Angels

Maggie, who narrates this book, has always appeared to be calm and well-behaved. She has a good job and is happily married... or so it seems. Except that something has gone wrong, and so she suddenly decides to leave her husband and fly out to the USA to see a close friend who lives in California.

Maggie gradually gets drawn into the strangely fake materialistic culture she finds herself in, learning the language of Hollywood, spending vast amounts of money on her appearance, and even experimenting with new relationships. It could have been sordid, but somehow stops short. The writing is good, the characters sympathetic, and as Maggie's past unfolds in her memories and conversations, everything falls into place.

Some bad language, but show more even that didn't seem entirely out of place. Caricatured minor characters add a little humour, and all in all I found it a satisfying and enjoyable book. Decidedly chick-lit, but with plenty to think about too. show less

Jag älskar Marian Keyes böcker och Änglar var inget undantag, Keyes är den enda av alla dessa chick litteratur författare som lyckas med att ta upp ett allvarligt ämne men ändå lyckas få sina läsare att skratta. Man tröttnar lätt på böcker i den genren, efter ett tag tycker jag att alla handlar om samma sak, en ung tjej som strular till det för att läsarna ska skratta, hon gör bort sig för killar men mot slutet hittar hon alltid drömprinsen. Men jag tycker Marian Keyes skilljer sig från mängden, därför kommer jag förbli en trogen läsare. :

The "good daughter" of the infamous Walsh sisters of Dublin gets her say in ANGELS. Maggie, always held up as the standard of stability and normalcy to her sisters finds out her husband is having an affair. Maggie then takes off for Hollywood and her best friend Emily, a struggling screenwriter. While soaking up the fun and sun of Hollywood, Maggie tries to carve out a future and deals with certain issues from her past. A classic Keyes novel that handles even the hardest issues with humor and love. Maggie is just as interesting as sisters Claire, Rachel, Helen and Anna.

This looked like a fun, light read, and it was fun. In parts, it was even light, but overall, it was well-written and actually pretty deep. The story starts with the main character’s (Maggie) marriage falling apart right about the time she gets let go from her job. Keyes reveals what is going on from only Maggie’s point of view, and it takes some time to get to the whole story, as Maggie tries to avoid it all by diving into a new life in L.A. with her best friend. As time passes, however, Maggie realizes that running away from her immediate problems is not working, and she begins to face what is really happening in her life, and we discover more about the real situation. It is clear pretty quickly that there is a lot more to the show more story than we know, but it takes a while for the tale to unfold.

I loved it. I wasn’t expecting to love it. I think I will have to read some more Marian Keyes books. show less

I'm afraid that, for me, this book simply didn't have the cutting edge energy that I normally expect from Marian Keyes. Which was a shame as the first couple of sentences are lovely, but the rest of the story doesn't live up to its initial promise. In fact, the overall impression was one of jaded effort.

The problem stems from the fact that our heroine, Maggie, isn't actually that interesting and throughout most of the story doesn't have a cohesive personality to hang on to. Events happen to her - the discovery of her husband's infidelity, her flight home, and then the extended stay with friends in Los Angeles - without her really getting to grips with them or even changing as a result in any deep way. Maggie is - bless her - exactly the show more same rather facile and worryingly prejudiced woman at the end as she was at the beginning. I found it very frustrating as I kept thinking she might be on the verge of growing a personality but she never did. Indeed, much can be surmised from the fact that I kept forgetting what her name was and having to check ...

On the other hand, some of the secondary characters are far more interesting - I loved Emily and wished on many occasions that she could be the main character, as her story arc was far more gripping. It was just a shame that at the end of the novel Emily seemingly discards her personality and makes several very odd life choices which have had no lead-up previously. It's an opportunity missed for a really powerful end. The epilogue is rather teeth-clenchingly twee too, as is the resolution for Maggie, and this additional chapter could well have been missed out entirely, with nothing lost.

Still, there are one or two laugh-out loud moments, and Keyes makes the most of the Los Angeles setting. I would definitely have loved more scenes with the animal-obsessed film director, Larry Savage. In his three or four pages, he lit up the novel simply by being himself. I do believe, however, that I'm rather wearied of the Walsh family storylines. Oh well. 2.5 stars. show less

A WITTY AND HEARTFELT STORY ABOUT MAGGIE WALSH, WHO FLEES HER CRUMBLING MARRIAGE FOR LOS ANGELES, FINDING BOTH CHAOS AND SELF-DISCOVERY.

Angels by Marian Keyes is the third of the Walsh Sister books. Maggie, the normal, boring sister, finds her husband, Garv, having an affair. Stressed out by that fact she loses her job and decides she needs to get as far away as possible. She settles on Los Angeles.

Emily, her best friend and a screenwriter, takes Maggie in as she tries to take stock of her life. Mixed in with her and Emily's misadventures in Los Angeles, are flashbacks that slowly reveal the reasons behind the affair as well as other things worrying Maggie.

There's nothing too surprising in the plot. There are certainly some hilarious moments as well as some heartbreaking ones. Maggie, for instance, had gone through two miscarriages — something I share with her.

It was show more a decent read, good for reading on my commute. I could read it in snatches of five or ten pages and still follow the story. show less