Meet the Casey boys! Johnny: handsome and charming, married to his best friend's widow, the effervescent gourmet entrepreneur, Jessie. Ed: solid, reliable, completely in love with his lovely wife Cara, whose knows her secret problem, but not how to help her. Liam: restless and rakish, giving marriage a second go with budding set designer Nell.
In Grown Ups Marian Keyes takes us on a breakneck six-month ride through their lives and loves, triumphs and disasters, heartbreaks and joys.
The anchor of the tale is Jessie Parnell, successful businesswoman and owner/manager of PIG, a cookery enterprise that provides her with enough cash to feed an online shopping habit and to lavish her generous hospitality on the family including a cast of about 10 children) she didn't have growing up. A five star retreat for Easter in County Mayo, summer holidays in a villa in Tuscany and countless dinner and other parties.
On the surface, of course, everything in the Casey world looks calm and happy. In the depths, however, every character is dealing with one issue or another and as with every family, the tensions ebb and flow, sometimes breaking that surface with dramatic results.
This is my first Keyes novel - the covers seem to be designed specifically to deter men from buying the books - but after coming to it from a Twitter recommendation, I am pleased to have found her and will be going back. What struck me most about the book was the wit and warmth of the writing. Keyes writes with empathy and compassion but avoids being maudlin. Her characters are convincing and credible, their faults and foibles laid bare, but also their capacity for love and generosity. And she is funny - the dialogue crackles along and will resonate with anyone who has ever taken a moment to sit back and listen to their families.
Given the verve with which she writes, it would be easy to overlook a well-structured plot that keeps several storylines on the bubble at the same time without getting bogged down in any or losing its thread.
Grown Ups is entertaining, warm-hearted and insightful and anyone who is interested in people and relationships should find something to enjoy.
I had the audio version of this book. My heart always sinks a little when the author turns up as the narrator. But here it really works, Keyes has a lively and welcoming voice and her intimacy with her characters and storyline enables her to bring all the charm of the story to life. Brava.