The Woman Who Stole My Life

2023 Advent, Day 22: The book today was The Woman Who Stole My Life. I really liked this book. When I first started reading Keyes' works I was not impressed, but they have grown on me and now I find them quite enjoyable. The only thing I disliked in this was the husband, not because he was poorly written, he was just a crap guy. And what's especially infuriating is I know many men are out there in real life being this awful. Why do some men just manage to do the absolute bare minimum in life and get praised for it?? Agonising. 4 stars

As autumn begins I find myself in need of hot chocolate in book form, so I read another Marian Keyes. This one was charming, warm and funny in her typical fashion with some interesting themes and quite a few laughs (some other reviewers have said they were missing the funny, but I found myself laughing quite often and was a little surprised to see that many readers were disappointed in this book). I was a little sad that Stella was so passive until the very end; she kept reacting instead of acting and most things that happened were brought about by other characters. Not in a damsel in distress way, though, her passivity was mostly due to insecurity and the desire for peace and harmony (i.e. not to piss people off) - this is Marian Keyes show more after all, and her characters never feel like tropes to me. I was hoping for a more profound moment of catharsis for Stella, some growth and peace with herself, but I guess some people are like that and stay that way, and it's probably more realistic than a big personality makeover. Didn't find that too annoying though and I actually enjoyed the more terrible side characters, so this was a pretty good read for me, and as usual I tore through it in the shortest time possible. Happy sigh. show less

“Love isn’t hearts and flowers. And it’s not good sex. Love is about loyalty. Endurance.”

Stella’s father was brilliant. We needed more of him. Georgie was the absolute opposite of what I expected and surprisingly funny. The initial interaction between Stella and Mannix during her hospitalisation was interesting. For some reason I imagined Mannix looking like David Bautista (no idea where that came from). Unfortunately that was the best of the relationship.

In reality, this book should have been titled ‘I gave my life to another woman’. I can’t stand people who allow themselves to be bullied and gaslit by every single person they meet without learning from it. Grow a backbone already. As for the actual woman who show more ‘stole’ Stella’s life, she appeared in very few of the 550-odd pages. There’s also the fact that Stella didn’t write a book. Not really.

Then there is my bugbear with yet another author using the full name for random characters, just to fill the word count. Once you’ve introduced them, you don’t need to keep announcing their full bloody title. There were Americanisms galore. So much for being set in Ireland with Irish characters. Too long. Seriously. Way too long. show less

This book was not what I was expecting. The beginning was misleading. It gave the impression of a funny little story, but this was a more in depth look at a woman going through a midlife crisis. She has a cathartic experience that leads her to change her life. In each section of the book the layout is changed to reflect the transitions she is going through. One section is written as if she is tweeting, with the date and time as headings. Another starts with quotes, and another just as an ordinary book (traditional).

I did not like the book at first, mostly because I was disappointed in the unexpected direction the story took. Once I got past my expectations and began to read the story for what it was, it was addicting. The characters show more grow and change, there are some unexpected plot twists, and real-to-life characters. My suggestion is to read this book with an open mind. It is a great read. show less

I love Marian Keyes but I have to agree with other reviewers that this was a bit of a disappointment. The premise was interesting and there were plenty of funny parts, but they didn't really add up to anything. Stella shows a lot of strength in her recovery from the illness that paralyzes her, but she is very passive otherwise. A lot of things happen to her (and again, some of them are very funny), but she never really takes charge of her own life. The romance falls flat too because of the inequity of roles between Stella and the object of her affection.

I will always view early Keyes books Rachel's Holiday, Watermelon, and Last Chance Saloon to be among the best early British Chick Lit, but her more recent efforts have been less show more impressive. show less

Solid 3.5

I saw a lot of meh and bad reviews of this one, so I was wary going into it, but I really enjoyed it. The writing could definitely have been tighter in some places, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Stella and Jeffrey's interactions in the beginning were hilarious. Weeds and yoga mats and pineapples... And the hospital portion was great.

Irish author Marian Keyes has published a string of bestselling chick lit novels since the mid 1990's including the popular Walsh Family series.

The Woman Who Stole My Life is a stand alone title featuring Stella Sweeney, a Dublin wife, mother and beautician, whose ordinary life is turned completely upside down when she falls ill with a rare illness.

The timeline is a little messy to begin with, starting with a fender bender that happened a few weeks before Stella got sick and then jumping to the 'present day' almost two years later and then back in time - heralded by a quote from the book Stella wrote after her recovery - to the day her illness was diagnosed. It becomes slightly less confusing as the novel progresses, with one narrative show more thread moving forward from the time of her diagnosis and the other through the present day, until they eventually merge.

The tension in the novel is supposed to stem from learning what happened to irrevocably change Stella's life not once, but thrice. Unfortunately the 'mystery' is stretched a little too thin to sustain the length of the story and though I was riveted during the first half or so of the novel my interest began to wane during Stella's time in New York. There is a lot of emphasis on 'karma', and fate, but oddly not a lot of examples of this playing out in the storyline. Gilda certainly doesn't get what you would think she deserves, neither does Stella's ex-husband, or her son.

I should have been able to relate to Stella easily, we are of a similar age and stage of life, and I did in some respects, but I soon found I didn't like her much once she recovered from her illness. She was so insecure, particularly in her relationship with Mannix, and lacked any real gumption in general. I also found most of the other supporting characters were shallow constructions, though Stella's dad, Karen, Stella's sister, and Roland, Mannix's brother, were favourites.

There is some of Keyes humour in The Woman Who Stole My Life, particularly in the first half, but overall I feel it lacked the trademark wit and warmth I expect from Keyes. There is an edge of bitterness here that is never explicit, but nevertheless present.

I didn't dislike The Woman Who Stole My Life but neither did I wholly enjoy it as much as I expected. It was better than The Brightest Star in the Sky but not as good as say The Mystery of Mercy Close. show less