With This Charming Man, Marian Keyes hits her stride as a novelist with her best novel yet, telling the stories of four women who are shaped by one man

Paddy de Courcy is Ireland's debonair politician, the "John F. Kennedy Jr. of Dublin." His charm and charisma have taken hold of the country and the tabloids, not to mention our four heroines: Lola, Grace, Marnie, and Alicia. But though Paddy's winning smile is fooling Irish minds, the broken hearts he's left in his past offer a far more truthful look into his character.

Narrated in turn by each woman, This Charming Man explores how their love for this one man has shaped their lives. But in true Marian Keyes fashion, this is more than a story of four love affairs. It's a testament to the strength women find in themselves through work, friendship, and family, no matter what demons may be haunting their lives. Depression, self-doubt, domestic abuse—each of these women has seen tough times in life, and it's through Keyes's wonderful storytelling ability that these subjects are approached with the appropriate tone and candor. Her deft touch provides a gripping story and, ultimately, a redemptive ending.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Women Power
Comment: This book can be called the result of a serious investigation of the psyche of women who have suffered abuse while involved in a love affair. How, despite an academic background or some kind of standing in society, they prefer to keep a silent profile for months, and sometimes, years together, just because they believe that they are alone in their humiliation, or they stick to the belief that 'lover boy' did not really mean what he did. It tells the untold story of addictions that can be triggered as these women suffer indignity and self -depravation at the hands of the abuser, in silence. And how an unscrupulous lover can exploit these qualities to further his own ends.

Fortunately, being a Marian Keyes novel, this book has a happy ending. Relief, rehabilitation and redemption are always at hand, appearing at times in the most ridiculous of ways. In this book, Marian also provides an outlet to some very legitimate human needs, the expression of which have so far been frowned upon by society. Kudos to you for that Marian, and for handling this subject in your ribticklingly funny, analytic style. (I won't risk a spoiler by revealing any more.)

The only criticism I can think of is that some of the life episodes got a bit too drawn out at the end. All in all, this book is a great read and strongly recommended.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: My Personal Favorite
Comment: This Charming Man is by far my favorite Marian Keyes novel and is in the running for my favorite book of all time. Wonderfully written. It's been a good while since I've read it now and I still can't stop thinking about it...

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice try but no cigar
Comment: Let me express my love for all things Marian Keyes.

I really think I understand the concept behind this novel, and I commend Marian for brouching these serious and pressing issues. I bet after reading this book we all thought about domestic violence, spousal abuse, alcholisim and/ dirty politics in one way or the other.

I agree with other readers, in saying the way that Lola was presented is downright annoying...it was cute at first, but just a huge annoyance as the novel progressed.

Marnie...was just a damn annoyance, she was the weakest character in the book, with Grace being the character that you'll likely feel more towards.

All in all the book was a little deep, a little annoying and lacked the abundance of humour that makes a Marian Keyes a Marian Keyes

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Customer Rating:
Summary: outstanding
Comment: This book is Marian Keyes at her best. I loved this book. My fav book of her's is Rachel's Holiday for its very realistic portrayal of someone recovering from addiction. This new book takes on another equally tough issue and makes the characters come to life.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: SO disappointing....
Comment: I was so excited when I found out Marian Keyes was coming out with a new book. I love all of her books, especially the ones about the Walsh sisters. I was even more excited when I found "This Charming Man" on a book exchange shelf at my hotel in London. "Yay!" I thought, "a good book for free!" I could not have been more wrong. The best thing I can say is that I'm glad I didn't pay for it. It was a copy published in Australia and it had this weird font that was completely distracting--though not nearly as distracting as the shorthand of Lola. How am I supposed to read that? It's like trying to read the first chapter of "The Sound and the Fury." You know, the chapter from the perspective of the mentally retarded kid. Well, I never finished Faulkner and I couldn't get past 30 pages of Lola. I was really looking forward to this book and it makes me sad that I had to put it down--and not ever want to pick it up again.

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