24 November 2009

Book Review: The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes

The residents of 66 Star Street in Dublin are all being watched... but by what? Maeve and Matt seem happy enough to anybody looking in, but behind the facade is a truth that neither of them wants to be made public. Katie and Conall have a love/hate relationship, but how will the arrival of TVgardener Fionn affect their relationship?

Lydia lives with Polish men Andrei and Jan, but can't stand either of them... not to mention the problems Lydia is having with her own mother as well. And Jemima lives with her lovely dog Gurudge, but is sure she feels the presence of something hanging around the house of 66 Star Street. Just what, or who, is watching these people? And will the secrets that bind them ever come out?

Marian Keyes is one of the most successful chick-lit authors of all time, yet strangely I have only read 2 of her books. I loved Watermelon, one of her earliest books, but her last release This Charming Man just didn't do it for me. So it was with trepidation that I decided to try out her latest offering which has probably been the most anticipated books of 2009. It's had numerous cover designs posted all over the net (some loved, some hated), but finally the book had its British release at the end of last month, and I couldn't go into a bookshop with seeing Marian's gold shiny book everywhere. I got my copy from the library as I don't buy hardbacks and quickly sat down to read it.



I have to admit this book was a real struggle for me. At over 600 pages long, it's a very large book that requires the reader to put in a lot of time and concentration to read, so I was hoping it would be good enough to hold my attention that long, but I was sure it would because it was Marian!  But straight away, I disliked it, and sadly that continued throughout the whole book until the last 50 or so pages when I felt the whole things managed to pick up a bit but enough to move the book into 4 star territory for me. It seems authors are trying to branch out in their material to try something different, and Keyes has almost taken the lead from Cecelia Ahern by introducing a magical element into the book, but I just felt it didn't work here at all.

The narrator, who we don't find out the identity of until almost the end of the book, is somewhat creepy and doesn't feel magical at all, just somehow wrong. It adds to the creepy and unsettling tone of the whole book - there is not a whole lot of happiness in this book at all and I think that is what made me struggle to complete it. I knew nothing good was going to happen, only that things would get worse for the characters. I found Matt and Maeve's story in particular quite harrowing to read, and the shocking conclusion of it all was a bit too much for me. Katie, my favourite character of the book was the only good thing for me, and the only believable character. Conall was unlikeable, and I bet most readers will struggle to identify with him. Fionn was an awful character, Rosie was easily forgetable (I actually did forget her in parts), and Jemima was another of the greats, but they just weren't enough to save this book.

There were too many characters to keep track of throughout the book, and I wasn't entirely sure why there was a countdown of days throughout the book. Clearly we were headed towards day 1 but why - what was going to happen? I wasn't altogether sure I cared that much, and that's a fundamental flaw here. I hadn't guessed the narrator until the point I think we were supposed to realise but many have claimed they guessed it - when I did realise, I was a bit flummoxed by it because it was slightly odd and seemed like it had come out of nowhere to be honest. The chapters are relatively short so the story keeps going at a good enough pace, but I do feel it could have been 200 pages shorter and therefore more succinct and perhaps better reading.

Yes, I have to admit I am really disappointed with the latest offering from one of Ireland's greatest authors, and I am glad I decided to wait to get a copy from my library. It isn't something I can recommend you go and buy, but if you're a fan of Keyes, you'll want to read this. However, if you've never read Marian before - DO NOT start with this one, you probably won't want to pick up another of her books. Amazon reviewers also seem split on this - some love it and some hate it, and sadly I just couldn't get on with it at all. It was just too depressing and painful to read, and while elements of the book showed promise, it just didn't work for me. Such a pity!

Rating: 3/5

19 comments:

  1. But you know what the countdown was to now, don't you?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've only heard great things about this book so far, so it's interesting to see another opinion. Like you, I haven't read much MK - This Charming Man is the only other one I've read, but I thought it was brilliant.

    I'm still looking forward to reading this, but I have a horrible feeling I already know who the mystery narrator is going to be. I hope I'm wrong because it would be pretty cheesy - though I suppose it all depends on how it's written. I'm not a big fan of magical/paranormal elements in general, though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was always a bit of chick-lit snob and then I read marian keyes earlier books and I've been converted. You should try her earlier books to make up for the latest offering. i think that your website is brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
  4. an honest review as ever.
    i am a real fan of marian keyes adn was looking forward to this book eagerly, especially when marian said this was her best yet.
    however, i too was a bit disappointed. i never guessed the narrator either and when i found out i was a little confused as i thought it was someone else.
    the book is well written but i was confused by the storyline (well the narrator part). i would also say that a new keyes reader should start with something else

    ReplyDelete
  5. I wasn't a fan of her last book either so doesn't sound like I'd enjoy this, it actually sounds a bit weird!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This book was is one of MK's best! I loved it! And surely u did guess why there was a countdown?? I'll admit at the start it was hard to remember who was who but i loved it. This is only my 4th MK book but it was brilliant!!!! :o(

    ReplyDelete
  7. I didn't get why there was a countdown until the narrator was revealed, another thing that hindered my enjoyment of this.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've been very much looking forward to reading the only thing that kept me from buying it the other day was that the cover only copy left in the store was full of fingerprints. Now I'm thinking that this will be a library read. Thank you for such an honest review!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I agree with a lot of the things you said and sadly I was also disappointed with the book. I reviewed it back in July and I thought that maybe I had missed something, but I honestly thought it was boring and too long and confusing and (most importantly) not funny. I struggled to read it and it didn't feel like I was reading a MK book at all since I usually just fly through them, heh. I saw on Amazon that a lot of people feel this is her best work yet, but sadly I just can't agree. Fingers crossed the next MK book is better - I hear she's working on a novel called Sanctuary?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I did really enjoy this but I have to agree about the countdown thing, I was a little confused for a while. Marian Keyes is one of my favourite authors but I can see why This Charming Man and The Birhgtest Star in the Sky have got mioxed reviews, they do have a different feel to her previous books.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I loved this book personally (although I know you read my review of it on ciao so you already know this) but I definitely preferred her earlier stuff. Nothing ever seems to hold a candle to "Rachel's Holiday" or "Lucy Sullivan" as far as I'm concerned...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh I absolutely adored this book. Finished it last night - I didn't find it depressing at all but uplifting. I didn't guess the countdown until the end but when I found out I realised the clues had been there all along. I think this has to be my favourite ever Marian book and I love all of hers.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've read this book but I finished it still wanting to know who the narrater was ?

    ReplyDelete
  14. I really liked this book. One of my favourites of 2009 actually. I've read a few of her other books, and while I do agree that it has a different feel to previous books, I still enjoyed it very much.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I absolutely love Marian Keyes. This is my fourth book and my favourite so far. I loved the fact that there were a lot of characters, I think it makes the read less monotonous and I actually related to a few of them. I think she addressed some very important issues in this book. Depression and panic attacks...at the moment I'm close to someone who is experiencing these. I breezed through it! Couldn't get enough of it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have read all of Marian Keyes' books and have always loved them. I loved that she could address serious issues and still have side-splitting humour at the same time. Her books are always engaging, hilarious and sometime sad. But her combination always blew me away. This Charming Man was a bit different to her others but you could still see a glimmer of 'Marian' in there. The Brightest Star in the Sky seemed to lose Marian altogether. She was trying something very different which was obvious from the very beginning but I had hoped to get the 'Marian' glow all the same. But I didnt. It wasnt a terrible book, but it wasnt what I ahd hoped for. I love Marian and will always read her books but had this been my first Marain Keyes book I dont know that I would become a follower.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I've read many of Marian's books and this is my favourite! The countdown from the very beginning of the book keeps the reader on the edge and trying to guess what it;s purpose is. The only down side would have to be, there's quite a lot of main characters in this book, and when I started reading it I was getting a bit muddled. But I just grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the characters, writing a small note beside them to remind me of them. I then used it as a bookmark so if I couldn't remember who this character was, I could look at my notes :D <3

    ReplyDelete
  18. I agree with the previous comment, I've read many of her books but this one has been my favourite so far, I thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is the first Marian Keyes book I've read and although I struggled to get into it at first, towards the end I couldn't put it down. Brilliant!

    ReplyDelete