About this title: With her keen insight, biting wit, and generous heart, Keyes captures the realities of contemporary women's lives with this novel of four women who fall for the (same) wrong man.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. 0061124028 Condition: VERY GOOD. (Book may have one or a combination of the following characteristics: former library book, cover wear, name written inside cover, light underlining/highlighting, remainder mark, etc. Overall, the book is in solid shape. This is a blanket description. Please email us if you require a specific, detailed description of the book condition. We will typically respond within one week of your request). read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: M. Joseph
Date Published: 1/1/2008
ISBN-13:9780718149130ISBN:0718149130
Description: Fine. 0718149130 May show signs of shelf wear. Choose EXPEDITED shipping, receive in 2-5 business days. Please email with questions. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780718149130ISBN:0718149130
Description: Good. Slight tear to front page, crease to cover EXCELLENT value for money and ready for dispatch. Delivery usually within 3/5 days. Our reputation is built on our Speedy Delivery Service and our Customer Service Team. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780718149123ISBN:0718149122
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: M. Joseph
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780718149130ISBN:0718149130
Description: Acceptable. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780718149123ISBN:0718149122
Description: Good. This book is in GOOD overall condition. It shows signs of having been read and has general light wear to the cover, spine and pages. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: M. Joseph
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780718149130ISBN:0718149130
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780718149123ISBN:0718149122
Description: Acceptable in good jacket. First Edition. 1st edition, complete with dustcover, unclipped; page edges marked but text clean. A good reading copy; read more
"I found this book disappointing. The different fonts for different voices were not needed and rather aggravating. The clipped voice of Lola was beyond annoying. I just couldn't see the requirement. It was insulting to the reader as if we couldn't tell the difference between the voices. I've no problem with the subject matter - but what the hell did these women find charming about him?? With only a few snapshots of his bullying violence - how could we see what they saw in him? He is a manipulator and I know how evil these sort of physically violent men can be - but where was the balance? Lola was obsessed with him - why? I don't mean - how could she let herself be beaten - I mean what was so wonderful about him? A few lines telling us he's charming and much loved is not enough. So the book failed for me. Much too long and rambling. The only character I really liked was Grace but the issue between her and Damien didn't ring true. Too contrived and convenient. I thought the alcoholism part was very well done. The dialogue was snappy and fun. The vision of the viciousness of Paddy was also very well done. I could well believe the sudden violence. Pity I didn't see the Charm."
Sometimes I cringe over my reading selections and dawdle before diving in... That is how I tend to approach your writing. Then I dive and there is nothing that can pull me away. As an author within the genre of chick litterers, you excel, charming the likes of me again and again.
I love your awareness of intimate violence and how state mandates regarding citizenship and immigration sustain and extend. How eloquent, daring, and ethical is Dee in this regard! I love the wit, kink, and humor of Lola and Chloe/Cossadine when it comes to romance and sexual loving. But I sputter over the how limited your characters' political sensibilities are.
The worlds you create are so white, overwhelming so. Characters such as Lola (darling though she is!) have an awareness of their whiteness, racism, and xenophobia, but it is an awareness that enables indulgence. But Ibrahim as Osama, Nnamdi as an upstart with a generous derriere? Please. Lola's - or rather your - conscious invocation of racism, rendered charming through context and word play, is what makes me cringe and lament my fleeting addiction to your books. How I wish the worlds of your characters were more varied, diverse, and heartfelt... If wishes were horse-faces!
"Keyes brings her ability to transport readers into characters that might be vastly different from ourselves - witty, flamboyant, jealous, faaaaabulous - but this book's beginning left a sour taste in my mouth. As the title description explains, it's about interesting characters who continually fall for "the wrong man". I'm rooting for them... really, I am, but it takes a long time for resolution to come about. I was looking for more of a fun, good, frivolous read, not something quite this close to real life. If you love Keyes (as I do), read it for her turn of phrase and wry humour, but if a frivolous beach-read is what you're looking for, then try one of her other books."
"Marian Keyes makes me veer from insane giggling to fury to sorrow at/with her characters. She can be so funny and then make you feel such empathy for the protagonists. This book has four narrators who all have a relationship (of some sort) with Paddy de Courcy, a slick Irish politician. Issues in This Charming Man include domestic violence, alcoholism, depression, and severe lack of self-confidence - and it's still filled with humor that made me laugh like crazy. One of the narrators is an alcoholic who is so far into denial and depression that she doesn't even see her drinking as a problem - very much like Rachel of Rachel's Holiday. She writes powerfully about a subject she knows well from her own experience. My favorite narrator is Lola, a 'stylist' (and who knew there was such ajob?) with a most individual way of expressing herself. Next time I have a little hangover, I am going to be sure and use the phrase "rough as a badger's ass." Oh yes, I certainly am.
What I learned: The difference between cross-dressers and trannies. What a stylist does. What a culchie is. That Marian Keyes hits another one out of the park."
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