Watermelon by Marian Keyes
Publication: Avon A (April 30, 2002), Paperback, 432 pages / ISBN 0060090367
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Read: June 2009
Rating: 
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First sentence: I’m sorry, you must think I’m very rude.
In one sentence: Fun, funny, and fantastic.
I first heard of Marian Keyes about a year ago after watching a documentary about romance novels, but never thought to try any of her books out until I found Watermelon at a library book sale this past spring. And now, after reading it and about four others, I have a new author to add to my favorites list!
Summary from Amazon:
February the fifteenth is a very special day for me. It is the day I gave birth to my first child. It is also the day my husband left me…I can only assume the two events weren’t entirely unrelated.
Claire has everything she ever wanted: a husband she adores, a great apartment, a good job. Then, on the day she gives birth to their first baby, James informs her that he’s leaving her. Claire is left with a newborn daughter, a broken heart, and a postpartum body that she can hardly bear to look at.
She decides to go home to Dublin. And there, sheltered by the love of a quirky family, she gets better. So much so, in fact, that when James slithers back into her life, he’s in for a bit of a surprise.
So, what made me fall in love with Marian Keyes’ books? I think mostly it was because of the characters. They’re so quirky, funny, and weird that even when they don’t make sense and/or don’t seem to be based on reality, I have fun reading about them. I also love that, like Madeleine Wickham’s books, Ms. Keyes’ heroines grow and change almost entirely separate from their hero, and getting the hero at the end is just a bonus after getting more self-esteem/self-worth/etc.
In Watermelon we get a whole cast of quirky characters, including my favorites: Claire’s sisters Tweedleditz and Twiddledrunk. We also get character growth, and romance, and a happy ending! Huzzah!
I was really surprised at how immersed I became in Claire’s world. I didn’t actually particularly like her as a person (a little too self-loathing for me, though it’s understandable) but I cheered her on throughout the book, and when she finally broke through and solved her problems herself I think I even did a little dance of joy. I love a chick lit book that makes me do happy dances, you know? (Although some people wouldn’t call it chick lit, but whatever.)
The only thing I didn’t like, really, was Adam-the-hero. I think he was introduced way too early on as a potential love-match thing and it was kind of confusing how quickly Claire attached herself to him when she was so distraught over her husband, especially since we-the-reader are supposed to believe that Claire’s not just on the rebound. Their relationship itself wasn’t done as well as some of her other books, I think, and it was even slightly boring sometimes.
Watermelon is, I think, the perfect summer read: it’s engaging, emotional (without being cheesy or depressing), hilarious, and fun. If you haven’t tried Marian Keyes already, get on it QUICK!
Other reviews: The Book Review | The Sparkgurl Review | Karin Elizabeth
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