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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Watermelon was very a humous book, quite the page turner for sure. a Very Good read.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Have really enjoyed some of marian Keys' later books and she herself is a treasure. This however is dated; reviews below say it much better than I can but some shocking 90s attitudes and weirdly inconsistent behaviour from some of the characters and even within the same mad diatribe for the narrator. I don't think those inconsistencies were entirely down to the fact that she was heartbroken. I think actually it was an editing failure. As was the fact that if it could be said once it was said at least three times in different ways, and then probably repeated a few pages later. And again, and again. It could have been a half the length. The men's behaviour particularly James was appalling.
Nevertheless it's still had charm and did make me laugh out loud a few times which not many books do.
Nevertheless it's still had charm and did make me laugh out loud a few times which not many books do.
Great read. Fast and funny. Characters you can love and hate. told from Claire's point of view, I enjoyed her ramblimgs, her insecurities, and her strengths. The author created a very real character that I could relate to.
spolier alert
what shw "WONT SAY" about the sex was pretty damn hot
spolier alert
what shw "WONT SAY" about the sex was pretty damn hot
Quick chick lit book. Not so fun to read while pregnant.
2.5 stars. I enjoyed the story, and as usual with books by this author, I found myself laughing out loud at times. I thought the book itself was much longer than necessary. Claire's inner dialogue and descriptions of past events seemed to drag on to the point that I found myself skimming. Once I got further into the story, I was pretty engrossed. I always get a good laugh with the Walsh family and this book was no exception to that.
Listened to this as an audiobook. I found it a good background listen. However I am not sure I would have persevered if I had read the physical book. Didn’t particularly love the characters but it did the job for me as an “easy” listen while I did chores!!
These characters and their decisions make me frustrated.
As this is Keyes debut novel from almost thirty years ago, I went into it with a forgiving attitude, knowing that it would probably seem pretty dated in terms of current cultural mores. However, I still at times felt overwhelmed by the constant body shaming, obsession with thinness and comments that girls with anorexia were lucky, etc. Though I know that's what it was like back then. There were many other such jokes, on a variety of topics we approach with more nuance now, but yeah this feels very much like it could only live in 1996 and it was somewhat unpleasant to revisit what passed for normal in those days.
My other issue was that this novel seemed to be Keyes developing her voice. Instead of her approachable, conversational style, this book was the protagonist literally having a conversation with you, the cuteness of which wore out pretty quick. Also tough to get through were the endless, frustrating asides, sometimes lasting for a page or longer, often in the middle of key scenes which slowed everything down to a snails pace, where the protagonist would expound on any random thing, her thoughts on airports, what business people looked like, her views on abortion, whatever, that just had absolutely nothing to do with what was happening in the actual plot. It started to drive me crazy and I would often just skim ahead until I could get back to what was going on. This book could have easily been 200 pages shorter.
The other kinda "1996" problem I had with this novel was that the inciting incident of the book, the protagonists husband leaving her the day she gave birth, and then showing no interest in her or the baby for several months, and then when he turns back up, still showing no interest at all in the baby, or apologising for what he did, was so, so, so insane that it often threw me out of the story. Like I just had too many questions. I don't think there's any way one could forgive another person for doing such a thing. The husband's motivation is eventually revealed as he did it to cripple the protagonists self esteem and self worth because he was too afraid she would leave him one day, and that is so straight up psychotic that it was not believable to me that this is a person one would work out a custody agreement with and try to encourage to have a relationship with your child. It was such abusive behavior, that the protagonists willingness to try and assemble some working parental arrangement with him was not believable for me. I also thought her romantic interest was weirdly pushy and intrusive and did not translate well over the decades.
I would really only recommend this book to people who love the other Walsh family books. That was the main thing I enjoyed, was the further fleshing out of the Walsh sisters and the Walsh family, those scenes were still great and I enjoyed them. Keyes is a very funny writer and several lines made me laugh out loud. This book is also still a page turner, Keyes is great at that. No matter how frustrated I was, I still wanted to find out what happened.
My other issue was that this novel seemed to be Keyes developing her voice. Instead of her approachable, conversational style, this book was the protagonist literally having a conversation with you, the cuteness of which wore out pretty quick. Also tough to get through were the endless, frustrating asides, sometimes lasting for a page or longer, often in the middle of key scenes which slowed everything down to a snails pace, where the protagonist would expound on any random thing, her thoughts on airports, what business people looked like, her views on abortion, whatever, that just had absolutely nothing to do with what was happening in the actual plot. It started to drive me crazy and I would often just skim ahead until I could get back to what was going on. This book could have easily been 200 pages shorter.
The other kinda "1996" problem I had with this novel was that the inciting incident of the book, the protagonists husband leaving her the day she gave birth, and then showing no interest in her or the baby for several months, and then when he turns back up, still showing no interest at all in the baby, or apologising for what he did, was so, so, so insane that it often threw me out of the story. Like I just had too many questions. I don't think there's any way one could forgive another person for doing such a thing. The husband's motivation is eventually revealed as he did it to cripple the protagonists self esteem and self worth because he was too afraid she would leave him one day, and that is so straight up psychotic that it was not believable to me that this is a person one would work out a custody agreement with and try to encourage to have a relationship with your child. It was such abusive behavior, that the protagonists willingness to try and assemble some working parental arrangement with him was not believable for me. I also thought her romantic interest was weirdly pushy and intrusive and did not translate well over the decades.
I would really only recommend this book to people who love the other Walsh family books. That was the main thing I enjoyed, was the further fleshing out of the Walsh sisters and the Walsh family, those scenes were still great and I enjoyed them. Keyes is a very funny writer and several lines made me laugh out loud. This book is also still a page turner, Keyes is great at that. No matter how frustrated I was, I still wanted to find out what happened.