I'm glad to be saying this because I remember a book I forgot to put on my recently-read list: Irish Girls About Town. That collection of short stories lived on my Half.com wishlist for many a long moon before some coupon came long and I finally bought it.
Eh. I sought it out for the Maeve Binchy, and even though I easily forgive the sameyness of Binchy's writing once you're fan enough to read the whole pile (much as we might forgive if not love the sameyness of friends and family), nothing grabbed me. I can't even tell you which of the stories Marian Keyes contributed -- none were bad, just none remarkable.
And then I had Keyes' Watermelon on my Amazon list for almost a year after it came up in a book recommendation. But, thanks to Secret Santa that year (2001?), I removed all of the vague interests from my wishlist and honed it down to things I really want. This is annoying -- Amazon should let you make two lists, public and private, just like Froogle.
So, I've been circling Keyes for some time now, and I finally picked her up at the good ole local library last week. (Along with two other wishlist items from the same period, Jane Austen in Boca and something by Julian Barnes.)
So. Last Chance Saloon light, perceptive, recognizable, and at times even a little deep. It's a root-and-cheer, a guaranteed happy ending, but you're never sure what will be sacrificed to get there. Easy, fast, put-up-and-down reading. I hear it's not her best. We'll see.
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