Love is a Four Letter Word

One first thing: this book should certainly NOT be judged by its cover. It's unbelievable how misleading a book-cover can be, especially in these...slippery days of thousands of chic-lit books hitting the bookstore shelves.

Claire Calman's book has some chic-lit characteristics- the love affair, the good friends helping our heroine (Bella) & having endless drinks with her. The difficult family. But there the resemblances end. This book was a lovely surprise for me: I read it in one sitting, & felt weird when it ended. OK OK, I know this all sounds tacky, but I enjoyed this book, & especially the lovely, true-to-life relationship between Bella & Will.

One of my favourite plays ever is "Truly madly deeply" & this book (as others have noted) show more reminded me of a lighter version of that play. Bella finds it hard to leave the past behind & to trust herself & her life. What came to mind as I was reading this book is the old saying that "it's hard to be sad, but it's even harder to be happy".

Oh, and by the way: the book is very funny, too. show less

The term "chick lit" gets a bad rap, but this book is simply wonderful. It makes me laugh out loud and it makes me cry. Everyone to whom I've lent it loves it too. It's not available in the States, so if you can see your way to getting it from the UK, I highly recommend that you do. Calman's other books are fun, but this one is special.

A generally entertaining rom-com, and actually much better than I'd expect for one that came free on a women's magazine 10 years ago - not sure why I'd buy it and then take so long to read it though! Good if you like this sort of thing.

Cuando el peso de una pérdida dolorosa se vuelve difícil de soportar, nada mejor que poner tierra de por medio en busca de aire fresco. A esta sabia y sensata conclusión ha llegado Dulce a sus treinta y tres años.
De la noche a la mañana, abandona un piso plagado de recuerdos y un estresante empleo en Londres para mudarse a Kent, muy lejos del bullicio de la ciudad y muy cerca de donde reside Anahí, su amiga de toda la vida.
Pero sobre todo, Dulce no quiere ni oír hablar de hombres, menos enamorarse; a partir de ahora dedicará libre a la pintura, al jardín y a su amiga. Sin embargo, la tozuda realidad puede hasta con los propósitos más firmes, especialmente si adopta la forma de Alfonso, el candidato perfecto. Ante semejante show more ejemplar, cualquier mujer caería rendida, así que Dulce deberá luchar contra la tentación de volver a las andadas. show less