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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
This was my first Marian Keyes book.
.... I enjoyed the book but i think there were too many characters and not enough time to tell the stories properly. Essentially there were 6 main characters. Also, the book is NOT hilarious or even funny really, so not sure why it’s slated as being funny. I relate with some of the characters but not enough to fall into their lives. The way I’d want to when reading a book. Some touching moments.... but I’m left feeling underwhelmed. Would I recommend to someone else? Nope not really.
.... I enjoyed the book but i think there were too many characters and not enough time to tell the stories properly. Essentially there were 6 main characters. Also, the book is NOT hilarious or even funny really, so not sure why it’s slated as being funny. I relate with some of the characters but not enough to fall into their lives. The way I’d want to when reading a book. Some touching moments.... but I’m left feeling underwhelmed. Would I recommend to someone else? Nope not really.
Content warning: eating disorders
I want more! And given that this is a long old book, that’s really high praise.
I fell in love with these characters. And the characters are 100% what drives this story. Marian Keyes has always been a master of creating believable, relatable people, and has perfected the art of writing relationships – whether those are familial, romantic, or platonic.
Much of this book happens through glimpses into the Casey family’s life via extended vignettes. We catch up with the characters each time there is a family gathering – five in the space of a year in this case. The book opens during the fifth one, where things appear to come to a head, and then the reader is immediately transported months back into the past to witness how tensions shifted and built up towards that opening scene.
The cast of this book is huge for one family, and a large number of them are first person narrators too. For many books this would be a too many, however it works so well here as the thin threads of plot intertwine and converge towards the climax.
I managed to relate to almost every character (with a couple of notable exceptions), even when they were on opposing sides of an argument or situation. They are flawed in mostly everyday ways, meaning that I as the reader could picture myself in the place of many of them.
Among the light-heartedness, there are some weighty themes contained within the story. Cara’s battle with bulimia is terribly sad, and on more than one occasion I found myself tearing up. What got to me most was that – thanks to the multiple first person narratives – the reader saw the stark contrast between her own self-image and how other people saw her.
What helps make the characters feel so truly human is the amount of insecurity that each experiences – that majority of which is totally unknown to the others.
There is also a constant underlying thread of denial, particularly from the three main female characters. Jessie is in denial about her financial situation. Cara is in denial about her eating disorder. And Nell is in denial about the person who she married.
Speaking of Liam, it was interesting to note the decreasing age of the women who caught his eye. He went from Paige, to Nell, to Sammie, and then to Robyn. It’s mentioned in the book, particularly when it came to Robyn, but it’s unsettling to read. Liam was the least likeable character by far, and one of the few who I found no redeeming qualities in.
The main theme of this book, however, is family. And the titular relationships of “grown ups” that this involves. It’s chaotic. It’s fragile. It’s messy. And little things can change everything.
The book doesn’t remotely feel incomplete, but I’m still itching for more! I hope that the Casey family are revisited in future books by Keyes.
Rating: 4.5/5
I want more! And given that this is a long old book, that’s really high praise.
I fell in love with these characters. And the characters are 100% what drives this story. Marian Keyes has always been a master of creating believable, relatable people, and has perfected the art of writing relationships – whether those are familial, romantic, or platonic.
Much of this book happens through glimpses into the Casey family’s life via extended vignettes. We catch up with the characters each time there is a family gathering – five in the space of a year in this case. The book opens during the fifth one, where things appear to come to a head, and then the reader is immediately transported months back into the past to witness how tensions shifted and built up towards that opening scene.
The cast of this book is huge for one family, and a large number of them are first person narrators too. For many books this would be a too many, however it works so well here as the thin threads of plot intertwine and converge towards the climax.
I managed to relate to almost every character (with a couple of notable exceptions), even when they were on opposing sides of an argument or situation. They are flawed in mostly everyday ways, meaning that I as the reader could picture myself in the place of many of them.
Among the light-heartedness, there are some weighty themes contained within the story. Cara’s battle with bulimia is terribly sad, and on more than one occasion I found myself tearing up. What got to me most was that – thanks to the multiple first person narratives – the reader saw the stark contrast between her own self-image and how other people saw her.
What helps make the characters feel so truly human is the amount of insecurity that each experiences – that majority of which is totally unknown to the others.
There is also a constant underlying thread of denial, particularly from the three main female characters. Jessie is in denial about her financial situation. Cara is in denial about her eating disorder. And Nell is in denial about the person who she married.
Speaking of Liam, it was interesting to note the decreasing age of the women who caught his eye. He went from Paige, to Nell, to Sammie, and then to Robyn. It’s mentioned in the book, particularly when it came to Robyn, but it’s unsettling to read. Liam was the least likeable character by far, and one of the few who I found no redeeming qualities in.
The main theme of this book, however, is family. And the titular relationships of “grown ups” that this involves. It’s chaotic. It’s fragile. It’s messy. And little things can change everything.
The book doesn’t remotely feel incomplete, but I’m still itching for more! I hope that the Casey family are revisited in future books by Keyes.
Rating: 4.5/5
Grown Ups is an absolutely brilliant family soap opera of a book. The story revolves around three women: Jessie, Cara and Nell who are married to the three Casey brothers: Johnny, Liam and Ed. They are a large, boisterous, Irish family who make the most of any excuse for a family get together. Underneath the jokes there lies a whole host of secrets that all come to a head at eldest brother Johnny's birthday party and the fallout threatens to blow apart the family.
I loved reading this book! Marian Keyes is one of those authors that you know you are in safe hands with: a suite of characters that you come to love, lots of laugh out loud Irish humour carefully balanced with tender explorations of difficult subjects. In this case she deftly covers eating disorders, grief and separation/divorce. I'd love to see this novel turned into a TV series, I think the flashback storytelling format worked really well to ease out the story and I'd love to see who would be cast as handsome Ferdia!
I loved reading this book! Marian Keyes is one of those authors that you know you are in safe hands with: a suite of characters that you come to love, lots of laugh out loud Irish humour carefully balanced with tender explorations of difficult subjects. In this case she deftly covers eating disorders, grief and separation/divorce. I'd love to see this novel turned into a TV series, I think the flashback storytelling format worked really well to ease out the story and I'd love to see who would be cast as handsome Ferdia!
DNF
Got bored. Maybe another time I’ll get further
Got bored. Maybe another time I’ll get further
i loved the characters and the realness of the book. every character felt alive and realistic. it was kind of a slow book but I really enjoyed it and i’m happy to know in this very fucked up world we all go through it together
Fantastic. When I first started reading I felt it was going to be one of those novels which is long for the sake of being long but Keynes spends time intricately crafting characters and relationships that feel authentic. By the end I was gripped and didn’t want it to end.
Grown Ups was such an interesting read for me. First of all, I might have never have picked it up had it not been for the #sykesandsavidgebookclub but I was curious and, as they say, the rest is history. I have perhaps unfairly categorised Marian Keyes previous to reading this as a writer of a genre that I wouldn’t normally lean towards. That is, lighter women’s contemporary fiction and I normally like my fiction with a bit more “meat on the bones.”
I’ve been proved wrong on a number of occasions when my preconceptions about a novel or an author are way off and I was delighted that the same happened again with Grown Ups. At its heart, it appears to be a novel featuring a large Irish family, the relationship and the interactions between them all but essentially, the plot goes much deeper than this and explores a range of intricate, specific problems that each member of the family is struggling with.
There is a huge cast of characters to get to grips with and although I love a varied cast, it did take me a while to fix who was connected with whom, especially the younger members of the family. However, once I had that straight in my read, it was easy to become emotionally invested in each character’s lives and start to understand them as an individual.
That’s the great thing about Grown Ups, you really do become embroiled in the characters and how there are thinking and feeling. They all stand on their own as completely authentic personalities and I really started to believe they existed.
For me, I found Grown Ups to be an addictive, page-turning read. If I had one criticism, (and it’s splitting hairs really), it’s that I felt like I knew where the story was heading and that I could predict what was going to happen for one particularly juicy part of the narrative so it wasn’t a big surprise to me. Apart from that, great read and I’m pleased I’ve finally read some Marian Keyes!
Four stars
I’ve been proved wrong on a number of occasions when my preconceptions about a novel or an author are way off and I was delighted that the same happened again with Grown Ups. At its heart, it appears to be a novel featuring a large Irish family, the relationship and the interactions between them all but essentially, the plot goes much deeper than this and explores a range of intricate, specific problems that each member of the family is struggling with.
There is a huge cast of characters to get to grips with and although I love a varied cast, it did take me a while to fix who was connected with whom, especially the younger members of the family. However, once I had that straight in my read, it was easy to become emotionally invested in each character’s lives and start to understand them as an individual.
That’s the great thing about Grown Ups, you really do become embroiled in the characters and how there are thinking and feeling. They all stand on their own as completely authentic personalities and I really started to believe they existed.
For me, I found Grown Ups to be an addictive, page-turning read. If I had one criticism, (and it’s splitting hairs really), it’s that I felt like I knew where the story was heading and that I could predict what was going to happen for one particularly juicy part of the narrative so it wasn’t a big surprise to me. Apart from that, great read and I’m pleased I’ve finally read some Marian Keyes!
Four stars
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No