The Break

Marian Keyes was one of the first Brit Chick Lit authors and she is still one of the best. The Break isn't always an easy read, especially if you are in a long-term marriage, but it is funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful. The fun part, as with all of Keyes' novels, are the secondary characters and the family relationships. Amy's mother gets an "old person acting wacky" plot that never patronizes her, and Amy's co-worker Alastair is always on hand for a snarky quip. Somehow each of the members of Amy's large family have their own distinct personality, and I wouldn't mind a spin-off about her siblings, like Keyes did with the Walsh family ([b:Watermelon|9300|Watermelon (Walsh Family, #1)|Marian show more Keyes|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1345767584s/9300.jpg|912230], [b:The Mystery of Mercy Close|12724978|The Mystery of Mercy Close (Walsh Family, #5)|Marian Keyes|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1340719307s/12724978.jpg|17861299], etc).

It's not all fun and games, however. The bottom line is that the book is about what happens when a marriage falls apart, and whether the wounds can ever heal. It gave me a few uncomfortable moments as I saw myself in Amy; while it's easy to blame her husband Hugh for taking a six month hiatus, it takes two to make or break a marriage, and Keyes very carefully shows Amy's part in the process without casting blame. It helps that we get to see Amy being very good at her public relations job - competence porn is so much more enjoyable than ditsy clueless heroines.

There's also a subplot about the challenge of obtaining an abortion in Ireland that comes across as possibly a little too political, but it does have ramifications for the larger plot so it doesn't feel completely shoehorned in to make a point.

It's been too long since Keyes' last novel, [b:The Woman Who Stole My Life|22009741|The Woman Who Stole My Life|Marian Keyes|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1428674566s/22009741.jpg|41322201]. I had to order my copy of The Break from England because it hasn't been published in the US. I hope that is only a temporary condition, because American readers deserve the opportunity to see why Keyes is still one of the most engaging authors in the business. show less

4.5 / 5 (rounded up)

This was my first dalliance with romance, “chick lit,” “women’s fiction,” or whatever you’d like to call it. I’d bought it on a lark at my favorite indie store, knowing that after reading so many thrillers, horror stories, and crime non-fiction (not true crime, but MANUALS), I knew I’d need something light at some point.

Finally, I ran into a discussion on Twitter about how romances require a “happily ever after” or at least a “happy for now.” At first I argued for more complexity than that, but soon I saw that if the endings of an entire genre of fiction had to end one way, these authors are masters of suspense. If readers go in knowing —REQUIRING— there be a happy ending, where is the show more thrill in reading?

I’m writing a crime thriller/slasher from the point of view of the killer. I need to learn more about creating suspense. So I decided to pick up THE BREAK.

As you’ve probably read in other reviews, Amy’s husband Hugh decides one day that he’s leaving her and their family of three girls to travel the world and figure himself out. Amy has no say in this: he won’t be in contact and he’ll be acting like a single man.

Amy can do the same, but with three young women to care for, a small PR business that’s always JUST afloat and requires her to fly from home in Ireland to work in London every week for two days, high-profile (and high-maintenance) clients, friends and family yearning to spit venom at Hugh while Amy mourns the sudden loss of him in her life, a mother with a new set of mysterious G&T friends…and a man from Amy’s past, bringing lip-licking tension just at the time she has no husband to use as an excuse anymore…

Well, things get complicated. And that’s not even the half of it.

I loved the characters and the length Keyes gave herself to develop them into real people, even if they were only standing on the sidelines. By the end, you see how each of the many plot lines interweave into a cohesive message, which is a tricky thing to pull off. And suspense? I was turning pages and losing sleep over these people!

Of course, I wasn’t terribly fond of the ending. With romance you get “happily ever after,” not ambiguity and complexity of life without love. But as far as it could have been wrapped up traditionally? Keyes did everything but tell the genre conventions where they could go.

Perhaps endings like that seem out of reach and then I can’t believe they’re real? Perhaps I wanted it all to be tied up in a different bow and that’s never what I was going to get.

Perhaps romance isn’t for me…but that’s strange, because I’ve definitely got a craving for more! show less

This is another of those layered, deceptively deep books that Marian Keyes does so well: an unreliable narrator, if you like; certainly one who's hiding a lot for herself. Unfortunately, I didn't much enjoy spending time in the narrator's head while she came to terms with herself and what she'd done, and, while the book had its funny moments and its profound ones, it was ultimately a bit of a slog.

I’m not normally interested in mainstream romantic fiction but Marian Keyes is one of those writers who transcend genre. Over the years she has managed to combine some very dark issues (domestic abuse, addiction, bereavement) with sharp humour and zeitgeisty references (though she does write rather more about shoes than I would like).

The Break is about Amy, a woman in her forties with two daughters (and care of her niece) and a loving, responsible husband, Hugh. After a crisis in his life, Hugh suddenly decides he wants to take six months off and backpack round Asia. Amy is left in Dublin to cope with her busy PR career, the three girls, the machinations of her friends and extended family and her own emotional turmoil.

The Break has show more all the Keyes staples. It’s packed with the usual cultural references. There’s a big, eccentric Irish family (with more than a passing resemblance to the Walshes, who feature in many of Keyes’ other novels) and lots of stuff about clothes, minor celebrities, YouTube vloggers, social media sensations and the ever-shifting norms of middle-class life. Amy is a tougher, more pragmatic heroine than in some of the other novels and so, despite her sadness around Hugh, you feel like nothing too terrible will happen (although conversely there weren’t as many laugh-out-loud moments).

I whizzed through it and mostly enjoyed it but I did feel that it lacked something – and that something was probably a stern editor and another draft. (I’ve felt this a few times with big name authors, presumably the limiting factor is time rather than money.) There’s a lot of repetition. The period between Hugh saying he’ll go and him actually going drags on for far too long. There are plot points that are set up but never paid off and some of the reversals come from nowhere. Amy has a superfluous sibling who adds nothing to the plot and becomes just another name to remember (perhaps not coincidentally, there are also five Walsh siblings and Keyes herself is one of five). Key events lose their impact because they take place off camera.

All in all, The Break has an episodic feel, more like a soap than a novel. Big issues are raised, dealt with and then forgotten, rather than contributing to a building of the narrative.

Despite these reservations, it’s a fun, breezy read, with some good set pieces. Hardcore Keyes fans will love it.
*
I received a copy of The Break from the publisher via Netgalley.
This review first appeared on my blog https://katevane.wordpress.com/ show less

I first came across Marion Keyes thanks to a very generous housemate at university. She writes believable friends in funny Irish families, with plenty of emotional turmoil and an optimistic ending. I can't remember one book that didn't make me laugh out loud.

'Maybe I’ll do a vlog with you.’
‘Would I be on telly?’
‘Granny . . .’ A note of warning has entered Neeve’s voice. ‘Don’t make me explain the internet to you again.’
‘No, no. No. I understand it. It’s magic telly for the young people.’‘

Best for:
Those looking for an interesting read that’s a bit longer than one might expect from fiction targeted at women.

In a nutshell:
Amy’s husband Hugh wants a six-month break.

Worth quoting:
I studied her avidly, keen to know how other people managed the tricky, tricky business of being a woman.

Why I chose it:
Airport purchase. Remember airports?

Review:
I bought this book back when known cases of COVID-19 were mostly limited to Asia. I flew from the UK to the US to be with my parents during surgery, then went to visit some friends in the pacific northwest. As always, I bought a book at the airport to add to the four I had with me.

I started it on one of my flights, but wasn’t really able to get into it. I know for some people, being show more home so much right now (last I heard, about 4 billion of the world’s population are on lock down) means they are reading a lot, but I just can’t focus. I don’t have kids, and I don’t really even need to leave the house (we’re fine with grocery delivery). I’m just mentally exhausted, and this book wasn’t as light a read as I was hoping.

Sorry, there’s supposed to be a review in here somewhere, right?

Amy lives in Dublin with her daughter from her first marriage (to a footballer), her daughter from her current marriage, and sometimes her niece. She’s in public relations and help rehabilitate famous folks who have fucked up. Her husband is going through some things, and has decided he needs a 6-month break from their marriage.

The book is divided into before, during, and after. The during part doesn’t last as long as I expected, and the after bit is more intense than I was expecting. But I appreciated the characters - they weren’t caricatures or stereotypes. Amy’s husband Hugh isn’t a cad; he’s someone who is hurting and is confused. Amy isn’t some scorned woman; she has agency. Even their kids are complex.

It’s not higher rated for me mostly because I think it is just too long. I think the story could have been tightened up a bit, though maybe others would think that would sacrifice the quality. I do know if I come across her books again I will probably pick one up.

Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it (eventually) show less

I have always enjoyed a Marian Keyes book. I started this one and was instantly drawn in to the story. Part of my brain was niggling at me, wondering where she was taking me with this story. The situations seemed very believable and the characters had a real depth to them. So many issues in this book, that are part of so many lives, and MK didn’t back off from exploring them.