This Charming Man: A Novel

This is an extraordinary novel which tackles rough and serious subjects such as domestic violence, alcoholism, rape, and sexual perversions. Marian Keyes is not only a great writer, she is also an artist who paints her characters in a warm hearted light and with very humane and lovingly realistic characteristics, but above all she can paint them with a touch of self deprecation and lightheartedness that let her readers read on without feeling absolutely taken aback or shocked beyond reason which makes her novels palatable and 200% unique.I have read absolutely every single one of Marian's books and I wish to God I could someday meet her in person because she must be incredible adorable and fun even in the darkest hours. What an exemplary writer for us all."This Charming man" is a book which brings us four voices; four women who have loved the same man at one point or another in their lives and who have been permanently marked and damaged because of loving him utterly and beyond reason. Who is this man you might ask yourself, well you will meet heartthrob Paddy de Courcy, aka the JFK Jr. of Ireland who is hailed to be the political savior of the country and who is and always will be a savagely sexy and persuasive man who always gets what he wants until our four women gather forces against him.We meet Lola Daly first and foremost, she is a stylist with purple highlights (Molichino is the color she always claims she has) who's voice is presented to us in the style of a diary or journal and which is written in a type of short hand which makes it extremely funny, and I mean laugh out loud funny, to hear her out. Lola was checking eBid for a handbag when she learns that her relationship with Paddy is over... De Courcy to Wed is the headline and her shock is just heartbreaking. I loved Lola the most for her openness and flat out vulnerability.Then we meet Grace Gildee, the strong willed and sensible reporter who is one of the first to know, what with working in a newspaper when word came in from a political correspondent. She kept her cool and acted as the true professional she has always been.Next comes Marnie Hunter, Grace's twin sister who is always depressed, feeling down and under, and who harbors suicidal thoughts and tendencies using alcohol to numb her pain and her sorrows.Finally interspersed in bits and pieces in this story is Alicia Thornton, Paddy's horse faced new fiancée."This Charming Man" is really extraordinary and unlike anything Keyes has written before. She's tackled tough subjects in the past, it's true, but the devastating and heinous nature of the depraved acts of violence and degradation described in this book take her storytelling to a new level.The storyline is exciting and fast paced and it has a wonderfully cohesive plot that comes together through the four very real and flawed characters.A must read for everyone out there. You will simply love it as much as I did; it's impossible to put down... I even feel like reading it all over again this is how much I found it delectable.

But glad I stuck with it. Old book that came recommended to me. Enjoyed the authors way of interjecting the 3 characters. At first it was hard to decipher who was who. Kind of became a game on which story line you’d follow next. But in the end it wrapped up nicely. Uniquely different read but worth it. Normally would have stopped at abuse and alcoholism. Glad I stuck with it. May look into another book by this author.

From when I first cracked open WatermelonI've loved Marian Keyes, but at first it was a fickle sort of love, the kind reserved for light, fluffy books that were guaranteed to better my mood. This all changed with the publication of Anybody Out There?the astonishing last novel of Keyes that blew my mind (and my perception of her as an author) out of the water. Since then I've seen her as an extraordinary novelist in her own right, capable of drawing people in and invoking emotions you never expected to feel for fictional characters.So needless to say when I saw she had a new novel coming out, I pre-ordered. I was hoping (desperately hoping) that it would be the next novel in the Walsh sister's saga, but apparently Keyes feels the need to string that out a bit more. Oh well. It's not like I haven't enjoyed her other novels. I decided to take a positive attitude about my disappointment.In the end though there was nothing to be disappointed about. "This Charming Man" is an amazing book told by four distinct voices. Lola, a stylist, Grace, a reporter, Marnie, a working housewife and mother and Alice all have something in common that has changed and altered the course of their lives. His name is Paddy de Courcy and is hailed to be the political savior of Ireland. But though Paddy seems charming, suave, handsome and perfect on the outside our narrators know the secrets behind his smile-and the nearly deadly effect of his true charm."This Charming Man" is really extraordinary and unlike anything Keyes has written before. She's tackled tough subjects in the past, it's true, but the heinous nature of the depraved acts of violence and degradation described in this book take it to a new level that rises completely out of the genera of chick lit.I raced through this book in one sitting because I was literally unable to put it down. The storyline is exciting and fast paced and despite the shared narration and seemingly random inserted scenes of domestic violence between parts the novel (which make sense eventually) it has a wonderfully cohesive plot that all comes together through our four very real heroines. This book made me laugh out loud, cry and more importantly think on the desperate situation that so many women are forced to live in because of domestic violence.I'm not saying this book is a downer though. While it discusses very serious subjects there is a great deal of humor, mainly provided by Lola's diary (which in spite of the semi-annoying shorthand was my favorite part of the book) romance comes from Grace, and eventually, strength from Marnie. And triumph for all.This is a truly amazing novel that any author would have been proud to write. I congratulate you Ms. Keyes on another remarkable book that made me loose sleep and I highly recommend that everyone reads this book.Five stars.(And I know it'll be another two years at least but I can't wait `till her next novel!)

Vielleicht keine große Literatur,aber ansonsten ein tolles Buch!Ein Geflecht aus gut erzählten Einzelsträngen.Super Ende!Kaufen!Lesen!

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!Hilarious at times, made me laugh so much had to keep going for a wee. Don't know why when was losing so much water from my eyes!!Yes,, I've done perimenopause, THE menopause but still not won mastermind!Lost more tears unfortunately when reading about alcoholism and vulnerable woman and how men use and abuse them. Difficult issues but very well written.Oh! And finally; you're welcome Marian, for all the help at the start that I gave and that you've obviously forgotten about. But that's what happens to us at our age. Don't forget to let me know when you need me for the next oneTo everyone else; Just read it

She creates characters you can truly relate to. They begin to feel like your friends as the story progresses. I really enjoyed reading this book. It totally engrossed me.

Perfect condition- arrived ahead of time. However wrong name on my package:.. but correct address.Thanks!

This book was not at all what I expected. Not sure if I misunderstood the reviews or if the people reviewing were misleading. Nonetheless, the women's stories definitely touched me, and the domestic violence theme was painful to read at times. I would recommend this book to women who have suffered and to women who have survived DV.