllic but the stuff that happens there is hilarious and certainly proves healing.

Journalist Grace wants the inside story on Paddy de Courcy’s engagement and thinks Lola can help her. Grace knew Paddy a long time ago because he used to be her sister’s boyfriend. Marnie – Grace’s sister still has issues with her past because of Paddy de Courcy and her memories are pushing her away from everything she loves – her husband and two beautiful daughters – into the depths of alcoholism.

Alicia Thornton is Paddy’s wife-to-be. Determined to be the perfect wife, Alicia would do anything for her fiancé. But does she know the real Paddy?

Using four different points of view, Keyes switches between characters with ease. We are constantly in the heads of the four women, taking close looks at their most intimate secrets and thoughts.

I loved Lola Daly most and found myself skipping forward, towards her entries. The cross-dressing bits – hilarious!

The chapters about Marnie – Grace’s sister, I found at times unbearable. She was a wreak: so damages, so spinning out of control and yet, there was nothing anyone could do. The helplessness of the situation was trying. Also, Ms Keyes gets the tendency to over-explain.

Overall this book gets a 9/10.

Read it, it’s worth every sleepless night I spent with it. (did I mention is 912 pages…)