Sushi for Beginners

Sushi For Beginners has all the right ingredients for a thirtysomething novel. The thirtysomething girls are there, looking for a better job, a better man, ANYTHING other than what they ve already got, there are men to die for and men you wish would drop dead, preferably in agony. And these so-real you can pinch em people live their lives in a funny, thrilling, sad world that you wish hadn t just ended when you turn the last page. But there is more, because this one is written by best-selling Irish author Marian Keyes.Where her previous best-seller, Last Chance Saloon, featured Irish folk living in London, Sushi For Beginners is set in Keyes hometown, Dublin. The only foreigner here is Lisa from London, a real madam whose longed-for promotion to Manhattan magazine is knocked off-course a few thousand miles when she is forced to accept the editorship of Colleen, a new magazine for young women, billed by the publishers as dumbed-down but definitely sexy. Lisa would frankly rather eat one of her freebie Patrick Cox stilettos. Still a job is a job, and anyhow, Irish MD Jack Devine could just turn out to be a major consolation prize. Lisa s deputy at Colleen is Ashling, a Little Miss Fix-It, whose early role reversal with her mother (thanks to the latter s nervous breakdown) has induced an organisational paranoia and a handbag filled with emergency equipment to meet any eventuality. Oh, and a best friend whose motives might not always be in Ashling s best interests.This is a story of three girls lives, what s made them what they are and their search for happiness--sometimes found in unlikely places and sometimes lost forever. With Sushi For Beginners, Keyes is fast becoming the undisputed Queen of her genre. She is wincingly accurate and wickedly funny, and while she can tackle big issues like homelessness (no pun intended) with honest feeling devoid of over-sentimentality, her insight into the aspirations of thirtysomething women at the turn of the 21st century sets her high above the competition. --Carey Green This review refers to the hardcover edition of this title.

clever title for a book. - Ok, i wasnt sure about giving this book 3 or 4 stars, but i opted for 4 because the second half of the book was really good. The first half i wasnt sure of because i couldnt stand Lisa or Clodagh. And it was annoying reading their bits, although i loved Ashling all the way through! And Lisa improved greatly towards the end. But Clodagh was a vile pig of a woman. At least with Lisa you could sense a diferent, softer side to her even at her worst, but with Clodagh she was just out for what she could get, and i hated her. Other brill characters are Joy and Ted, Jack Devine (lush lush!) Kelvin and Trix and Mrs Morley i think her name was, and the new character that came in when Mercedes left the office was hilarious, especially giving Mrs Morley Valium, i was laughing so much at that haha. I didnt like Marcus though. So childish and pathetic, i wanted to punch him, and i felt so sorry for Dylan towards the end of the book. Poor man. Anyway, others have commented that she dealt with depression too flimsily. But i thought it was ok. You dont have to have something majorly drastic happen to you to be plunged into the black hole. I think Marian herself has dealt with depression so she should know. And the ending was just how i wanted it to be. This book isnt predictable at all, even though i knew who Ashling would end up with, i didnt guess what would happen in most of the other situations. I enjoyed it, not as much as Last Chance Saloon or Watermelon but it was still worth reading. i definately recommend it, just make sure you dont let Lisa and Clodagh get to you too much in the first half of the book!Oh and, the title was brilliant once i understood what it meant, it was so fitting and romantic! It s just Sushi For Beginners.

THE FISH WENT OFF! - This book was the first I d read by Marian Keyes.I had been recommended it but half way through I was ready to give up.There are too many characters initially, and too many bitty stories.Each time I picked the book up, I couldn t quite remember if anything significant had happened previously.I stuck it out purely because I hate to abandon a book midway through. It was bearable, but I couldn t get it finished quick enough to move onto something else.I didn t like the way she flippantly dealth with issues such as depression, homelessness, adultery and divorce. And there is nothing clever about endless (unnecessary) cuss words from a writer.I doubt I ll read any more from her.

OK, but... - Not as good as Watermelon and Rachel s Holiday or Last Chance Saloon as the characters aren t as likeable, that said, it you like her other books you l enjoy it.

An uneasy read for an easy topic - Sushi for begginers is a story around three women and their interractions with eachother and the outside characters.I found the book a big push to read, as in it did not captivate me enough until the final chapters. It took too long to build up and some chapters were just to skip.The characters are not well developed, which is mostly the case for Lisa, which is a mixed-signal character all the way. The main character is ok,though i never got why some things happened and why some didn t for her, as in there are no lessons learnt, or no real human nature tricks. Things happen because they happen, and that is just not good enough for somebody who claims to be an insightfull author.I find, for example, Candace Bushnell s Lipstik jungle (also centered around three women) a lot better and having more complex characters and interesting story lines.

OK but not great - I did enjoy reading this book, I found it entertaining and easy to read but I didn t warm to any of the characters and felt that a lot of it didn t come across realisticly. Good authors should enable readers to suspend their disbelief and I don t think Keyes truly managed this in this one. I also felt that the mental illness theme was dealt with terribly, after talking it up through the breakdown of Ashlings mum it seems that actually if you get depression you take prozac for two weeks get a new bloke and youre cured. Having said that if youre looking for light entertainment ths book is readable and fun.

Sushi for Beginners